Context and Interaction in Zoomable User Interfaces

Orientation aids for zoomable interfaces: context, history, and hierarchy layers.

Pook et al. (2000)Conferencedoi:10.1145/345513.345323

Citation

Pook, S., Lecolinet, E., Vaysseix, G., & Barillot, E. (2000). Context and Interaction in Zoomable User Interfaces. Proceedings of the Working Conference on Advanced Visual Interfaces (AVI 2000), 227–231.

Method

Interaction technique design.

Claims used

After brief navigation in zoomable interfaces, users may no longer know where they are or where to look.
A context layer shows location; a history layer shows how users got there.

Limitations: The abstract does not mention a controlled evaluation.

Extracted principles

Make navigation history visibleNot tested
Exploration interfaces should show the path already taken and provide a way back, not just show the current position.
Orientation in zoomable spacesNot tested
Pannable and zoomable spaces should show where users are and how to return, to prevent disorientation.

Spatial UINavigation