Client

AltMouse application design

Type

UX/UI

Year

2007

Design an app that encourages people to use keyboard shortcuts instead of the mouse

As part of their productivity software suite, Ergodirect developed an application to track keyboard vs mouseclick usage, and involved ABDC to create a UI that would facilitate and promote keyboard shortcuts over mouse usage, to increase productivity and improve ergonomics.

I designed the interaction model and detailed UI elements, with skeuomorphic keys as the basis of the application.

The application adds keystroke-related hints to all applications. When you hover over an icon the keyboard shortcut appears. When you use the shortcut on your keyboard you see it being pressed on screen.
The toolbar icon provides access to AltMouse but on hover also shows key metrics for the currently active application.
AltMouse provided specific shortcuts and metrics for each application, for example, here Microsoft Word.
Creating a custom shortcut is as easy as typing it.
The application offered an overview of shortcuts, per application, and analytics and trends.

I also developed some concepts to use gamification to promote usage of the app, and to market the app. Within a company you could use a leaderboard on the intranet to display people being the most effective with their keystrokes. The metrics could also be used to compare different companies, and to benchmark your company, or yourself, with others in the industry.

An organisation can choose to display a “top 5 leaderboard” on their intranet or in the app.
You could include an AltMouse “badge” on your blog, displaying your personal score.

Credits
ABDC was responsible for the naming of the application and logo design, and developed the interaction design and screen designs.