A Little Bit of History

To many, the year 1440 signified a major shift in global communications. It was during this time in Mainz, Germany, that a goldsmith by the name of Johannes Gutenberg was the first to invent one of the most important industrial machines of the modern period- the printing press.

The printing presses’ use of movable type was inspired by earlier uses found in China, and Japan as early as the seventh century. During this time, they used a method of block printing, which was a carved piece of wood used to print a specific piece of text.

Further advances took place in the 11th century. A Chinese alchemist, Bi Sheng invented a process called movable type. His process consisted of having individual Chinese characters carved on blocks of clay and glue. These blocks were arranged on a preheated piece of iron plate where they were pressed on paper. Bi Sheng’s process was not without fail however. The process was slow, not advantageous for large scale printing, and it’s reliance on clay blocks created problems with the adhesion of ink.

A Revolution Has Begun

Gutenberg’s invention’s advanced the process of movable type further; consisting of individually-cut or -cast letters, sorted onto composing sticks, locked up into galleys, then inked and impressed into paper. This, the invention of modern typography, was the birth of mass printing. It allowed information to move from merely permanent and portable to the first mass media product. It allowed for perfect replication, standardization, and affordable books for the middle class.

*** ADD A DISCUSSION OF WHAT COMPOSITION IS. be sure to differentiate between the practice of composition (or composing) and the item of composition, the end result, which is what we mean here. ***

Templates

Just some of the variety -- and similarity -- of annunciator rows, notifications, menus and other device-wide features built into mobile devices. Before the first Gutenberg Bible, there were perhaps 30,000 books in all of Europe. By 1500, presses had been established in more than 250 places in Europe – 80 of them in Italy, 52 in Germany and 43 in France. Between them, these presses produced about 27,000 editions. Around this date, about 13 million books were in circulation. (Briggs: 2009).

And even more so, books had to become usable for the first time. Mass consumption meant adding scientific texts, and reading for entertainment, and portable books that could be read anywhere, by anyone. And literacy rapidly grew also, from under 30% to over 90% in the 20th century. Users adapted to the technology as much as it adapted to them.

As type principles became standardized, so did binding, type and page sizes, then margins and gutters. Page numbers, titles and chapters on each page followed over time.

These standards became promulgated as best practices, and implemented as grids (to which everything is aligned) and templates, which were used on every page to make volumes feel like single works.

Using templates is essential in mobile design. As designers, we want to create our layouts based on cultural norms of reading conventions and how people process information. We also want to create information that is easily accessed, and easy to locate. Our users are not stationary, or focused entirely on the screen. They’re everywhere and they want information quickly and easy to manipulate.

The Concept of a Wrapper

Throughout this book, we discuss patterns, from which can be made the very specific templates which can be used for any particular product or project.

The templates which are used across a product, on most every page of a website or application, we call a "wrapper" because they enclose (wrap around) all the other components and the content.

Considering design from the wrapper down allows:

  1. The designer to organize information within a consistent template across the OS.
  2. Information to be organized hierarchically on a page.
  3. The user to identify the organizational structure quickly, increasing learnability while decreasing performance error.

Context is Key

The lock screen on this device is as informative in presentation, and gestural in interaction, as the rest of the experience. Even notifying the user of an error on entering the code is organic to the design. Apply your interface and interaction paradigms as broadly as possible.

Wrappers must be designed based on the content and the context of use as much as any other part of the product. A wrapper for a mobile phone application will be quite different from that for a portable GPS, or a kiosk. When determining which information belongs in the wrapper you must decide on a multitude of things regarding context of use:

Patterns For Composition

Using appropriate and consistent wrappers will create mappings and affordances that will allow for positive user experiences. Within this wrapper chapter, the following patterns will be discussed, based on how the human mind processes patterns, objects, and information: