Topic: Interface and Navigation
Leader: Phil
Questions:
What concept of interface do we want the students to deal with?
What skills do we want the students to leave with?
What are the implications of interface design?
Projects:
Reflect on projects currently in progress at UVa. Analyze.
How do "pages" work in computer interfaces?
JD: Phil, could you speak about your experience in industry?
PG: Distinction between interface design and information architecture. So
how did I make the transformation from traditional humanities degrees to a
practicing information architect?
Most important: how does one organize information?
In interview, asked to lay out information on a page. Not to make the
graphics, but to organize the information. Drew on my experience in
narrative structures, semiotics, etc.
Ability to think about audience is essential in information architecture.
JM: Two basic organization systems in academia: goal-oriented and
investigation-oriented. See these in libraries and books. But most of
these information architectures, most Web sites are arranged
hierarchically.
PG: Pre-cognitive oriented interface.
RD: Licklider and Bush are essential texts. Raise the issue of user.
This is absent in traditional humanities.
JU: Humanities disciplines do have some sense of users--standard
formatting and layout requirements.
JM: Browsing and focused searching.
GR: Could use discussion of interface to return to discussion of what is a
computer.
Three modes of interface:
dialog design (agent)
augmentation (tool)
vr (world)
JD: We shouldn't pretend that only books and computers are interfaces. We
should talk about ATM machines, dashboards, stove top. Monitors,
keyboards, etc are all interface. Not just software.
Assignment--redesign. Why don't computer interfaces resemble cars? At
one time they did. Ask students to re-design a computer interface.
JU: Computer is new in that there is a (new) potential for a great amount
and variety of information. And the challenge is to design an interface
to handle all of this.
JU: What are the constants of interface design or information
architecture?
space
navigation
RD: Metaphor and interface.
Don Norman on interface.
SR: Books and computers evolved along similar paths. At first, books were
storage. People recorded information without imagining or intending a
user to access and use it. Only later did conventions of headings,
chapters, punctuation, etc emerge. At first, computers stored and
computed. Engineers didn't intend for humans to sit in front of a
computer and interact with it. Only later did people interact with them.
So maybe the analogy is warranted.
TH: What are the requirements for interacting with an interface? What
does the user need?
GR: But we need to be careful. So many discussions of interface revolve
around containing designers. We don't want to be entirely utilitarian.
Where does art figure in to these discussions? Isn't information
architecture all about creating recipes to constrain designers?
TH: So what do we want students to learn? How to design utilitarian
interfaces or artistic interfaces?
JD: Mandel argues that there are occasions for difficult interfaces.
Sometimes you should slow people down.
JU: Projects.
Document interfaces. Not computers or books. What can you deduce about
intended audience, design constraints, etc.
Take an interface and make some change to the information requirements.
How would the interface need to be redesigned?
GR: U. Toronoto interface design course. Taught by Buxton. Brought
together people with different backgrounds and asked them to design an
interface.
SR: All of our discussions inevitably return to non-digital issues.
Design in digital environments and design in cars, buildings, print, etc.
. . Where and when are we going to tie this down?
GR: Three answers proposed to opening questions.
Philosophical approach--what is a computer and how is it related to
interface?
Utility approach--how do we make useful things?
Art--to what extent are interfaces artistic creations?
I'd like a case for including the aesthetic. Many won't have training in
this, but I think we should address this.
And students must get used to having others critique their works.
JU: What different roles might students play? IA's, designers,
programmers, etc. ?
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