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. The use of pictorial images to improve the recognition and recall of signs and controls.






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






3. A technique of combining many units of information into a limited number of units or chunks - so that the information is easier to process and remember.






4. A tendency to see objects and patterns as 3D when certain visual cues are present.






5. Teh act of copying properties of familiar objects - organisms - or environments in order to realize specifice benefits afforded by those properties.






6. 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.)






7. A strategy for managing information complexity in which only necessary or requested information is displayed at any given time.






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






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






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






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






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

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13. 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?)






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






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






16. A diagram that describes the general pattern followed by the eyes when looking at evenly distributed - homogeneous information.






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






18. Successful products typically follow four stages of creation: requirements - design - development - and testing.






19. Adjusting parts of a device in relation to each other to create a sense of unity and cohesion.






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






21. The usability of a system is improved when similar parts are expressed in similar ways.






22. A phenomenon of visual processing in which certain line orientations are more quickly and easily processed and discriminated than other line orientations.






23. A process of repeating a set of operation until a specific result is achieved.






24. A term used to describe a set of data - that when plotted - forms a symmetrical - bell- shaped curve.






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






26. A sequence of numbers in which each number is the sum of the preceding two.






27. A Gestalt principle of organization holding that aspects of perceptual field that move or function in a similar manner will be perceived as a unit






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






29. A phenomenon of memory in which items presented at the beginning and end of a list are more likely to be recalled than items in the middle of a list.






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






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






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






33. A relationship between controls and their movements or effects. When th effect corresponds to the expectation - the mapping is considered to be good or natural.






34. A tendency to prefer faces in which the eyes - nose - lips and other features are close to the average of a population.






35. 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.






36. 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.






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






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






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






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






41. The deliberate use of a weak element that will fail in order to protect other elements in the system from damage.






42. The tendency to perceive objects as unchanging - despite changes in sensory input. (such as perspective - lighting - color or size)






43. A tendency to assume that a system that works at one scale will also work at a smaller or larger scale. (2 kinds: Load assumptions and Interaction assumptions)






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






45. Designs should help people avoid errors and minimize the negative consequences of errors when they do occur.






46. An attribute of an object that allows people to intuitively know how to use it






47. A phenomenon of memory in which information that is analyzed deeply is better recalled than information that is analyzed superficially.






48. Beauty in design results from purity of function. Interpreted in 2 ways: A description of beauty or a prescription for beauty.






49. The use of simplified and incomplete models of a design to explore ideas - elaborate requirements - refine specifications - and test functionality.






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