SV: [Sigia-l] tabbed design user test

[Gunnar Langemark]

This is probably an "it depends".

I cannot back this with empirical data but:
Tabs in directories may have taken a new meaning.
Tabs in web based application design have not.

As I understand it. If You try to organize content categories using tabs -
feel free to do that.
If You are building an interactive application - use tabs to organize
different views of same content.

In this context I would like to add that using tabs to "mimic" a wizard is
not such a good idea.



Things do change in interface design. Have You noticed how "Metaphor" is not
much of an issue anymore? Ten years ago everybody was talking about "The
Metaphor". Now the (web)interface feeds itself. We do not have to look to
tape recorders, file cabinets and the like in order to make our interfaces
usable.

Gunnar


>  <snip>
>  A common issue with tabs is that a lot of designs use tabs
>  for something other than different views or different types
>  of information on the same thing. It beats me why this ever
>  happens, but one sees it all the time. <snip>

That's not an issue. Tabs were originally used for different views of
the same information, however, the web evolved them into something else
- users no longer expect different views of the same information behind
tabs, they can be perfectly used to organise different information
that's not about 'the same thing'. Users understand them like that, and
"one sees this all the time", so it is a de-facto standard. Things
change, even in interface design.
PeterV