Adobe Captivate is an e-learning Windows authoring tool to create software demonstrations, software simulations, branched scenarios, and randomised quizzes in .swf format.

Design process led me to filter the concepts according to real user requirements; detail out selected area and create prototypes and simulations to explain solution scenarios; work on new features for the release of Captivate 3.0.and also suggest an alternative UI for the product.

I learnt much about techniques: optimise key workflows and throw rest in a menu; create a clear design hierarchy to emphasise what’s important; use white space to give important elements breathing room; use pods to group elements; title clarity = task clarity; use progressive disclosure to reveal capability as it’s needed; always give user a clear and consistent way to go back to a previous state; allow direct manipulation of content to establish intuitive interaction; use choreography to guide user’s eye to what’s important; don’t lose the content in a sea of controls and chrome; separate controls from content to give content the visual clarity it deserves; after meeting functional requirements, aesthetics is important.

I realised the many myths related to design: more features = more value; expose every feature (cockpit metaphor); the applications are just the sum of its parts; more chrome is more cool. Experience is not just about making an interface that looks pretty, it is about using expressive visual language and good usability practices in service of surfacing capability and improving the successful completion of user tasks.