Embracing Asymmetrical Design An Article by Ben Nadel www.bennadel.com Humans love symmetry. We find symmetry to be very attractive. Our brains may even be hard-wired through evolution to process symmetrical data more efficiently. So, it's no surprise that, as designers, we try to build symmetry into our product interfaces and layouts. It makes them feel very pleasant to look at. Unfortunately, data is not symmetrical…Once you release a product into "the real world", and users start to enter "real world data" into it, you immediately see that asymmetrical data, shoe-horned into a symmetrical design, can start to look terrible. To fix this, we need to lean into an asymmetric reality. We need to embrace the fact that data is asymmetric and we need to design user interfaces that can expand and contract to work with the asymmetry, not against it. To borrow from Bruce Lee, we need to build user interfaces that act more like water: “You must be shapeless, formless, like water. When you pour water in a cup, it becomes the cup. When you pour water in a bottle, it becomes the bottle. When you pour water in a teapot, it becomes the teapot. Water can drip and it can crash. Become like water my friend.” — Bruce Lee The pernicious issue with pangramsChanging Our Development Mindset datainterfaces
ArchDaily A Website www.archdaily.com We began as a platform to collect and spread the most important information for architects seeking to build a better world. Today, we are an ever-evolving tool for anybody who has a passion and determination to shape the world around them, including the 13.6 million readers that visit ArchDaily every month. 125 Best Architecture Books architecture
125 Best Architecture Books Essential Reads Guides Architects, Firms, and Movements Novels History Theory Cities & Urbanism A Pattern LanguageThe Eyes of the Skin: Architecture and the SensesThe Image of the CityIn Praise of ShadowsThe Poetics of SpaceSeven lampsCities for PeopleInvisible CitiesBLDGBLOGThe Death and Life of Great American CitiesLife Between BuildingsSoft City