Display Element Association Using Animated Visual Cues
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Solution Overview
Problem
Users often struggle to identify the relationships between multiple display elements on a computer screen, leading to confusion and difficulty in determining which elements are associated with each other.
Innovation Solution
A method is provided for displaying display elements and visually indicating their associations through animations, such as changes in size and positioning, to clarify the relationships between elements like windows, icons, and gadgets.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Quantity of substance
If multiple windows and icons are displayed concurrently on a computer display, then the amount of information presented to the user increases, but the user's ability to identify relationships between elements deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies color changes by displaying associated display elements with the same color or similar colors. When a user selects a display element, its associated elements are highlighted with matching colors, creating a visual family resemblance that makes relationships immediately apparent. This color-coding system allows users to quickly identify which elements are related without confusion, even when many elements are displayed concurrently.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces a new visual dimension for displaying relationships by using color as an additional attribute beyond spatial positioning. Instead of relying solely on the two-dimensional screen space arrangement, the system adds a color dimension to encode relationship information, allowing users to perceive associations across the display regardless of physical distance or layout complexity.
2Device complexity
If display elements are displayed without visual indicators of association, then the display complexity is reduced, but the clarity of relationships between elements deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The patent uses color changes as a simple yet effective visual indicator. Associated display elements are rendered with identical or similar colors, providing immediate visual feedback about relationships. This approach adds minimal complexity to the display system while significantly improving the clarity of relationships between elements, as users can instantly recognize which elements belong together through color matching.
Solution Approach 2:
The color-coding mechanism serves multiple functions simultaneously: it indicates association relationships, provides visual grouping, maintains aesthetic consistency, and works across different display configurations and element types. This universal approach applies to windows, icons, menus, and other display elements regardless of their specific function or position on the screen.
Data Source
AI summary
A system and method is provided for displaying a display element on a display in which a display element may be displayed responsive to a command, the display element being associated with another display element. Also, in another example, the association between the display elements is also displayed. In one example, the association between the display elements is depicted via an animation.