seems like we’re missing a verb for the activity that exists in the half-state between programming and designing something, for feeling for the handle of a particular UI, trying to find the right balance. part constructing, part architecting, part molding. in this state, we advance slowly, but we advance construction, design and content all at once, across disciplines.

"I think architects – at least those inclined to understand the multi-disciplinarity and the comprehensive nature of their field – have to visualize something that embraces all these political, economic, and social changes. As well as the technological. As well as the spatial."

→ http://www.bldgblog.com/2007/10/without-walls-an-interview-with-lebbeus-woods/

I’ve come to think of software applications as a form of digital architecture: some are places of concentration, others of collaboration, others clearly just for fun. Software’s emotional dimension is crucial: how it feels dictates how it’s used. (Architects hire environmental psychologists; tech companies hire user-experience researchers.) Microsoft Word is the quiet room at the university library; personal Gmail is a dirty kitchen, yesterday’s plates stacked next to the sink; Twitter is an overcrowded bar. Throughout the day, I’ll move from room to room, alternating between solitude and socializing, work and play.