I have been paying a lot more attention to design lately, and its interesting to see how the small things seem to make the biggest difference. Edward Tufte has a theory called “smallest effective difference” which talks about making visual distinctions small yet effective. I noticed a great example of this today in OS X.
This is what it looks like when a document has been saved.
This is what it looks like after you make a change and it is not saved.
Its really interesting how you can make a small change that conveys a great amount of information.
Another example to check out: Design Decisions - Basecamp Help
Design is great, but the hard part is mixing useful interaction with great design, that is what gods are made of
btw have you seen all the posts i have about color wheels, they are my affliction! Phil
Phil
December 4th, 2006
Or as macosxhints calls it, the Spinning Technicolor Pizza Of Death!
Justin Walters
December 7th, 2006