NoteMaker: a hyper-design notebook to support informal communication in the engineering design process

The author describes NoteMaker, a prototype environment that supports interactive design conceptualization, planning, recording, and communication among collaborators. Written in HyperCard 2.0, NoteMaker prototype environments consist of a folder containing note stacks shepherded by a manager stack. NoteMaker is notable among hyper-text applications because it creates an environment in which users read and write their own texts rather than simply reading texts created and prestructured by others. By providing a mix of automatic and user-constructed facilities and multiple means of navigation, NoteMaker has been designed to ameliorate the danger of hyper-text environments to lose the user in a morass of information and unmanageable pathways. NoteMaker will enable users to access and amend notes and sketches related to their work and studies at any time-in the office, in meetings, on site visits, while travelling, and working alone almost anywhere.<>