There has been a change of room due to a scheduling problem at GTE labs.
The meeting of Wed. Oct 7 will now be held in a conference room (4-127)
which is reached from Lobby 5 (not Lobby 2, our usual entrance).

To reach lobby 5, when you turn into the Labs road, Sylvan Road, go 
all the way past the buildings (which will be on your right).
Park in the parking lot just past the buildings. Lobby 5 is about 30 feet
from the corner, at the end of the buildings.

A repeat of the announcement is included below.
======================================================================

SIGGRAPH/Boston Meeting Announcement

INFORMATION SPACES,
or 
WHY "NEW MEDIA" IS NOTHING NEW

Jon C. Wretlind
Creative Director, PixelDance Communications

Wednesday, October 7, 1998
at GTE Labs, Waltham, MA

The topic of information design and information architecture for multimedia
and the Web has become a hot one in past months, as the design of e-Commerce
and customer service applications is proliferating rapidly. There is an
ever-increasing need to reach larger and audiences both domestically and
internationally, with far more interactivity than ever before. How can
designers more effectively solve these larger communication problems, and
still provide creative and dynamic solutions?

To address some of these issues, we must realize that while the tools of
communication are changing rapidly, the fundamental ways humans communicate
has not changed for thousands of years. New tools simply add to the reach
and environment where communication takes place. Commerce as well, has its
fundamental roots in the communication process. Since the fundamentals of
communication have not changed, what are the parallels the designer of "new"
media can draw from other "traditional" media?

One of those primary media forms we can draw a great deal of insight from is
from the design of physical spaces and architecture. We can examine
wayfinding principles and physical navigation, as well as human factors for
different audiences and purposes. For example, what are some of the
differences between shopping malls and other public spaces, and what are
some appropriate parallels to draw from when designing e-Commerce solutions? 
Why do we refer to "locations" on the web as "home" pages, "chat rooms", or
"message boards"? Why do users "surf" or "navigate" a site or piece of
interactive media? What does "ceremony of use" mean, and what can be learned
from the design of a power screwdriver or automobile steering wheel?

We will discuss these issues and how they affect the design of information 
and interfaces, touching on some or all of the topics mentioned.


ABOUT JON C. WRETLIND

He graduated from the Art Center College of Design in Pasadena, California,
and holds a BFA with Distinction in Graphic Design with a special emphasis in
environmental graphic design and architecture. He has worked in the
corporate design industry since 1988, and with multimedia tools since 1989.
He has been involved in corporate identity and information design projects,
as well as children's multimedia.

Currently, he is the Creative Director at PixelDance Communications, a
multimedia and Web design firm, and was the prior Creative Director of
LMInteractive, the interactive media division of Lehman Millet, Inc., a
Boston advertising and marketing agency serving medical and scientific
clients. Past clients have included Hewlett Packard, MCI, The Jackson
Laboratory, FMC BioProducts, NEN Life Sciences, PerSeptive Biosystems, and
Boehringer Mannheim Corporation. He is currently working or projects for 
Wang Healthcare, Lotus, and GTE Internetworking.


When

Wednesday, October 7, 1998. Networking time at 6:30 PM,
announcements and feature presentation at 7:00 PM.


Where

GTE Labs, Waltham, MA.


Directions to GTE Labs

From Route 128 (interstate 95), get off at exit 27B, Winter Street,
in Waltham.

->From I-95 (128) South the exit leads you right onto Winter Street.

->From I-95 (128) North,
turn right at the light at the end of the exit, onto Wyman Street,
turn right again at the next opportunity, onto Winter Street, and
cross over I-95.

Go West on Winter Street through 3 closely spaced traffic lights,
staying in the right lane. The Cambridge Reservoir appears on your right
and the entrance to GTE Laboratories (40 Sylvan Road) is on the left.

To reach lobby 5, when you turn into the Labs road, Sylvan Road, go 
all the way past the buildings (which will be on your right).
Park in the parking lot just past the buildings. Lobby 5 is about 30 feet
from the corner, at the end of the buildings.


************************************************************************

SIGGRAPH/Boston Contacts
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