"... User Interface serves as the medium for us to talk to a phone, or a computer, or a multi-million dollar medical instrument..."

USER INTERFACE DEVELOPMENT

User Interface is at the heart of all of our work. Creating and implementing intuitive interaction between human and machine is the most important concept for us to uphold. The User Interface serves as the medium for us to talk to a phone, or a computer, or a multi-million dollar medical instrument and get these inanimate objects to perform the tasks we want them to perform.

Every application has a User Interface but not all of them are useful. Success is achieved when you can take a complicated series of tasks and make them simple to the end user. The idea being to "think" for the user and anticipate the way they would want to perform any task and make it happen intuitively.

LipoScience

Medical instruments are extremely complicated pieces of computerized machinery. LipoScience tasked Stevens Interactive with the production of the interface that would allow for easy interaction between lab technicians and the Vantera instrument. The end result was a streamlined control system that significantly reduces training time and increases productivity.

The GUI was developed using Flash and ActionScript 3.0. The flash benefits are realized in the clean easy to use animated screens that not only look stunning but provide valuable feedback about the instrument. Flash's ability to communicate with .NET enables two way call back communication with a .NET form application that serves and an usher between the MSSQL database and the GUI.

3 Screens

North Carolina Aquarium on Roanoke Island

Ever want to design an aquarium exhibit. It is not as easy as you might think. That was the idea behind Aquarium Confidental, an exhibit at the North Carolina Aquarium on Roanoke Island. The exhibit was designed to show what goes on behind the scenes at the aquarium. As part of the exhibit Stevens Interactive produced an interactive kiosk that allowed visitors the ability to build their own exhibit.

In the end we created a 3-5 minute experience (to keep traffic moving through the exhibit) where you select the type of water, size of tank, featured marine life, and their tank mates. Make the right decisions and you can see your exhibit come to life in a full screen, fully animated representation of your selections.

Each habitat and inhabitant are fully modeled, animated and rendered in 3D and assembled in Flash for a rich and immersive experience. A beautifully designed GUI fosters quick decision making to keep the building process moving quickly while the animated transitions add entertainment value.

14 Screens

Jewish Heritage Foundation of North Carolina

Passing along traditions from generation to generation is an important part of any culture. The Jewish Heritage Foundation of North Carolina found a unique way to spread that culture outside the family. Their exhibit at the North Carolina Museum of History titled Down Home: Jewish Life in North Carolina helped to share their culture that is rich with tradition. Part of this exhibit was to allow visitors to share a selection of family recipes with their friends and family. Typically this would be done with printouts but those can "go missing" before they make it to the intended recipients. The solution was to build an internet enabled kiosk so visitors could browse a virtual Recipe Box, select a recipe they want to share and directly email it to the desired recipient.

Flying Foto Factory selected Stevens Interactive to develop the UI for the kiosk including a full onscreen keyboard for email input. Email requests were sent to a .NET back-end, also developed by Stevens Interactive, located on an off-site server where the request was processed, recipe attached and message delivered.

2 Screens

North Carolina Education Lottery

Pick 3, Pick 4, Cash 5, Powerball® and Mega Millions® are all exciting lottery games. Unfortunately, many of us are not sure how to play them. The North Carolina Education Lottery approached Stevens Interactive with the need to create a series of interactive game demos to help people understand how each game works.

All five demos start with an overview and walk a you step-by-step through marking a play slip by explaining each option available for each game, simulating the drawing, displaying the drawn numbers and your completed ticket, and highlighting your winnings on the payout tables. Each scenario is explained so you are not left in the dark as to how or how much you won.

5 Screens