Magic Ink: Information Software and the Graphical Interface
http://worrydream.com/MagicInk/
Three things I learnt from reading this paper.
Most software and stuff found on screens is “information software”, and we use it to learn, rather than to make things. Eg. Weather.app vs Adobe Photoshop.
Information software, like a poster or photo, is not a machine (despite the smart engineers that build it), but a medium of visual communication.
Designing this kind of software means designing context-sensitive information graphics (as opposed to this kind).
