The Research UI Explained
Announcements
10.24.2017
With only a few entries posted thus far, I thought some features of the main Research page might require a bit of explaining—namely, the control bar that appears above research entry cards (currently hidden in mobile views).
As you’ll note, there are options for sorting, filtering and search. And while the functions of the last two are likely apparent, the sorts are something you can’t really appreciate with just a few entries from a single source.
But thinking ahead to a time when our research here will contain a large number of identities catalogued from a variety of sources and science fiction scenarios, I thought it would be both interesting and useful to have the ability to place them in chronological order based on source date or scenario date. That way, it would be easier to comprehend how designs play out over time. From a science fiction perspective, to see them as imagined, from distant past to far future. Or from a design history perspective, based on when they were created for their stories, from present to past. And if a user prefers, a reversal of those timelines is also possible via the UI.
That said, it can sometimes be difficult to place an identity's science fiction scenario on a timeline with known accuracy. So expect a bit of fuzziness, regarding where exactly some entries land.
So that was the thinking and how I'd hoped it would work, once things are really up and running. If anything requires further explaining, and you'd like to see a more detailed explanation of the user interface, visit: Anatomy of the Main Research Page