Understanding Context

by Andrew Hinton

  social infrastructure, image and, Identity

  social map

  collision of fronts, Identity

  conversations, The Social Map

  identity, “Proxemics” as a Structural Model

  networked publics, The Ontology of Self

  ontology of self, Collisions and Fronts

  proxemics

  as structural model, “Proxemics” as a Structural Model

  model of personal distance, “Proxemics” as a Structural Model

  social architectures, Conversation

  social software, The Ontology of Self

  soft assembly, Directly Perceived versus Indirectly Meaningful

  software interfaces, as semantic conventions, Semantic Function

  Space Mountain (Disney World), People Make Sense Through Stories

  spaces, What Makes Places

  spam bots, Ambient Agents

  speech, structure of, Language and the Body

  spoken word (see language)

  Starbucks website, global navigation menu on, The Tales Organizations Tell

  staring game, Semantic Architecture

  Sterling, Bruce, on cyberspace, Information as Architecture

  Stevens, Wallace, The Elements of the Environment

  Stoppard, Tom, Information as Architecture

  storage and retrieval, of information, What Writing Does

  storage metaphor of memory, What is Memory?

  structural model, proxemics as, “Proxemics” as a Structural Model

  structure

  composition requiring, Composition in Other Disciplines

  definition of, About Definitions

  subject, as element of context, A Conventional Definition of Context, A Conventional Definition of Context

  substance and arrangement, composition in

  importance of, Arrangement and Substance

  paying attention to definitions in, Qualities of Composition

  qualities of, Composition in Other Disciplines

  substances, as element of environment, Digital Environments and Nesting

  subvocalization, Language as Infrastructure

  Supersizing the Mind (Clark), Soft Assembly

  surfaces, as element of environment, Digital Environments and Nesting

  Sylianteng, Nikki, graphical parking sign, Visual Information

  symbolic language, Semantic Function

  symbols

  about, Symbols

  humans as symbol-laden, Semantic Function

  modes of

  categories, Symbols

  concepts, The Superpowers of Symbols

  evocative expression, Symbols

  symbols, as signifier, Indexes

  T

  tacit

  and explicit spectrum models, A Spectrum of Conscious Attention, Language and “Sensemaking”

  memory model, Learning and Remembering are Entangled with Environment

  tacit satisficing, structures for, Perspectives and Journeys

  Taken Out of Context (boyd, her capitalization), Networked Publics

  Tarantino, Quentin, Qualities of Composition

  Target, marketing products, The Ontology of Self

  taxonomy

  in model of information architecture, Elements

  relationships and, Relationships and Taxonomy

  technology, clarity of context and, A Growing Challenge

  terrestrial events, classification of, Events

  territory, mapping and, Mapping and Placemaking

  Tesco supermarket company, simulated wall-of-objects, Augmented and Blended Places

  Tetragrammaton diagram, Visual Information

  The Treachery of Images (painting), Semantic Function of Simulated Objects

  Thinking, Fast and Slow (Kahneman), Attention, Control, and Learning

  Three circles of information architecture (Rosenfeld and Morville), Visual Information

  throwaway usernames, Identity

  time series of exports and imports (Playfair), Visual Information

  time, events and, Events

  Toward an Integrated Model of Information..., keynote address (Bates), Foraging for Information

  transmission of information, writing and, What Writing Does

  tree hierarchy diagrams, Structures for Tacit Satisficing, Blueprints, Floor Plans, Bubbles, and Blobs

  trolley problem, Coda

  trolling, Of Dungeons and Quakes

  Tumblr, as teen social platform, Identity

  Turing, Alan, Digital Learning and Agency

  Turkle, Sherry

  Life on the Screen, Contemplating “Cyberspace”, “Proxemics” as a Structural Model

  online vs. offline selves, “Proxemics” as a Structural Model

  Twain, Mark, What Humans Make

  Twitter

  as Short Message Service (SMS), Social Architectures

  changing to algorithm-driven feed, Something to Walk On

  DM (Direct Message) fail on, Conversation

  environment for communication, Social Architectures

  removing support for RSS, Relationships and Taxonomy

  vs. Facebook, Social Architectures

  Tzara, Tristan, How Language Works

  U

  Uber car service application, Rules and Choreography

  ubiquitous ecologies, Perspectives and Journeys

  Uexküll, Jakob Johann von, Umwelts

  Umberto Eco, What Writing Does

  umwelts, Umwelts

  understanding

  about, Invariants

  as element of context, A Conventional Definition of Context, A Conventional Definition of Context

  environment exerting control over action and, Narratives and Situations

  navigation and, Rules and Choreography

  order and, Perspectives and Journeys

  unreadiness-to-hand, Objects

  User Environment Design, Blueprints, Floor Plans, Bubbles, and Blobs

  User Experience (UX) design, Embodied Cognition: An Alternative View

  V

  Vancouver (BC, Canada), in illustration of language and place, Vancouver

  Vancouver, George, Vancouver

  Vanguard website, using hubs, Structures for Tacit Satisficing

  variant modes, digital places and, Digital Environment

  variants, as contrast to invariants, Examples of Invariants

  Venus Flytrap, action between environment and organism of, Embodied Cognition: An Alternative View, Affordances exist in the environment whether they are perceived or not

  The Virtual Community (Rheingold), Contemplating “Cyberspace”

  virtual places

  Dungeons & Dragons game and, Virtual and Ambient Places

  porous nature of cyberplaces, The Porous Nature of Cyberplaces

  Quake game and, Of Dungeons and Quakes

  Visions of Light (documentary), Action and the Perceptual System

  Visual Cliff experiments, Information of a Different Sort

  visual information, The Role of Metaphor

  visual tricks, Ducks, Rabbits, and Calendars

  W

  Watch (Apple), as modal device, Modes and Meaning

  wayfinding, The Built Environment

  Wayfinding (Arthur and Passini), The Built Environment

  webcams, collapsing context, The Role of the Web

  websites

  contexts defined by algorithm, The Map That Makes Itself

  design affecting physical experience of, Language and “Sensemaking”

  design of, Observing Context

  information architecture, Relationships and Taxonomy

  rule-framework, The Map That Makes Itself

  Wegmans supermarket company application, for Yelp-like reviews, Augmented and Blended Places

  Weinberger, David

  Everything is Miscellaneous, Organizational Maps

  Small Pieces Loosely Joined, Digital Objects

  Weiser, Mark, Digital Environm
ent

  WELL (Whole Earth ‘Lectronic Link), Contemplating “Cyberspace”

  Wesch, Michael, The Role of the Web, Networked Publics

  Wetherell, Bill, Semantic Function of Simulated Objects

  What We Talk About When We Talk About Context (Personal and Ubiquitous Computing), A Conventional Definition of Context

  Whole Earth ‘Lectronic Link (WELL), Contemplating “Cyberspace”

  Williams, William Carlos, Arrangement and Substance

  Wilson, Andrew, “Embodied Cognition Is Not What You Think It Is” (Frontiers in Psychology), Embodied Cognition: An Alternative View

  Windows Phone 8 operating system, Rooms in, The Porous Nature of Cyberplaces

  Wittgenstein, Ludwig, on duck/rabbit drawing, Physical and Semantic Confusion

  Wood, Denis (The Power of Maps), Vancouver

  work, meaningful, Coda

  Wright, Will

  on possibility space, Structures for Tacit Satisficing

  using procedural generation, Augmented and Blended Places

  writing

  as physical information, Looking at Language

  changes due to, The Origins of Writing

  composition in, Arrangement and Substance, Something to Walk On

  for computers, Digital Learning and Agency

  origins of, The Written Word

  rules and systems, The Structure of Writing

  structure of, What Writing Does

  Wurman, Richard Saul

  Information Anxiety, Modes of Information, Contemplating “Cyberspace”

  Information Architects, Architecture + Information

  mission for information architecture, Augmented and Blended Places

  on order and understanding, Perspectives and Journeys

  on understanding, Invariants

  X

  Xerox, PARC (Palo Alto Research Center), Contemplating “Cyberspace”

  Y

  Yahoo Donna, as personal-compass app, Metamaps and Compasses

  Yelp

  application, Augmented and Blended Places

  Filter and Sort interface, Metamaps and Compasses

  searches, Augmented and Blended Places

  You Are Not a Gadget (Lanier), The Ontology of Self

  Z

  Zuckerberg, Mark, suffers contextual collision, Collisions and Fronts

  About the Author

  Andrew Hinton is an Information Architect at The Understanding Group (TUG). Since the early 90s, he's been helping clients and employers of all shapes and sizes make better information environments. Andrew is co-founder and past board member of the IA Institute, and is a frequent speaker at UX conferences. You can find links to Andrew-related things at andrewhinton.com. Learn more about his book, Understanding Context, at contextbook.com

  Understanding Context: Environment, Language, and Information Architecture

  Andrew Hinton

  Editor

  Mary Treseler

  Editor

  Simon St. Laurent

  Copyright © 2014 Andrew Hinton

  Understanding Context

  by Andrew Hinton

  All rights reserved.

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  December 2014: First Edition.

  Revision History for the First Edition:

  2014-11-24 First release

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  2014-12-01T10:35:26-08:00