Affective Software and Interface Notices

A few months ago I started taking screenshots of odd software and interface notifications. Here’s a sample of my continuously growing collection:

Twitter Maintenance
Hang in there! We know life is tough without Twitter but it will have super strength when it is back online. Nice example of the vitalizing of software.

Fugly
This is you. This is fugly!

Fugly? Is that Yahoo Mash’s way of saying f*cking ugly? Fugly is the new default.

Boring Default

My boring default picture looks rather scared actually.

I love the way they really point out that they think you are a boring person if you are a default person. Apply social pressure to get people to change the default.

Library Form
“Do NOT tick yes”

OK, sure, but why is that tickbox there? If I am not allowed to tick it, why show it? Now you make me want to tick it!

Whatever Button
I previously wrote about the Whatever Button developed by Michael Stevenson and Erik Borra that it makes your life so much easier. Want to make decision making easier as well? Download the Whatever Button as a Firefox plugin at www.whateverbutton.com

More:

  • A theoretical and critical essay on interaction and affect: Michael Stevenson ‘Interactivity is Affectivity,’ Current Themes in New Media class paper, University of Amsterdam, August, 2007.

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