INFOMATION DESIGN PROJECTS

CONTENT IS THE INTERFACE

Digital Navigation differs greatly from the application of wayfinding devices to a mobile device because of spatial limitation and the quantity of information a user digests. In this sense, mobile navigation systems must acknowledge the user’s need to form a distinct mental map of their digital "transit", but in a temporary structure. The very incarnation of the touch screen signals users’ desire to incorporate their mobile device and its information into their physical journey. Users are despotically warping size, scale, orientation and flow of information by pulling and touching it with their fingers. In this way, their digital universe becomes that much closer to being incorporated into their geophysical navigation. We have the innate desire to manipulate our digital environments pull them into our world, make them tangible, not to do the opposite.

Universal semiotic devices (grid structures, grab-hand) should be restricted to signify only the specific when adapted to new screen environments. The plurality of direction between each destination (because users are now generating content, they are participating in the construction of these destinations) should always be conncected with a mnemonic supplement. Much like signage, the content IS the interface. For social media sites, the content that is pulled from thousands of sources is compiled into a single streamlined, text based atmosphere. A device that functions to navigate these several sites should do the same: it should utilize the organizational methodology both in function and aesthetic, to streamline multiple sources into a customized location. This serves as an intermediate point between “HOME” and “WEBSITE” and must provide a familiar and well-structured reference point.