In a previous post, I presented an informal set of criteria for
evaluating effective interface designs: Context, Anticipation,
Consistency, Transparency Clarity/Simplicity, Metaphor,
Feedback, Control, and User-Focused. Another consideration is
Indication. Though closely related to Anticipation and Feedback,
Indication is described by Jef Raskin in his book, the Humane
Interface, as “highlighting the single object pointed to as the
cursor is moved, without any other user action such as
clicking.” I prefer a more general definition: indication lets
people know when actions or information are available. An
underlined hypertext link is a form of indication, as is an
indication of the current state in an application. In Raskin’s
definition, Indication is a form of Feedback. It provides a
response to a change in cursor position (thereby reducing
errors) and can be very useful in “cramped” situations where
screen space is tight. In the broader definition, Indication is
a form of Anticipation. It helps answer user q