4 ms·
> There’s an upper limit to information density, which means you can subtract too much ink, or add too much information. The audience matters, too: A bond trade
by nolongerthere 2y ago
> There’s an upper limit to information density, which means you can subtract too much ink, or add too much information. The audience matters, too: A bond trader at their 4-monitor desk will have a pretty high threshold; a 2nd grader reading a textbook will have a low one.
I think this is the most important line: when taken with the axiom “design for your lowest common denominator” and the general advice given to lawyers in a jury trial “speak, explain at a 3rd grade level”
The upper limit for information density has lowered significantly for the vast majority of general users, so unless you can fix that we’re not gonna get our high density UIs back. At least not for general purpose widely distributed applications.
- shadowgovt 2y agoAnd where resources can be afforded to do it, there's a lot to be said for allowing complexity to be added, even if that is done on only one axis (a simple slider to go from "basic" to "advanced" display mode). Customization is also useful for power users, but even one axis of scaling up information density can be super useful for "easing in" to an unfamiliar tool.