
Spatial Thinking and GUI Design - tobtoh
http://ignorethecode.net/blog/2008/02/23/spatial-thinking/
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joe_the_user
Hmm,

Nautilus is my primary file browser only because I'm using Linux and KDE has
all this horrible "transparent" stuff...

Gnome and Nautilus is nicer _looking_ but Nautilus horribly unfunctional - a
swear at it at least once per use (which is as little possible, I try to use
Gnome-Do for most things). I don't know where it's more spatial than
Microsoft's file explorer.

I think Gnome wins over KDE _only_ by virtue of doing a few less _awful
things_ but

The idea of the articles are intriguing. I just can't with the details...

~~~
Qz
The file explorer on windows vista is a mess. You can customize the icon
layout or what details are shown, but it has a persistent habit of switching
back to exactly the view you didn't want (list vs icons or vice versa). Don't
know if they fixed that in 7 or not.

~~~
joe_the_user
Agreed,

I should have made it clear I was referring to 97/2000/xp file explorer.

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joe_the_user
Also,

It occurs to me that the approach of having meaning be tied to a fixed
position in space is rather limited.

As I recall, when the first actual human beings evolved, they invent this
thing called _language_ , in which the _relative_ position of a symbol
determined it's meaning rather it's fixed position. Using fixed position
anyway is all well and good but it seems that when an app runs out of fixed
screen space, it has to start using relative position in a variety of
effective ways, taking some clues from the human facility for language.

I suspect that is why the author can't find that many recent examples for his
theory - though it is _an_ interesting theory.

~~~
Daniel_Newby
Actually it's very powerful. The mammalian brain has fantastic mechanisms for
identifying a location in a context, remembering it for later, returning to
that location with modest use of conscious thought, and remembering what
characteristics and activities were previously associated with that location.

Do a web search for "grid cell" and "conditioned place preference". Also
"memory palace" will learn you about an ancient place-based technique for
memorizing huge amounts of information.

~~~
tjmaxal
spatial mapping is in fact a really useful way to memorize anything. It works
because it engages multiple parts of the brain at the same time creating a
stronger memory.

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tjmaxal
this reminds me of an article I read about how we need to shift our vocabulary
when we describe digital interfaces. That the analogies implied in words like
"file" or "folder" no longer accurately describe the functions and we need to
ditch them and create new words that don't have the baggage of previous
meanings. It also reminds me of a product design article I once read that
talked about how most times when you pull on a push door or vice versa that it
was most likely the door's fault for not being design properly for it's
intended use.

~~~
Qz
I agree. I think there's a legacy of UI design over the past decades that many
software houses still cling to. File/folder, menu bars and so on. I'm not
really an iPhone/iPad fan, but I think they have and will continue to
contribute a lot towards getting people to rethink UI design.

Also, the article you're thinking of is probably either this book:

[http://www.amazon.com/Design-Everyday-Things-Donald-
Norman/d...](http://www.amazon.com/Design-Everyday-Things-Donald-
Norman/dp/0465067107/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1270182121&sr=8-1)

Or an article about it. (The push/pull door things is a classic example out of
that book.)

~~~
tjmaxal
Thanks for tracking down a link. I'm terrible at remembering references.

