Designing remail: reinventing the email client through innovation and integration

ABSTRACT

The Remail design team defined a specification for an innovative and integrated email client. This design-lead effort tackled three key problems that email researchers have discovered: lack of context, co-opting of email, and keeping track of too many things. Based on earlier design and research explorations, we conceived of a client from the ground up that attacked these problems in an integrated fashion. Our solutions were based on three constructs: showing message context, marking email, and selective display. A small team of programmers implemented much of the design in a functional prototype. This experimental client continues to allow researchers to expand and explore these concepts.

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INDEX TERMS

Primary Classification:
  H. Information Systems
  H.5 INFORMATION INTERFACES AND PRESENTATION (I.7)
      H.5.2 User Interfaces (D.2.2, H.1.2, I.3.6)
          Subjects: Graphical user interfaces (GUI)

Additional Classification:
  D. Software
  D.2 SOFTWARE ENGINEERING
      D.2.2 Design Tools and Techniques
          Subjects: User interfaces

  H. Information Systems
  H.1 MODELS AND PRINCIPLES
      H.1.2 User/Machine Systems
          Subjects: Human factors; Human information processing
  H.4 INFORMATION SYSTEMS APPLICATIONS
      H.4.3 Communications Applications
          Subjects: Electronic mail
  H.5 INFORMATION INTERFACES AND PRESENTATION (I.7)
      H.5.1 Multimedia Information Systems
          Subjects: Evaluation/methodology
      H.5.2 User Interfaces (D.2.2, H.1.2, I.3.6)
          Subjects: User-centered design; Prototyping

General Terms:
Design, Experimentation

Keywords:
concept design, experience design, experience strategy, information architecture, integration