On Oct 2, 2008, at 1:05 AM, Andrei Herasimchuk wrote:
Another example? Hop on an airplane and go to some random airport
you've never been to, then get yourself to the baggage claim. If
you're being honest while you observe yourself doing this little
exercise, you'll notice that all you really care about are the signs
that point you to the baggage claim. Everything else is may be
moderately interesting, including the airport maps that give you a
large lay of the land... but mostly, it's all noise, especially if
you're trying to make international connecting flights and are
pressed for time.
This is brilliant. I'm *so* stealing this (with attribution, when I
remember :) ).
Further, understanding this is how many who trained in web site
design can the make the leaps needed to do interface design for more
traditional desktop or RIA type of applications. I need to rewrite
it one of these days, but I had written about the Myth of Navigation
a few years back that tries to explain this concept, albeit poorly.
There's no such thing as "navigation" in software or on the web. It
was originally a metaphor, and has long outlived its usefulness. As
a metaphor, it was created in an attempt to communicate loading
different pages from one or more servers. But don't confuse the
original metaphor as being some inherent truth about what is
happening at the software level. All there is are things you click
on that do things you need, which may include changing the screen
context to show a new set of items to browse or choosing a pencil
tool to draw a line.
Yes, which is where the notion of scent was born. The user isn't
navigating. They are choosing the most likely clue to get them to
their destination. They don't feel they are on a journey. They always
believe the next click will be the target. They are following a scent.
Life is so much duller when we agree, y'know.
Jared
________________________________________________________________
Welcome to the Interaction Design Association (IxDA)!
To post to this list ....... [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Unsubscribe ................ http://www.ixda.org/unsubscribe
List Guidelines ............ http://www.ixda.org/guidelines
List Help .................. http://www.ixda.org/help
