Using Electronic Art to Define Navigation Paradigms for Hypermedia Communication

Abstract

Hypermedia computer programs are an important part of today's educationalcurricula, and the computer interface plays a critical role in the interpretation of information inthese programs. Students are fascinated with the amount of information that is available, butthey often feel overwhelmed because they don't know how to organize the information into acoherent whole. The ability to synthesize information is hampered by interface designs thatseparate information into fixed categories and hierarchical structures rather than emphasizingrelationships. Electronic artists are developing new forms of audiovisual discourse that reflectthe networks of associations in interactive electronic communication. This paper discusses theparallels between the semantic structures in various forms of electronic art and the complexinformation matrices in electronic communication. This paper shows how electronic art canprovide new perspectives for hypermedia interface design.