Information Design Journal - Volume 10, Issue 3, 2000

This essay describes the application of diagrams that use the form of isometric projections to visualize the contents of a web site. We begin by characterizing the data that makes up a site: documents, computer programs (applications), and the links that connect them. We describe a way of visualizing web sites in diagrammatic form for the teams that plan, build, and maintain the site. We propose that isometric projection has several strengths for presenting this kind of information. The advantages of an isometric over a 2-D (flat) diagram are described. We also note several weaknesses that must be accounted for when using this technique. We then describe the visual language we have developed for this kind of diagram. In conclusion, we present the case for hand-built, rather than automatic, methods for creating these kind of visualizations.

Data from large networks, such as a voice telephone network or a residential internet service, must be analysed to see how well the requirements of users are met. Visualization is essential to understand an explain this data. This article describes Swift-3D, a viewer for interactive discovery of patterns and anomalies in large-scale transactional data sets.

This article outlines aspects of a theoretical model of electronic communication design, specifically for the consumption of news. This model allows access to digital information through a process of intuitive, active exploration in a four-dimensional, dynamic and responsive environment: the n-space. I summarise its conceptual foundations and the metaphors used to describe its sense of geography and landscape, relating initially to Jay David Bolter’s notions of ‘writing spaces’ and ‘hard structures’. Spatial relationships between information elements within the n-space are explored, the utilisation and application of axial reading – namely chronological and conceptual hierarchies – aims to develop dynamic, flexible and intuitive systems for using the n-space. Notions of boundaries and fragmentation, and of macro and micro readings are considered with certain aspects of the reading experience in the n-space model outlined, in particular the use of thematic nodes as anchoring devices to aid navigation and user-orientation in what could initially seem a disorienting environment.

As demand increases for systems that view and retrieve large amounts of data, designers and engineers are trying new techniques for data access. One approach that has gained momentum is the area of zooming mechanisms. Zooming interactions offer a variety of benefits. Zooming mechanisms on their own are not sufficient for creating meaningful, dense information interfaces. This paper adapts concepts from wayfinding research, cognitive psychology, and interaction design to improve navigational cues with information displays of zooming interfaces.

Computer graphics gives us freedom to design highly interactive 3-D information spaces, but when will these be better? An analysis of human space perception reveals that the dimension of egocentric space towards and away from an observer is perceived very differently from the dimensions orthogonal to the line of sight. Because of the this property of perceptual space a strategy of designing with a 2½-D attitude is advocated and elaborated in a set of design principles.

The purpose of this study was to improve the usability of the Approved Supply List, an alphabetical directory of chemical substances containing a series of entries each having a number of standard elements. The original directory consisted of two printed volumes in different formats and involved a two-stage look-up procedure using both volumes. Three new single-volume alternatives were devised, each of which allowed any substance to be looked up alphabetically by name in one operation. These were compared with the original using a timed look-up task and in-depth interviews with a panel of 24 regular users of the directory. Results showed that all three new versions were used almost twice as fast as the original, and were preferred. An A4 layout with two sequences of entries per page was selected for further development, and alternative treatments of typographic detail were assessed by a further 12 users. The improved usability of the final result was accompanied by a reduction of around 45 per cent in the number of pages in the directory, representing considerable savings in paper and distribution costs. The development and testing of alternative prototypes with a panel of users led to a design solution that could not have been arrived at simply by analysis of problems with the original version.