IMAGE THOUGHTS:

Maps, of course. But also Mii management page, with the labels on top. And the GPS60 with the location bar at top, re-photographed maybe.

MAYBE some stack-of-items. Not sure if they look sensible or we need them.

Get ready to push!

Driving cross-country in your car can be quite exciting. Whether it’s stopping in small, quaint towns hardly noticeable on a map, flying down coastal highways with perilous views from below, or enjoying the endless horizons of the plains. However, that state of happiness is usually immediately broken when you notice out of the corner of your eye, the low fuel status icon has now appeared.

This icon’s design creates more user mental load than necessary. If you're in the middle of no where, and haven’t seen a gas station or fuel information sign in miles and now on top of your uneasiness, you must calculate and predict how far you can go without running out of gas. You're now wondering:

What you really need is the ability to quickly access additional related information.

Maybe we won't have to push

Maybe the fear of running out of gas will come to end (I’m not referring to alternate energy sources here) due to an improved display design on our dashboard that allows for quick access to additional information.

Here are some suggestions:

Drilldown and the Mobile Space

Through this book, it is mentioned the importance of following a consistent information architecture to ensure a positive user experience across a device’s OS. In chapter 6 Lateral Access, you learned that designing the interface to ensure the user can effectively access this content must be carefully considered because:

Drilldown access also requires these considerations. But unlike lateral access whose information architecture is based on same levels tiers, drilldown is concerned with accessing related content based on hierarchical parent-child relationships. Hence the name “drilldown.” You are accessing additional detailed information relating to the current content or the state of the device.

Accessing drilldown content may appear directly on the current state being displayed. Or it may cause the user to jump around, whether that may be within the current page or opening a new one. If the user is required to access content on a new page, wayfinding principles must be considered to give the user an understanding of their currently location as well as a clear path to follow back.

Use drilldown widgets across the mobile space to:

Benefits of Drilldown

Patterns for Drilldown

Using appropriate and consistent drilldown access widgets will provide an alternative way to present and manipulate content hierarchically. Within this chapter, the following patterns will be discussed, based on how the human mind organizes and navigates information:

When to use Links, Buttons, and Icons.

Knowing when to use these types of drilldown widgets can be challenging to understand. Use this chart as a reference to guide you in that process.

Pattern

When to use

Link

When a new page of related content must be loaded, to jump to additional content within the current page, or to open a Pop-Up dialogue containing relevant content.

Button

Initiates an action immediately.

Standalone

Standalone - Submit the action ithout additional user input.

In-conjunction

Commits user selections made with other controls such as radio buttons, spinners, and input areas.

Delayed input

Interrupts the submission to request additional user data, usually by displaying a modal Pop-up dialogue.

Indicator

Visually describes the type of activity that will occur when initiated.

Content beyond

Explains what type of content will be loaded if the link is followed, typically as an icon in front of a text label.

Type of action

Describes the type of activity that will occur when the link is selected. For example, a "Refresh" label can be accompanied with an animated, spinning refresh icon.

Manner of action

Describes the way the action will be carried out. The icon should indicate that the action may go forward or backwards in the process, opens a pop-up or performs some other type of action.

Icon

Provides access to disparate items or functions, in a glanceable manner.

Fixed

Explains, within the iconic image, its function or target destination.

Status

Indicates a change with the current condition. This may be an external change, such as the current weather, a system change like inbound messages or a user-initiated state change such as switching from scroll to select mode.

Interactive

Carries out a behavior directly, such as enabling wi-fi, without providing immediate access to any target application, site or information.

Stack of Items

Used when information can be represented as thumbnail graphics, all items in the group appear in a virtual stack which can be shuffled or expanded.

Annotation

When more information should be presented for an item in focus, such as a pinpoint on a map or chart. Smarter than a tooltip, and may offer links or actions.