What Screens Want–Some Thoughts on Digital Canvases

The web belongs to users. If you are an interactive designer or your profession is at all related to what users interact with on screen then Frank Chimero’s presentation, What Screens Want is a must-read. As a designer I got sucked right in.

Early in Chimero’s presentation he touches on abstraction and how it is something we need in order to process what’s on screen. Abstraction is essentially our interpretation of all those ones and zeros that make up the computer’s language. Chimero goes on to say:

“from the code that tells them what to do, to the interfaces that suggest to the user what’s possible to do with them. Each level of abstraction becomes an opportunity to make work more efficient, communicate more clearly, and assist understanding. Of course, abstractions also become chances to complicate what was clear, slow down what was fast, and fuck up what was perfectly fine.”

Don’t pass this one up. It’s a must read!

#design #uxdesign #uidesign