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






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






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






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






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






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






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






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






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






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






11. 80% of the effects generated by any large system are caused by 20% of the variables.






12. 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.






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






14. 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






15. People understand and interact with systems and environments based on mental representations developed from experience.






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






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






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






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






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






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






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






23. The greater the effort to accomplish a task - the less likely the task will be accomplished successfully.






24. The distressing state of thought caused by recognizing an inconsistency between behavior/thought and value/belief.






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






26. The ratio of face to body in an image that influences the way the person in the image is perceived. (High = intelligent / Low = physical)






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






28. Repeated exposure to stimuli for which people have neutral feelings will increase the likeability of the stimuli.






29. 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.






30. 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)






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






32. 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.






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






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






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






36. There are five ways to organize information: Category - time - location - alphabet - and continuum.






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






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






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






40. 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?)






41. A method of limiting the actions that can be performed on a system.






42. A tendency to interpret shaded or dark areas of an object as shadows resulting from a light source above the object.






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






44. 1) Physiological 2) Safety 3) Love 4) Self-Esteem 5) Self-Actualization


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






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






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


48. Elements that are connected by uniform visual properties - such as color - are perceived to be more related than elements that are not connected.






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






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