Insights from the Apple Human Interface Guidelines on Intuitive Interaction

• Published in: HCI in Business, Government and Organizations Vol. 12204; pp. 128 - 140
• Main Authors: McAran, Dan, Shaw, Norman
• Format: Book Chapter
• Language: English
• Published: Switzerland Springer International Publishing AG 2020; Springer International Publishing
• Series: Lecture Notes in Computer Science
• Subjects: Apple; Familiar; Hints; Intuitive interaction; Metaphor
• ISBN: 3030503402; 9783030503406
• ISSN: 0302-9743; 1611-3349
• DOI: 10.1007/978-3-030-50341-3_11

Research on intuitive interaction in the academic community developed early in the millennium with the pioneering research of groups in Australia and Germany. Apple has produced a wide array of products and technologies which are widely proclaimed as “intuitive” leading to great commercial success. As far as can be determined Apple has never produced a white paper or any other document detailing the process or components of intuitive interaction. Apple, however, does provide Human Interface Guidelines (Guidelines) which frequently mention the “intuitive” as a desirable goal. This paper analyses the references to the “intuitive” and related key words in the Guidelines seeking to understand the context in which these references appear, and thereby identify elements that comprise “intuitive” interaction as outlined in the Guidelines. The results show broad correspondence to the aspects of intuitive interaction that has been developed by academic researchers triangulating the academic research performed. The analysis provides additional insights concerning the nature of intuitive interaction laying the basis for further research.