Okay, let’s talk about this thing I tried recently, something connected to a name I kept seeing around: Linda Stamaton.
Getting Started
So, I was messing around, trying to figure out a better way to handle some data visualization stuff I was working on. My old method was getting clunky, really messy to look at after a while. I remember scrolling through some developer forums, maybe it was Stack Overflow, maybe somewhere else, doesn’t matter. Saw this name, Linda Stamaton, pop up in a discussion about organizing complex information visually. It wasn’t like a formal paper or anything, just people talking.
Someone mentioned an approach, kind of vaguely associated with her, about layering information. Not technically layering like in Photoshop, but more about how you present related pieces of data together, making connections clear without overwhelming the viewer. Sounded interesting enough, and I was stuck, so I thought, why not give it a try?
The Actual Process
First thing I did was just grab a notepad. Old school, I know. I sketched out the main data points I absolutely needed to show. Then, I started thinking about the secondary stuff, the details that you only need if you dig deeper. The core idea I picked up from that discussion was to keep the main stuff super clean and accessible, and then provide clear, but visually distinct, pathways to the related details.
So, I started grouping things. Here’s basically what I did:
- Mapped out the primary info blocks. Kept them simple.
- Figured out what detailed info belonged to each primary block.
- Designed a subtle visual cue (like a small icon or a slightly different background shade for a section) to hint that more info was available.
- Worked on the interaction – how clicking or hovering would reveal the secondary info without completely disrupting the main view. Maybe a slide-out panel, or an expanding section.
Then came the coding part. I started rebuilding the UI component. Used basic HTML for structure, CSS for the styling and layout. Getting the visual distinction right without making it ugly was tricky. Played around with padding, borders, maybe a little transparency. Spent a good chunk of time tweaking the CSS transitions to make the reveal smooth, not jarring.
It wasn’t super smooth sailing. Had some issues making the “reveal” part work consistently across different browsers. You know how that goes. One browser likes it, another one throws a fit. Had to fiddle with some CSS hacks, which I don’t love doing, but sometimes you gotta do what you gotta do.
End Result
After a couple of afternoons of tinkering, I got it to a place I liked. The main dashboard, or whatever you want to call it, looked much cleaner. You could see the important stuff at a glance. If you needed more detail on a specific item, you’d interact with that specific block, and the related info would appear right there, connected, without taking you to a whole new screen or cluttering the initial view.
It felt more intuitive. I think associating that approach with the name Linda Stamaton, rightly or wrongly, just helped me focus on that specific principle of structured information reveal. It forced me to think deliberately about the relationship between summary and detail. It’s not like it was some earth-shattering new technique, but applying that mindset really helped clean up my specific problem. So yeah, that was my little experiment based on that name I saw floating around. Turned out pretty okay.
