Type basics

“100% practical. Sketches have been made to explain some basic issues in type design during the workshops. They get used to point out some problems which raise while creating a new typeface. Only some foundations are shown, no deep sophisticated details.”
Link: Type basics


A Simplified Model for Facet Analysis

“The purpose of this study is to propose a simplified model for facet analysis that incorporates the principles of facet analysis proposed by both Ranganathan and the CRG. The purpose of this simplified model is to act primarily as a teaching tool to introduce LIS students to a consolidated, and hopefully easy-to-read, classification model that will enable them to understand how faceted classification systems are designed and how they work.”
If you want to learn how to construct a faceted scheme properly you might try reading the following: AIFIA | A Simplified Model for Facet Analysis


Balancing visual and structural complexity in interaction design

People will complain about a visually complex page at the sight of it. But they will also complain if the information they need isn’t immediately available to them when they start using the site.

An article dispelling many of the overused misunderstood principles of simplicity that people believe (my self included at one time) would greatly aid the usability of a web site.

But from Edward Tufte:

High density is good: the human eye/brain can select, filter, edit, group, structure, highlight, focus, blend, outline, cluster, itemize, winnow, sort, abstract, smooth, isolate, idealize, summarize, etc. Give people the data so they can exercise their full powers — don’t limit them.

Clutter/confusion are failures of design and not complexity.

Read: Balancing visual and structural complexity in interaction design


Faceted Classification

A faceted classification uses clearly defined, mutually exclusive, and collectively exhaustive aspects, properties, or characteristics (a.k.a. facets) of a class or specific subject (Taylor, 2000). The idea for a faceted classification really began with the Dewey Decimal Classification (DDC) in which a standard number representing place (location) was appended to a subject number by a device now known as a facet indicator. However, Dewey did not develop the idea further and in the early 1930s, Ranganathan formalized the use of the fully faceted approach with his Colon Classification. Other classification schemes such as Universal Decimal Classification, now provide facets for places, time periods and forms. More recently, work has been undertaken to develop the Bliss Bibliographic Classification (BC2) into a fully faceted classification scheme.
Read: Faceted Classification


Technology to make you go ‘wow’

“I want to make products like this fountain pen that creates such joy when you see it, and you say ‘oh wow’ and the first thing you want to do is try it.”
Beauty, pleasure and simplicity of use are what people care about now when it comes to technology, according to the design guru.
“Life is about pleasure and enjoyment, and if we are not enjoying what we are doing, then why are we doing it?”
Link: Technology to make you go ‘wow’


Life in Taiwan 11

I’ve often looked for a solution to a problem which has perplexed me for much of my time here in Taiwan. I have noticed an overall lack of interest in community standards that would govern how we interact and treat one another Standards which in creating a more harmonious environment might raise the quality of life. In Canada a number of these standards, some of which are law, some of which are social, govern things such as aesthetics, cleanliness, basic services, and noise. Being a guest here I can grow somewhat accustomed to the general ugliness of the urban environment, the dirt that comes with so many Asian cities, and even the suprising lack of basic services like good water (pressure). But the one thing that I have a hard time with is noise.
I tend to enjoy living in cities. I like the sounds of life one hears in the city. But in Taiwan these sounds are taken to new heights not be the city itself but by your neighbours.
Since moving to Hsinchu I’ve put up with the constant noise of illegal fireworks going off outside my bedroom window by some guy training pigeons, bad karaoke at 2am Monday morning, trucks going down the street laying on their horns for no known reason, 8 am Sunday picture hanging fests. (drilling into concrete), loud prayer meetings, crashing of doors at all hours, and the list could go on and on. The latest activity is the remodeling of a building 6 houses down from me. This has to be without a doubt the longest house remodelling project in history. Because they are taking down the concrete walls day after day has been filled with the constant defining drone of small jackhammer against concrete wall. During working hours this wouldn’t be much of a problem, except that these people like to start work at 7am on Saturday and Sunday. And no one says anything! Either people here love living in an environment that is a constant source of irritation and stress or their is something else at work. In my experience this is beyond rude and in most other countries would result in the police showing up at your door.
Usually the answer I get on this problem from locals is simply, “This is Taiwan, it’s different” or “It’s like that everywhere”. There is a discussion on a local community web site which seems to have a plausable answer.
“I think that about 90% of the problems in Taibei stem from one thing: apathy. People don’t care about police corruption, or at least feel powerless to change it. The same goes for political corruption. The same goes for the dehumanizing exam system. And for illegal buildings. And Mercedes parked in front of fire hydrants. And all the myriad forms of sidewalk violations. And many, many, many other problems. ”
“In the debate over universal love vs. family-centered love, Confucianism won out. Mozi said that people should love all people equally; Mencius argued that it’s natural for people to love their parents more than strangers. The amount you should care about someone is inversely proportional to the distance of their relationship to you. You should love your parents more than life itself, but total strangers don’t even come onto the radar screen.”
“… that because of the “Five Relationships”, people driving literally cannot see other drivers or pedestrians when they’re driving, because those people do not fall into that person’s “Five Relationships” (i.e. they’re not his ruler, wife/husband, child, teacher, or friend), so to that person they don’t exist. In that driver’s eyes, he is really the only mofo driving down that street. Same goes for the guy who cuts in front of you in line at the store. Everyone else simply doesn’t exist in their world, they’re invisible. When I’ve said this before, it’s obviously tongue-in-cheek, but surprisingly, most of my Taiwanese friends have said that, basically, that’s the way it is. Unless people outside of those aforementioned relationships directly comes into contact with you, they’re not even there.”
Follow the discussion here: Confucianism – the source of local apathy


Mental Models for producers

Theories of mental representations in general, and mental models in particular, deal with form and function of individual knowledge. The central question is how human beings represent information mentally, and how they use that information to interact with the world in adaptive ways. Users’ knowledge about computer systems are a specific type of mental representations. Mental representations have been investigated by researchers in philosophy, cognitive psychology and – more recently – cognitive science.

Sources: Mental models: a gentle guide for outsiders, What’s Your Idea of a Mental Model?, Eliciting and Describing Users


IA Tools

Below you will find document templates, process map posters and other tools to help you in your practice. The documents, which have been donated by various people in the organization, have been found to be useful at one time or another. Items can be used in combination or alone as needed.
Link: AIFIA Tools