
Ask E.T.: Interface design and the iPhone [Fixed Video] - e1ven
http://www.edwardtufte.com/bboard/q-and-a-fetch-msg?msg_id=00036T&topic_id=1
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e1ven
If you look at his examples, his primary argument is that you can cram more
information on the screen because of the iPhone's high resolution. I can't
agree with him that this is a good idea.

Part of the reason that people BUY the iPhone is that it's simple and stylish,
rather than the existing information heavy devices like Pocket PC phones. In
particular, look at his example about the Weather- Apple's widget is small and
sleek. It shows you the vital information, and it does it in strong fonts and
bold styling. It's clear, and it's easy.

He squishes all of that information into a tiny corner, so that he can add a
large repeating satellite view- Sure it's useful in some cases, and it's
certainly a neat demonstration of the iPhone's abilities, but it fails when it
comes to the task of quickly giving me the important information.

It makes me squint to see the tiny version of the temperature, and shows off,
rather than helping.

Sometimes developers fall into the problem of working so often because they
can, not wondering if they should.

Note- He dismisses this argument, saying that information density isn't the
problem, it's laying it out clearly. I agree with him in general,in that
complex information can often be presented simply, but in most of his cases,
increasing the density would diminish it's usefulness.

