What are graphical user interfaces (GUI)?
Graphical user interfaces (GUI) are seen in every application that requires user input to control or alter items, ranging from a simple Sky television box to a full computer Operating System. Online 'web-based' GUI's are useful as they can be accessed from anywhere there is an internet connection, and require no local applications to be installed. Web-based GUI's can be accessed through a browser, hence need to built using the current web coding technologies.
Web-based GUI design is a complicated and challenging extension of designing and writing web sites. More thought needs to be put into place for accessibility and usablity options due to the amount of functions and actions the user can perform. A website may have some custom functions that require a degree of fore-thought, but every page within a GUI requires absolute planning and fore-thought.
I have created a number of custom built graphical user interfaces, but the "ClickandBuild" interface is the most extensive and feature-rich to date.
ClickandBuild
The premise for the application was to build a web-based ecommerce application to allow Small-Medium enterprises and large businesses to easily build a website without having any knowledge of web coding or designing. The application was created in 1999 by "WorldPay" (a leading payment service provider www.worldpay.com), was written in Java and uses a custom built text database and a 'tag-based' template system. The first incarnation of the web admin was an extremely simplified adminstration interface with only a few of the main ecommerce functions added. Subsequently the feature list and interface went through a design upgrade in early 2002 (version 3.0 of the application). However the interface design still lacked any usability or accessibility fore-thought, and was not created with the user in mind.
Come 2004 and the application was upgraded once more (to version 5.0), again to add more features to the ecommerce application and improve the interface design. The product management and lead interface design for version 5.0 of the application was carried out by Mark Pick from initial conception, through to design, development, testing and final release.
For version 5.0 the interface design was the main priority, with each and every function and feature reviewed in terms of the flow and user interaction required which led to some dramatic interface design changes and upgrages.
The version of "ClickandBuild" available for purchase today uses the version 5.0 interface design. A fully working demo of this version can be obtained through the "ClickandBuild" website to demonstrate exactly how the interface was designed and implemented. To view a selection of screenshots please click on the "View all screenshots" button below to help give a visual representation of the application interface screens.
