User Interfaces: A Philosophical View

Portfolio for Jonathan Reid

 

I have always been fascinated by the way people interact with computers, and as a result I have always been drawn to the creation of user interfaces. My work has focused mainly on web-based user interfaces, covering everything from simple web sites all the way up to complex web-based applications.

From an abstract point of view, the web browser essentially provides an API for the production of user interfaces. Markup, CSS, and Javascript give the ability to display and arrange content and provide for user interactions with that content.

It is important to remember, however, that the Web has its roots in a very different idea: structured information exchange. The whole point of HTML and HTTP was to provide an easy to use medium for the exchange of information (specifically, scientific information). True, the web has far outgrown these humble roots, but they are still important because they provide the ubiquity that makes the web so powerful.

Accessibility is an important part of this ubiquity. Today's browser technologies and standards make it possible to provide rich applications to those who can handle it while still making all the relevant information and necessary functionality available to even simple user agents. Techniques like progressive enhancement, advanced Javascript libraries like jQuery, and guidelines like the WCAG make accessibility a no-brainer for even complex web-based interfaces.