Gestalt Principles on Websites/Mental Models Essay – EASIER THAN IT LOOKS
Part 1: Gestalt Principles
For this activity, I would like you to find examples, in an existing online interface, of any three of the following Gestalt Principles: Closure, Proximity, Similarity, Continuation, Figure-Ground, and Common Fate.
For example, Last.FM used to (in a previous website design) utilize the Continuation, Proximity, and Similarity principles for their top-level menu bar:
Place a screenshot in your report and identify which Gestalt principle (or principles) occur in the screenshot. Include a short description of where/how the principle is used. You need to exemplify 3 different principles – they may occur in the same screenshot or in multiple screenshots. Please include links to the websites where you found your examples.
Part 2: Mental Models
The aim of this activity is for you to try to elicit your own mental models and compare them to other people’s mental models. In particular, the goal is for you to understand the nature of people’s knowledge about an interactive product in terms of how to use it and how it works.
It is very important to answer the questions based on your own mental model of how something works. Please do not search for the correct answers – your best guess is what we need. You will not be graded on the accuracy of your answers.
First, elicit your own mental model. Think about how contactless credit/debit cards work – where customers place their debit or credit card over a card reader (see Figure 4.10 in the textbook). If you are not familiar with contactless cards, think about a smartphone app like Apple Pay or Google Pay. Then write down the answers to the following questions – please do not look them up… guessing is preferred.
What information is sent between the card/smartphone and the card reader when it is placed in front of it?
How is data security implemented? Is your data protected from theft by nearby devices?
What is the maximum amount you can pay for something using a contactless card, or Apple/ Google Pay?
Why is there an upper limit?
How many times can you use a contactless card or Apple/Google Pay in a day?
What happens if you have two contactless cards in the same wallet/purse?
What happens when your contactless card is stolen and you report it to the bank?
Next, read the answers from two other people and analyze your answers – this part will not be included in your report. It must be completed after the report’s due date, as a peer review:
The day after the due date, you will be randomly assigned peer reviews of 2 reports from your classmates.
This is a double-blind peer review: the reviewers don’t know the identity of authors, and vice versa; please do not write your name or U# on your report.
In the comments section for each submission assigned to you (for review), please answer the following questions (regarding mental models):
Do you get the same or different explanations?
What do the findings indicate?
How accurate is their mental model about the way contactless cards and smartphone Apple/Google Pay work? How accurate was your mental model?
What to Submit: The report (part 1 and part 2.1) should be included in one file (Word or PDF) without your name in it.