Now what about user interface design? Every software application I own has a bespoke interface. No doubt this has a lot to do with differentiating oneself in tough markets, and I do like variety and novelty, but come on. These apps are needlessly different. Mozilla mail is nothing like The Bat!, which is nothing like Outlook. Yet they are essentially identical tools in the same way cars are essentially identical tools. The difference between car-makers and software-makers is that if software-makers made cars, they’d think they were doing a bang-up job by putting the brake above your head. Strangely, car-makers have found saner ways to compete with each other and enthrall customers.
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The narrative website: from signposting to storytelling
As we move from a collections-based to a relational library, storytelling becomes very important. One trend is the emergence of a stronger narrative or storytelling emphasis on websites, which helps position the library, promote its services, and address specific interests.
16 min read
Font choices, values and ecosystem, with some national library examples
Typefaces and fonts are functional. However they also contribute in other ways - to brand, to atmosphere, to feeling. This is a brief introduction to aspects of the typeface ecosystem. I combine this with some commentary about how typefaces are used in national libraries to provide context.
44 min read
Calgary Central Library: combining intimacy and civic statement
The Calgary central library was on first impression the finest public building I have been in for years.
3 min read
