All posts from
October 2004

Apple Fonts

“As a company that arguably did more to jump-start the desktop publishing industry than any other in the mid-1980s, Apple Computer has always paid great attention to the typefaces used in its marketing, operating systems and industrial design. It has also been a leading player in font technology development, and controls several patents important to the implementation of high-quality typeface rendering on computers.” – (Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia)

The users’ voice in the timetable dialogue

“Research indicates that people have difficulty understanding and using public transport timetables when they are presented in the well-established genre of a two-dimensional matrix. In a project (…), we used a methodology which integrated user’s information needs with research into historical design solutions, legibility, and current technology. Our application of the methodology generated a design solution which our testing showed helped to enhance user’s effective understanding of the public transport system.” (Maureen MacKenzie – Communication Research Institute of Australia)

Institute of Network Cultures

“The Institute of Network Cultures (INC), which was set up in June 2004, caters to research, meetings and (online) initiatives in the area of internet and new media. Not only will the INC facilitate, but also initiate and produce a range of projects. Its goal is to create an open organizational form with a strong focus on content, within which ideas (emanating from both individuals and institutions) can be given an institutional context at an early stage. Based on the fusion of old and new media, the INC aims to organize both public and internal meetings and to formulate new research.” (About INC)

Information seeking research needs extension towards tasks and technology

“This paper discusses the research into information seeking and its directions at a general level. We approach this topic by analysis and argumentation based on past research in the domain. We begin by presenting a general model of information seeking and retrieval which is used to derive nine broad dimensions that are needed to analyze information seeking and retrieval. Past research is then contrasted with the dimensions and shown not to cover the dimensions sufficiently. Based on an analysis of the goals of information seeking research, and a view on human task performance augmentation, it is then shown that information seeking is intimately associated with, and dependent on, other aspects of work; tasks and technology included. This leads to a discussion on design and evaluation frameworks for information seeking and retrieval, based on which two action lines are proposed: information retrieval research needs extension toward more context and information seeking research needs extension towards tasks and technology.” (Kalervo Järvelin and Peter Ingwersen – Information Research, Vol. 10 No. 1, October 2004)

Search is Not All There

“With a theoretical limit on the amount of information we can possibly consume, finding the information both on the internet and on your own computers can be a daunting task. Recently, there’s been a lot of attention on search.” (Kevin Cheng – OK/Cancel)

Review of ‘User Experience: Why Do So Many Organizations Believe They Own It?’

“One consequence of bringing together all of the design groups was that experience design could appear as a kaleidoscope, twirling wildly, or a mosaic, cementing every one in his or her place. It remains to be seen whether synergy or separation is the result, and the ultimate outcome for experience design as a unified practice.” (Bob Jakobson – Corante Total Experience)

The Croquet Project

“(…) the project seeks to define and develop a system is focused on the simulation and communication of complex ideas. We call this ‘communication enhancement’ – the direct extension of the abilities of humans to develop, understand, and describe even the most complex simulations.” (About Croquet)