n_gen Interview

Remember n_gen (site's down, or else I'd link there)? There's an interview with its makers. Smart, sensible folks. My favorite bits:

By analyzing what we believe to be successful designs, is it possible to determine formulae for what is pleasing to the eye? What are the rules and principles that talented designers instinctively employ in their work and can these rules be simulated by a computer program? ....

We see a lot of software out there that is intended to streamline the production process, but it's as if the design/conceptualizing process is a sacred cow that mustn't be touched, as if creativity and hard work go hand in hand....

Graphic design virtuosity is not that rare or special and as much as we love beautiful design, applying a pretty skin to something structurally ordinary is not that interesting to us anymore. I suppose we're just trying to wake people up a bit and suggest that maybe there's more to design than throwing nice pictures on top of conventional information structures....

Designers need to realize that they've had a monopoly on digital visualization for some time now, and that time is coming to an end.

Monday, June 17, 2002 | Permalink | Filed in Tools

Recently

Dreyfuss Mobile Phone

Survey of Web Genres

Doblin's Short, Grandiose Theory

Marsupial Mouse

Search method seeds

Volunteering pays

History

Headline! Radio buttons originally controlled radios

Cost and Style

Litmus test for scent/meaning

Shifting information goals

Theory: EBay as Flea Market

Teaching in Sound Bites

Peeps