Tufte on information resolution on the iPhone

“The iPhone platform elegantly solves the design problem of small screens by greatly intensifying the information resolution of each displayed page. Small screens, as on traditional cell phones, show very little information per screen, which in turn leads to deep hierarchies of stacked-up thin information—too often leaving users with “Where am I?” puzzles. Better to have users looking over material adjacent in space rather than stacked in time.

To do so requires increasing the information resolution of the screen by the hardware (higher resolution screens) and by screen design (eliminating screen-hogging computer administrative debris, and distributing information adjacent in space).

...The design ideas here include high-resolution touch-screens; minimizing computer admin debris; spatial distribution of information rather than temporal stacking; complete integration of text, images, and live video; a flat non-hierarchical interface; and replacing spacious icons with tight words. The metaphor for the interface is the information. Thus the iPhone got it mostly right.”

Link: Ask E.T.: Interface design and the iPhone (edwardtufte.com, via)

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  1. From Edward Tufte on Interface design and the iPhone at Interaction Design UmeƄ on 26 Jan 2008 at 4:15 am

    [...] [via] » Filed under Graphic Design, Interaction Design, Interface, Product Design, Web by camille at 13:15. back to top [...]

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