Test your basic knowledge |

Design Principles

Subject : engineering
Instructions:
  • Answer 50 questions in 15 minutes.
  • If you are not ready to take this test, you can study here.
  • Match each statement with the correct term.
  • Don't refresh. All questions and answers are randomly picked and ordered every time you load a test.

This is a study tool. The 3 wrong answers for each question are randomly chosen from answers to other questions. So, you might find at times the answers obvious, but you will see it re-enforces your understanding as you take the test each time.
1. A phenomenon of visual processing in which certain line orientations are more quickly and easily processed and discriminated than other line orientations.






2. The visual clarity of text - generally based on the size - typeface - contrast - text block - and spacing of the characters used.






3. A phenomenon in which perception and behavior changes as a result of personal expectations or the expectations of others. (Halo effect - Hawthorne effect - Pygmalion effect - Placebo effect - Rosenthal effect - Demand characteristics.)






4. There are three ways to organize materials to support a load or to contain and protect something: Mass structures - frame structures - and shell structures.






5. A preference for a particular ratio of waist size to hip size in men and women. Men prefer 0.7 in women. Women prefer 0.9 in men.






6. A tendency to interpret ambiguous images as simple and a complete unit - versus complex and incomplete. (Gestalt principle of perception).






7. A technique of composition in which a medium is divided into thirds - creating aesthetic positions for the primary elements of a design.






8. A technique for preventing unintended actions by requiring verification of the actions before they are performed.






9. A technique that influences decision making and judgement by manipulating the way information is presented.






10. The level of control provided by a system should be related to the proficiency and experience levels of the people using the system.






11. Given a choice between functionally equivalent designs - the simplest design should be selected.

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12. Memory for recognizing things is better than memory for recalling things.






13. Using more elements than is necessary to offset the effects of unknown variables which may cause a system failure.






14. An action or ommission of action yielding an unintended result.






15. The process of organizing information into related groupings in order to manage complexity and reinforce relationships in the information.






16. The tendency to see attractive people as more intelligent - competent - moral and sociable than unattractive people.






17. The time required to move to a target is a function of the target size and distance to the target.

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18. A method of managing system complexity that involves dividing large systems into multiple - smaller self- contained systems.






19. As the flexiblity of a system increases - its usability decreases.






20. The tendency for people to perform better or worse based on the expectations of another.






21. A relationship between variables in a system where the consequences of an event are fed back in order to modify the event in the future.






22. A property of visual equivalence among elements in a form.






23. An activity will be pursued only if its benefits are equal to or greater than the costs. (ie. How much reading is too much to get the point of a message?)






24. A method of illustrating relationships and patterns in system behaviors by representing two or more system variables in a controlled way.






25. A method of creating imagery - emotions - and understanding of events through an interaction between a storyteller and an audience.






26. A tendency to see people and things iwth baby- faced features as more naive - helpless - and honest than those with mature features.






27. An ability to detect threatening stimuli more efficiently than nonthreatening stimuli.






28. A method of presentation in which information is presented in descending order of importance. (Critical information presented first).






29. A state of mental focus so intense that awareness of the 'real' world is lost - generally resulting in a feeling of joy and satisfaction.






30. 1) Functionality 2) Reliability 3) Usability 4) Proficiency 5) Creativity. In order for design to be successful - it must meet ppl's basic need before it can attempt to satisfy higher- level needs.






31. A process in which similar characteristics evolve independently in multiple systems.






32. A tendency to prefer environments with unobstructed views (prospects) and areas of concealment and retreat (refuges).






33. All products progress sequentially through four stages of existence: introduction - growth - maturity - and decline.






34. The debgree to which prose can be understood - based on the complexity of words and sentences.






35. The quality of system output is dependent on the quality of system input.






36. A point of physical or attentional entry into a design. (Minimal Barriers - Points of Prospect - Progressive Lures)






37. A space that has territorial markers - opportunities for surveillance - and clear indications of activity and ownership.






38. The ratio of relevant to irrelevant information in a display. The highest possible signal- to- noise ratio is desirable in design.






39. Hierarchical organization is the simplest structure for visualizing and understanding complexity.






40. When participants realise the aim of the study and may change their behaviour to help or disrupt the study.






41. Tendency to form an overall positive impression of a person on the basis of one positive characteristic






42. The designs that help people perform optimally are often not the same as the designs that people find most desirable.






43. A Gestalt law of organization; elements arrange in a straight line or a smooth curve are perceived as a group - and are interpreted as being more related than elements not on the line or curve.






44. Pictures are remembered better than words.






45. A technique used to teach a desired behavior by reinforcing increasingly accurate approximations of the behavior.






46. A phenomenon of memory in which noticeably different things are more likely to be recalled that common things. (AKA Isolation/Novelty Effect)






47. A property in which a form is made up of parts similar to the whole or to one another.






48. People tend to prefer savanna- like environments to other types of environments. Open areas - scattered trees - water - and uniform grassiness rather than other natural environments such as desert - jungle - and complex mtns.






49. Elements that are similar are perceived to be more related than elements that are dissimilar.






50. A ratio within the elements of a form - such as height to width - approximating 0.618.