Linear Chat
Fall 2005

In its unique form of immediacy, IMing encourages people to write to each other at the same time. My goal was to design an instant messenger that would visualize this simultaneous communication in such a way as to allow for more verbal and visual interplay between the two messages. Throughout the programming process (done in collaboration with my teacher Dan Michaelson)
I revised my design in reaction to user tests. The resulting program, in the form of a horizontal timeline across the screen emphasizes both the immediate and informal nature of instant messaging and on the multi-screen, multitasking behavior encouraged by computers and the internet.