cream

client:
arz innsbruck
(hypo tirol, hypo vorarlberg, skwb, schoellerbank)
design team:
r.greger,
n.pridun,
p.purgathofer
(tuwien/igw)

a financial self-service terminal is supposed to perform tasks, usually managed by clerks at a bankcounter. the user-interface has to compensate for the missing face-to face- interaction. it can succeed by focusing on the users needs closely: to get the task done in a fast and most reliable way. especially for the elderly or people less used to digital systems a literally user-friendly system is most important.

the look and feel of the interface incorporates well-known details which remind the user of interaction-details of the physical world. photorealistic images of buttons and appropriate feedback is used to provide a familiar feeling. in addition the performance of familiar keyboard-interaction is extended in a way which explores the possibilities of digital media. there is more to user-interfaces than showy graphics.

cream was and is based on touch-screen technology. all interaction is performed by pointing and touching. the metaphor for proceeding deeper into the content of account-data becomes perceptible by the image of breaking up the constraints of the 2-dimensional screen. as the user asks for more information pools of data – virtually recessed from the surface – open up and trigger the users perception of stepping deeper into data. more familiar windows would only clutter the surface. the cream-metaphor creates an accessible site or building of data, which unfolds step by step.

_cream features a context sensitive interface: buttons and windows appear on demand and in context to actions and tasks. that means the screen is less cluttered and fosters clarity.
_three-dimensional appearance serves both: inexperienced and skilled users