Two threads to pull

Information literacy

Information is gnarly.

Far more complex than most of us were taught, we’re now inundated with manipulation. A good day, in a life filled with good information sources, and the manipulative instances are still exhausting.

It is our new normal. The best way to deal with it is to gain information literacy, and then expect better and act accordingly with your non-clicks and consumer decisions. To aim towards better, you have to know something better is possible and what "better" means in this context. Here, I think it's multifaceted. A soupçon of information mechanics, a dash of human behavior, and a chunk of what manipulation can look like.

Humanist information design

Cutting manipulation at the source

Information is beautiful. Information technology, built well, provides the foundation for agency-forward decisions that support the full breadth of humanity.

It’s not currently built well very often.

So let’s change it. The design community has been detailing the negative forms for years now; they all have foundations in information. It's time to add positive-form models. Not "best practices" that can still be non-supportive for the bulk of humanity, but truly get into the gnarliness of information. Fundamental concepts, complexly intertwingled for those who want the freedom to design are in the Abstractions subscription. Humanist information designs, with the building blocks detailed to start the ball rolling, are in the Concepts subscription.