UX Case Study: Handling Offline for Impatient Users

I recently came across a blog post on inVision listing the most influential UI animations of all time (Inside Design by inVision). On the list, it starts out with a flashing cursor and a command line interface from 1967, and includes AOL login screens from 1995, and the iMessage “is typing” chat bubbles. Many of the examples listed in the post were invented to communicate the state of the system’s side to users. The flashing cursor indicates that the system is waiting for a user to type something. The AOL animation tells users to be patient because the system is trying to connect to the internet through a slow phone line, so please enjoy the animation and think about how exciting the internet is.

The blinking cursor from 1967 (Source: Inside Design by inVision)

The AOL login screen from 1995 (Source: Inside Design by inVision)

The iMessage “is typing” bubble from 2007 (Source: Inside Design by inVision)

It is intriguing to see how IT pioneers were so creative handling user experience with new but not-fully-developed systems. UI’s are meant to relay information about the state, of systems, and the messages they communicate have to be clear, short, meaningful, and should also give specific directions to users.