Visual programming is stuck on the form
6 hours ago
- #visual-programming
- #human-computer-interaction
- #design-principles
- Visual programming is stuck on form rather than letting form follow function, leading to a local minima in the field.
- CellPond's success lies in its underlying virtual machine with four operations, demonstrating how form follows function.
- The adage 'form follows function' is crucial for designers, emphasizing the need to first understand the function before creating the form.
- Function is shaped by environment, internal consistency (rationality), and rules of composition (algebra), which together inform the form.
- Visual programming often errs by focusing too much on form (node-and-wires) without considering the underlying function or user needs.
- Node-and-wire diagrams are a lazy default in visual programming, failing to leverage the human visual cortex effectively.
- To advance visual programming, we need to model problems by visually representing entities and their relationships, leveraging the visual cortex.
- Computation involves representing state transitions visually, moving beyond static models to dynamic, computational ones.
- A breakthrough in visual programming requires leaving text-based paradigms behind and discovering a new computational grammar that makes sense visually.