Data Toys: Explore User Interface Research and Make Some Waves
Two intriguing visualizations: an interactive experiment about user interfaces and a wave-generating toy.
- By Lindsay Stares
- April 13, 2016
Click to Explore Fitts’s Law
Fitts’s law is a principle of user interface research. It describes how the level of difficulty in selecting a target is related to the target’s distance and size.
You can explore this relationship with this interactive experiment. Click the red dot and watch as your reactions are plotted in real time. Change the location and size of the dots and see how the numbers shift.
Ocean Wave Simulation
This wave-generating webtoy can be a fun break, but it also serves as a great example of the way multiple variables can have interacting effects. Click and drag to adjust the choppiness of the waves, the strength and direction of the wind, or the scale that your simulated patch of ocean represents.
About the Author
Lindsay Stares is a production editor at TDWI. You can contact her here.