Wayfinding, and particularly cities and architecture, has become a staple of the way we interact with large datasets. Kevin Lynch’s book, “Image of the City” is applicable almost without translation to many a large website, to code, and operating systems. We talk about routes, landmarks, and imageability—the ability to remember a good picture of what you’re looking for.
That’s the macro level, the world we move in. On a micro-level, the metaphors of direct manipulation dominate the computer screen with icons, windows, drag-and-drop and so on.
Information is spatial, macro and micro both say. Using information, they says, is a matter of navigation through space.
But when do i navigate, ever? When I’m trying to get somewhere I’ve never been before, or when I’m at a library. But that’s it. How is understanding or interacting like navigating?