Skeuomorphism

Article — 11 August 2025 — 1,745 words

Life beyond the folder system

Digital — Information architecture — Technology — Web

The folder metaphor is so intuitive to generations of computer users that they can struggle to think of any other way of using a computer. Yet for younger generations, the idea is completely alien.

Article — 9 April 2025 — 2,620 words

The pain in a name — Is information architecture right to call itself architecture?

Architecture — Information architecture — Technology

I have long felt uneasy about modern occupations associating themselves with high-status traditional professions. This has been brought into sharp focus for me since I started a role last year focusing heavily on information architecture, to the annoyance of my wife Alex, who is an actual architect.

Article — 11 January 2022 — 877 words

Awooga! The metaverse was better 29 years ago

Media — Technology

What’s most surprising about the metaverse is just how lacking in ambition it is. This is a half-hearted rehash of a 30-year-old idea.

Article — 27 June 2018 — 739 words

UX psychology and other skeuomorphic job titles

Technology — User experience

Sometimes we have had to use metaphors from the physical world that help explain what’s going on in digital. But take things too far and it becomes counter-productive.