Graphboard

Abstract

The word graphboard is a neologism. It serves my purposes to describe a device that looks like a whiteboard but implements visually the grammar of graphics. In a well-designed object system, basic components are independent of the interface needed to access them. This principle benefits not only the developer, who must be able to speak an abstract language based on a content domain, but also the end-user, who must be able to able to handle concrete tools that behave as much as possible like real objects in the physical world. More importantly, individual differences in abilities, expertise, aesthetic preferences, and cognitive styles require that interfaces be designed to be flexible and modifiable by the user.