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Tue, 1 May 2001 10:21:45 -0400
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(talking about the barcelona site)

Conceptually I liked the idea, and I've looked at hyperbolic trees in the
past as solutions to sticky navigation problems, but in this case I couldn't
escape the sense that it would be easier if I knew the content already.
Being unfamiliar with it, I found it hard to build up a consistent view of
what I was being told.

This made me think about this kind of navigation and where it might be
effective. I wonder if it does make more sense where the content and form is
familiar (i.e. the thesaurus), but less so when one is first trying to build
up a coherent picture.

As an introduction to the design exhibit, I would probably have done better
with a linear narrative. As someone coming at this site with an
understanding of the content already and looking for something buried layers
deep - this might have been a really nice interface to work with.

I also have to wonder how much of the "usability" of UI's like this is tied
to their familiarity. We can all work with linear content because we
internalised how it works back when we were small children. If we become
consistently exposed to any of these "new" navigation methods - hypermedia,
hyperbolic trees, cones, hierarchical file systems, etc - over the long
term, will they become "simple and obvious" to us? How much is "natural" and
how much is (forgive me) "nurtural" in our perceptions of space and
organisation?

adam


--

adam smith - [log in to unmask]
  software designer
  usability and user interface specialist
  instructor, usability and interface design (Centennial College)

datapanik  - Toronto Canada
 "The user interface should be a clear and simple path through
  information and tasks, not a series of gates and doors."

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