Browsers with Changing Parts: a Catalog Explorer for Philip Glass' Website

摘要

The development of navigational tools for a web site devoted to a catalog of musical compositions offers a variety of design challenges. A combination of techniques developed from information visualization research - including starfield displays, dynamic queries, and zoomable user interfaces (ZUIs) - was used to construct a prototype browser for possible use in a web site dedicated to the work of Philip Glass. After a discussion of the goals and potential users of the site, this paper describes several prototypes that were developed and how they informed the design of a zoomable starfield browser. Unresolved design challenges and possibilities for future work are also discussed.