Overview & Hierarchy <


It's about getting a job done, not about dealing with machines but dealing through machines. Overview and hierarchy are the structures of how the interface out to present the information to us.

: Overview is what the tip of the iceberg tells us about the rest of it, which is under water. Ideally it will let us see as deep as we wish to see, without clutter.

: Hierarchy is the structure of the icebergs. Allowing us to look where we want to.

As more data becomes available to us, we need better ways of not just dealing with the data, but of telling the data how to deal with us; we need a better information environment, our information environment's cockpit needs a better Heads Up Display.

We need better controls and overviews to fly through the information / idea landscape.

Information should be within eyes reach, and tools within arms reach.

Tools and processes, also need to follow a hierarchy, not just information. Often used tools need to be more accessible/in your face/obtrusive then less often used tools.


M. McLuhan

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