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Andy Matuschak
@andy_matuschak
Following up: several people mentioned the original 1987 Apple Human Interface Guidelines, which I'd not read. It's not a comprehensive primer on interface design, but it is an extraordinary read—a huge amount of detail on *why* things are as they are. And a great bibliography!
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Andy Matuschak
@andy_matuschak
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Why are there no "standard texts" on designing software interfaces? (or tell me I'm wrong?) If you want to learn to *build* software, there are excellent and complete texts on the subject. It's not just a tech-vs-art thing: there are standard texts on type, drawing, color, etc.
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Andy Matuschak
@andy_matuschak
If you've only read "modern" HIGs, I definitely recommend reading the 1987 edition! It's *very* different. It is amusingly difficult to imagine this passage in a contemporary Apple text.
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Andy Matuschak
@andy_matuschak
Funny also to imagine this in a modern Apple text. One thing that really struck me at Apple was that none of my colleagues seemed to read for their work, either historic material or contemporary stuff. (Part of what was so interesting was that this often didn't seem to matter…)
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