Edward “to clarify add detail” Tufte, who criticizes the PowerPointing of America, earlier this year posted a video on the iPhone’s UI design. He loves the photo viewer (except the grid-lines between images are too big), he loves the web browser (except the navigation bar takes up too much space), he calls the weather app an elegant way to demo your iPhone to friends (but says it’s devoid of information), and calls the stock market app cartoonish.

The biggest takeaway, however? “The metaphor for the interface is the information.” And on that point, he says the iPhone got it mostly right. There are definitely some examples to learn from.

Users want a rich pool from which to search, simplicity, and satisfaction. One does not have to take a 50-minute instruction session to order from Amazon. Why should libraries continue to be so difficult for our users to master?

— from page 8 of the The University of California Libraries Bibliographic Services Task Force Final Report. I find a new gem every time I look at it.

design philosophy, future libraries, information behavior, information design, libraries, library, library 2.0, search, searching, simplicity, user centered design