On Writing (Literally)

There is an intimate connection with a writing implement, the surface and the resultant ideas. I find that if I want to create sequences in my interaction designs, I use index cards or post-it notes, which I can more easily organize manually rather then force them into the constraints imposed by the computer screen. It is an important part of the process that sometimes gets bogged down with software.

Though a motheaten phrase, McLuhan's axiom "The Medium is the Message" continues to be useful.

Software drives the creative process inorganically by the necessity of drilling down into menus of options. Nothing is more inimical to ideas than to to get entangled in how to do things in software. Such confusion inevitably affects the the final outcome.

While developers have often resolved these issues for the user, I suspect that many HCI problems have been resolved in the analog realm with pen and paper, rather than digital tools. Digital processes are typically 'lumpy' meaning there is not a smooth series of options--everything is confined by bits, pixels, frame rates, resolution, bit depths, monitor profiles, browser profiles, aspect ratios, and so on.

Using simple analog tools can really bring clarity to your thinking, which is why I have started to re-incorporate these materials into my work as an artist and info designer.

With most software, there are too many steps to make a connection from how the interface understands what you want to do and the actual task at hand.

Handwriting of any kind is the quickest way to resolve these discrepancies.

I like to tell my music students to spend time notating music on staff paper, even if it is of their own invention and not standard notation.

Sometimes I make up shorthand for jotting down musical ideas when I don't want to take the trouble to notate it or record it.

Here is a semaphore that I devised to remember a musical idea. It means nothing to no one but myself, but captures the idea. In fact, sometimes they become pictorial in themselves and be used as art.

Alternate notation systems can be interesting to see what kinds of idea they produce. This was the thinking behind behind my work with alternate tunings. They were not devised to replace standard tuning, but like different variations of implements and tools, create ideas that are not possible in standard configurations.

In my work in the visual arts I often try new layout ideas for my paintings in Adobe Illustrator or Photoshop before I commit it to the surface, which is the reverse method, proceeding from digital to analog to solve certain problems.

Be careful not to be sold down the river of technology. Any technology old or new can be used to help you achieve your objectives. The key is understanding how to use all the tools at your disposal. Some of them are really simple.