07-07-2012, 10:03 AM
This is a point that has always been a bit strange to me. Why use a cross to depict a selection? Checkboxes in almost every other piece of software typically use a fill colour or a tick to represent this, why not here? It's rather confusing (this happened to me) to a player to immediately associate it with a selection. For instance, some of the settings that come as default, how is a player supposed to know it means they are turned on. A cross does not immediately convey that a setting is turned on, espcially when a cross is then used elsewhere in the UI to cancel a choice i.e close a window.
That it should be obvious when you compare to other checkboxes is not something a player should be subjected to. Imagine if the button to close a window had been made a tick instead, how obvious would it immediately be that it means closing a window? Even if a user goes through this confusion once and adjusts accordingly, it is one time to many. This is not even a UI element for a radical new form of interaction, it simply an on/off feature.
Changing it to a tick, or using a fill colour would make it obvious.
Might I add that mentioning other software that use a cross for said UI element is not validation for it as a good UI design choice. I'm trying to help this particular piece of software to not be counted among those.
That it should be obvious when you compare to other checkboxes is not something a player should be subjected to. Imagine if the button to close a window had been made a tick instead, how obvious would it immediately be that it means closing a window? Even if a user goes through this confusion once and adjusts accordingly, it is one time to many. This is not even a UI element for a radical new form of interaction, it simply an on/off feature.
Changing it to a tick, or using a fill colour would make it obvious.
Might I add that mentioning other software that use a cross for said UI element is not validation for it as a good UI design choice. I'm trying to help this particular piece of software to not be counted among those.
How long is a piece of string?