Field notes

Things worth noticing

Three short entries from the margins of an ordinary week.

The patient interface

A good status indicator answers two questions without demanding attention: is the system still working, and can I safely leave it alone? Motion is not progress; a useful indicator makes the distinction clear.

Routes we remember

People rarely remember a route as a list of turns. We remember the bakery window, the tree after the bridge, the place where the pavement changes. Landmarks are a human compression format.

The quiet tool

The best tool on a busy day is often the one that leaves no story behind. It opens, does one thing, preserves context, and gets out of the way.