MAC OS SEX: REGENERATING APPLICATIONS

Ongoing Research

What would happen if all of your applications reproduced and created hybrid programs? Would this new application progeny have different interface characteristics, and what would a document look like if were processed by Garage-Text-Dictionary, rather than just traditional Text Edit? These problems regarding the appearance and function of hybrid applications is an ongoing project.

After studying Susan Kare's icon designs for the Apple I, I'm wondering what kind of visual tension could exist if old and new icons for the same program are combined. Were her pictographs more successful because they existed in a visually limited environment (i.e. a system with a primitive GUI), and could they maintain their clarity and function if used in the context of a modern interface?