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Because it is laid out in columns, this site doesn't display properly on a phone held vertically.
Please turn it sideways.
We use physical tools to amplify our muscle power, extend our reach and manipulate things. Written information does something similar for cognition.
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We use physical tools to amplify our muscle power, extend our reach and manipulate things. Written information does something similar for cognition.
We can think of writing as a memory tool. Before humans had writing they had to remember everything, and this limited progress.1
Physical tools extend our reach, give us particular functions, and multiply our strength through leverage.
Information design adds to the functionality of writing in a similar way.
A table is a simple example. If I use continuous text to explain the benefits of two complex financial products, it gives the reader the task of comparing them in working memory – quite a challenge.
But if I just place the two options side by side that memory load is greatly reduced.2
We can think of other design patterns that help us search for information, sift it, hold it in place, or even hammer it home.
1. Walter J Ong (1982) Orality and literacy, London: Methuen
2. Full disclosure: I got ChatGPT to produce the table for me.