Glossary
Searchable terminology from accessibility, web standards, and related fields.
154 results found in interaction design.
- Gravity Well (Target Attraction, Sticky Targets, Snap-to-Target)
- An interaction filtering technique that warps the cursor space around interactive targets (such as buttons or links), creating attractive basins that pull the cursor toward the nearest target. This ma…
- Grid Navigation (Grid Accessibility, Table Navigation)
- The ability to navigate through grid or table-based layouts using keyboard controls and assistive technologies. Calendar applications commonly use grid layouts to display weeks and months, which prese…
- Guide-by-Pointing (Point-and-Ask, Hand-Guided Visual Query)
- A prompting technique for multimodal AI assistants where a user extends their hand into the camera's field of view and asks the AI to identify what they are pointing at, or to provide spatial directio…
- Gulf of Execution
- A concept from Don Norman's theory of action describing the gap between a user's intention and the actions available to achieve that goal through an interface. When the gulf of execution is large, use…
- Haptic Feedback (Tactile Feedback, Haptics)
- Technology that communicates information through the sense of touch, using vibrations, pressure, or motion applied to the user's body. In accessibility, haptic feedback provides a non-visual, non-audi…
- Haptic Feedback (Tactile Feedback, Touch Feedback)
- Information conveyed through the sense of touch, typically using vibrations, force, or texture changes to communicate data or system states to a user. In accessibility, haptic feedback provides non-vi…
- Hybrid Interaction (Multimodal Hybrid Approach)
- An interaction design approach that combines multiple input and output modalities, allowing users to switch between them based on task requirements, context, and personal preferences. In accessibility…
- Hybrid automaton (Hybrid state machine)
- A computational model that combines discrete state transitions with continuous dynamics, used in interactive systems to govern object behaviours based on multiple users's simultaneous inputs. In colla…
- Imaginary Interface (Spatial Memory Interface, Empty-Handed Interaction)
- An interaction paradigm where users interact with a virtual interface mapped to empty space or their own body, without any physical device in the interaction area. Users transfer their spatial memory …
- Information Hierarchy (Content Hierarchy, Information Architecture)
- The organization and prioritization of information elements in an interface, determining what users encounter first and how content is structured for navigation. In accessibility, information hierarch…
- Information Scent (Information Smell)
- A concept from information foraging theory that describes the strength of cues in a user interface that indicate whether a particular path (link, button, menu item) will lead to desired information or…
- Input Exertion (Input Effort, Interaction Cost)
- The physical and cognitive effort required to provide input to a digital system, including keystrokes, mouse movements, taps, and voice commands. For people with motor impairments, input exertion is a…
- Input Modality (Interaction Modality, Input Method)
- A distinct channel or method through which a user provides input to a computing system, such as touch, voice, gesture, gaze, or keyboard interaction. In accessibility contexts, supporting multiple inp…
- Input Redundancy
- A design principle that provides multiple alternative ways to accomplish the same input action, ensuring that users can interact with a system regardless of their specific abilities. In VR accessibili…
- Interaction Paradigm (Interaction Method, Input Paradigm)
- A model or approach for how users interact with a system, encompassing the input devices, techniques, and patterns of engagement. In VR, common interaction paradigms include controller-based input, ha…
- Interactive Description (Dynamic Description)
- A design approach for providing accessible descriptions of interactive digital content that updates in real time as users navigate and manipulate elements. Unlike static alternative text, interactive …
- Interface Complexity (UI Complexity)
- The degree of intricacy in a user interface, encompassing the number of elements, depth of navigation, variety of interaction patterns, and cognitive load required to accomplish tasks. For blind and l…
- Isometric Gesture (Isometric Contraction Gesture)
- An isometric gesture is a gesture in which a person activates their muscles without producing visible movement — the body position remains static while muscle tension changes. This contrasts with isot…
- Joint Bilingual Navigation (Bilingual Form Navigation, Dual-Language Navigation)
- An interface design approach that allows users to interact with digital content simultaneously in two languages through different modalities. In the context of Deaf accessibility, joint bilingual navi…
- Joystick Locomotion (Continuous Locomotion, Thumbstick Locomotion)
- A VR locomotion method where users tilt a joystick or thumbstick on a controller to move continuously through the virtual environment while remaining physically stationary. This method is accessible f…