Contracts as interfaces: Exploring visual representation patterns in contract design

The world of contracts is undergoing fundamental changes. This is partly due to technology: there can be tremendous benefits from self-enforcing, machine-readable contracts. But these technologies are not used everywhere. Many contracts continue to be performed by people. In the context of commercial deals and relationships,1 a vast number of contracts still need to be planned, understood, approved, implemented, and monitored by people.2 Initiatives across the world seek to innovate contracting processes and documents and develop more effective, engaging ways for people to work with them. This chapter focuses on these initiatives and the need to make contracts truly human-readable.