Design
Only in newer keyboards are the letters printed on top of the keys, or charred from their surface by a laser. In older ones – those from the early 1960s laboratory computers, or the 1980s microcomputers – the way every key was constructed was by first molding the letter from plastic of one color, and then grabbing a different plastic and molding
... See moreMarcin Wichary • The Hardest Working Font in Manhattan
The desktop user interface is a mainstay of computing. Bread and butter, if you will. A pointer, icons, windows, menus and buttons, controlled using a keyboard and a mouse. Ingenious simplicity.
For almost half a century now, we haven't really managed to come up with something better, and that's not for lack of trying. This fact seems to annoy a lot
... See moredatagubbe.se • Past and Present Futures of User Interface Design
But we shouldn't build entire paradigms, or even just individual interfaces, based on the assumption that everyone else is using computers the same way we ourselves do. Most people don't conceptualize graphic design ideas or freestyle pretend corporate presentations. Some are controlling an industrial process, editing a feature film, designing an
... See moredatagubbe.se • Past and Present Futures of User Interface Design
Across all creative fields, what isn’t there is just as important as what is there. In fashion, Coco Chanel advised, “Before you leave the house, look in the mirror and take one thing off.” In music, Miles Davis famously quipped, “It’s not the notes you play, it’s the notes you don’t play.” In design, Jan Tschichold noted that “white space is to be
... See moreIrene Pereyra • Universal Principles of UX: 100 Timeless Strategies to Create Positive Interactions between People and Technology (Rockport Universal)
A lot of typography has roots in calligraphy – someone holding a brush in their hand and making natural but delicate movements that result in nuanced curves filled with thoughtful interchanges between thin and thick. Most of the fonts you ever saw follow those rules; even the most “mechanical” fonts have surprising humanistic touches if you inspect
... See moreMarcin Wichary • The Hardest Working Font in Manhattan
The infinite canvas isn't bad, necessarily, but the unstructured sprawl of mixed information they often lead to seems to offer little value to the vast majority of computer users. When adding structure and bounds to the canvas, the idea does seem to appeal to a wider audience: spreadsheets are very popular. But there's a limited amount of
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