Search Patterns a practical guide to the future Information that’s hard to find will remain information that’s hardly found. Peter Morville, IA Summit 2008

Search Patterns @ http://flickr.com/photos/morville/

Behavior Patterns

Design Patterns

A few good starting points suggested by humans.

Because users don’t know where to look.

Multiple ways to search (and browse) in combination.

Because little things make a big difference.

Structured Results

Social Search

Media Search Cool tools for finding music, images, video, and other non-text formats. Most rely on keyword search, but some allow users to query by shape, texture, color, sound, and other inherent properties of the objects they seek.

Mobile Search

Spime Search WineM A smart wine rack that uses RFID to track bottles in the rack and identify ones that fit the selection criteria. Collectors and restaurants can use WineM racks to search collections The wine can be dynamically reorganized by any combination of year, region, price, etc. A handheld device accepts queries, and full-color LED lights transform the rack and bottles into a search results interface. The system even supports faceted navigation.

Cisco Wireless Location Appliance “ A quick glance at the screen shows exactly where the tagged wheelchairs are located...Patients wait no more than a few minutes for a wheelchair, and we save $28,000 a month by eliminating searches.”

Redefining Search

My Shelf

Possible Futures of Search Concept Search Advertising Everything (Recall) Mobile Search Knowledge + Learning Tagging Local Search Ambient Findability Search Analytics Segregated Search Discovery (Un-Search) Faceted Navigation Technology Best Bets (Precision) Universal Search Users Spiritual Search Popularity Algorithms Semantic Search Unknown Unknowns Diversity Algorithms Social Search Re trieval (KFTF) Relevance Algorithms Query Disambiguation Visualization Video Search Text Analytics Artificial Intelligence Natural Language Personalization

Exploring Possible Futures Future History Design Concepts Social Network Analysis Competitive Analysis Prototypes & Specs Cross-Training Future Design (Ivrea) A/B Testing Innovation Games Wireframes (Sketches) Strategy Formation Black Swan Hunting Narrative (Strategy) Crowdsourcing Mental Models Myth, Metaphor, Magic Backcasting Goal & Task Analysis Forecasting Search Analytics Science Fiction Environmental Scanning Card Sorting Simulation Statistical Analysis User Interviews & Tests Prediction Markets Scenario Planning Ethnography Miscellaneous Tools and Methods User Experience Design

apophenia the spontaneous perception of connections and meaningfulness in unrelated things