There seems to be a new wave of interest in interface design with regard to the use of 3D environments for 2D data and applications. Is it happening because there is new research that backs it up or is it just a baseless, recurring (ooooh…shiny) trend?

There have been many attempts to do this on the computer desktop over the years, none of which have garnered much market share.

It was not until recently that this concept reached a mainstream market. Apple’s Cover Flow is likely the first mainstream instance of such technology. What we don’t know is what research and resulting usage statistics look like for this design choice.

Besides Apple software, there is also recent experimentation happening on the web.

These blips on the radar could be happening for a number of reasons.

Maybe Papervision3D, a tool for creating 3D environments in Flash without additional browser downloads, has renewed the interest in this concept. Maybe web developers are taking stock in the growth of the virtual world sector. Or, maybe developers are experimenting with ways to make their projects more game-like.

Better than reality is the goal of computer interfaces according to usability pundit Jakob Nielsen. Many attempts to force the use of 3D “put the interface in the way of the users goal.”

While he is known for caring little for “eye appeal” in his theories, Nielsen chimed in on the subject of “3D for 2D stuff” in 1998:

“Evolution optimized homo sapiens for wandering the savannah - moving around a plane - and not swinging through the trees. Using 3D on a computer adds a range of difficulties:

[1] The screen and the mouse are both 2D devices, so we don’t get true 3D unless we strap on weird head-gear and buy expensive bats (flying mice).

[2] It is difficult to control a 3D space with the interaction techniques that are currently in common use since they were designed for 2D manipulation (e.g., dragging, scrolling)

[3] Users need to pay attention to the navigation of the 3D view in addition to the navigation of the underlying model: the extra controls for flying, zooming, etc. get in the way of the user’s primary task

[4] Poor screen resolution makes it impossible to render remote objects in sufficient detail to be recognizable; any text that is in the background is unreadable

[5] The software needed for 3D is usually non-standard, crash-prone, and requires an extra download (which users don’t want to wait for)”

Solutions to these problems are in the works, but as of today, Nielsen’s arguments 1,2,3 and 4 still hold true in 2008 and his 5th argument was only recently dismissed.

So when should we use 3D?

Nielsen says 3D is great for visualizing… well… 3D stuff.

“When you visualize physical objects that need to be understood in their solid form. Examples include surgeons planning where to cut a patient: the body is 3D and the location of the tumor has a 3D location that is easier to understand from a 3D model than from a 2D X-ray, mechanical engineers designing a widget that needs to fit into a gadget, chemistry researchers trying to understand the shape of a molecule, planning the layout of a trade-show booth.”

He also saw a place for 3D in entertainment:

“Entertainment applications and some educational interfaces can benefit from the fun and engaging nature of 3D, as evidenced by countless shoot-them-up games. Note that 3D works for games because the user does not want to accomplish any goals beyond being entertained. It would be trivial to design a better interface than DOOM if the goal was to kill the bad guys as quickly as possible: give me a 2D map of the area with icons for enemy troops and let me drop bombs on them by clicking the icons. Presto: game over in a few seconds and the good guys win every time. That’s the design you want if you are the Pentagon, but it makes for a boring game.”

Touché.

The killer 3D application for interacting with 2D stuff will either prove out in the very near future or will disappear again for a while. We certainly have the technology now to display it, it is now just a matter of making it better than reality.

If anyone reading this has seen any usability tests or research on this topic, I would love to get the opportunity to review it.

It was great to see everyone at the Virtual Worlds Conference last week in New York. Thanks to all that came to my Platform Shootout presentation.

For those that are interested, I have added some notes to my slides and have it posted here for download. The white paper that was mentioned during the presentation will be published very soon.