Diego Doval has an interesting take on the 3-pane view that we are so familiar with in email clients and news readers. There is a new format emerging, one which has the same components arranged horizontally, going from left to right in increasing specialisation.
The “all horizontal” mode is better IMO, since it gives you more space to view information (which is typically “long” rather than “wide”). It also makes it easier to follow the progression of “contained” information: as you move along the x axis to the left, you increase specificity–this consistency can then help in other areas of the UI. Apple for example has used the all-horizontal paradigm for one of the settings of the file browser in the Finder, and it’s much, much better than the alternative. Simple and easy to use.
This would be soemthing to think about for the Digital Dashboard.
