Relay-Version: version B 2.10 5/3/83; site utzoo.UUCP Path: utzoo!mnetor!uunet!seismo!gatech!bloom-beacon!husc6!necntc!ci-dandelion!ulowell!wanginst!perlman From: perlman@wanginst.EDU (Gary Perlman) Newsgroups: comp.cog-eng Subject: Abstract of Tech Report on Information Presentation (Display Layout) Message-ID: <1361@wanginst.EDU> Date: Sat, 25-Jul-87 16:15:48 EDT Article-I.D.: wanginst.1361 Posted: Sat Jul 25 16:15:48 1987 Date-Received: Sun, 26-Jul-87 04:49:34 EDT Organization: Wang Institute, Tyngsboro, MA 01879 USA Lines: 28 Keywords: human factors user interface design page layout screen display The following is an abstract of a paper for the 1987 Human Factors Society meeting in New York. It is also available as Wang Institute technical report TR-87-08. An Axiomatic Model of Information Presentation Gary Perlman Wang Institute Tyngsboro, MA 01879 USA The goal of information layout is to physically display information to reinforce the underlying structure of the information. In this paper, I describe an axiomatic model of information layout. The model has three levels: (1) a device-independent representation for structured information, (2) a set of axioms (or rules) relating information structure with display attributes, (3) a set of device dependent display attributes used to distinguish differences and show similarities in information structure. The model infers, using logical deductions from its axioms, how display attributes should be used to show the structure of information. A prototype software system exists that allows interactive design and evaluation of screen layouts. Future research is planned to develop an expert system to aid in the automatic design of layouts, and to refine the prototype into a usable system. -- Gary Perlman Wang Institute Tyngsboro, MA 01879 (617) 649-9731 UUCP: decvax!wanginst!perlman CSNET: perlman@wanginst