Tyler Tate gave a presentation on designing for findability in search experiences. He discussed how people search differently based on their expertise level and the specificity of their task. Novice users prefer simpler interfaces while experts want more control. Recall tasks are straightforward lookups while exploratory tasks have no single answer. Tate then provided 10 best practices for designing findable search experiences, such as making the search box prominent, providing auto-suggestions, and using facets and visualizations to filter large result sets.

1. Findability: Designing
the Search Experience
Tyler Tate, TwigKit
Wednesday, August 18, 2010

2. About Today’s Presenter
Tyler Tate tyler@twigkit.com
Tyler is the co-­‐founder of UK-­‐based TwigKit Ltd.,
where he is focused on designing truly usable search
interfaces. Tyler has led user experience design for
enterprise applica=ons from CMS to CRM, is the
creator of the popular 1KB CSS Grid, and organizes a
monthly enterprise search meetup in London.
© 2010 Lucid Imagina,on, Inc. 2

3. Agenda
How do people search? Slides are posted for
Experts vs. Amateurs download at the end of this
Specific vs. Open-­‐ended Tasks presenta9on; full replay
available within
Recall vs. Explora=on
~48 hours of live webcast
Immediate vs. Itera=ve
How can we design for findability?
© 2010 Lucid Imagina,on, Inc. 3

4. Agenda
How can we design for findability?
1. Make the searchbox obvious
2. Provide as-­‐you-­‐type sugges=ons
3. Show number of results found
4. Use descrip=ve =tles, hit highligh=ng, and visited links
5. Use 'top hits' to show more info on key results
6. Never let "0 results" happen
7. Use breadcrumbs
8. Make metadata clickable
9. Show count of matches per filter
10. Use meaningful facet visualisa=ons
© 2010 Lucid Imagina,on, Inc. 4

5. Why should I care about design?
In order to know what to build, we first need to know a
bit about the people we're building for.
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6. How do people search?
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7. Experts vs. Amateurs
People vary be their...
Search exper=se (familiarity with common design paerns)
Domain exper=se (knowledge in a certain area)
Experts prefer...
More complex interfaces that give them increased control
Amateurs prefer...
A simpler interface that minimises confusion
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10. Experts vs. Amateurs
looking up a fact reading a scien=fic journal
Exper,se
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11. Specific vs. Open-­‐ended Tasks
Tasks vary by their specificity
During open-­‐ended tasks, users desire greater simplicity
For highly specific tasks, users appreciate greater complexity
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15. Specific vs. Open-­‐ended Tasks
looking up a fact booking a flight
Task Specificity
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16. Exper,se & Task Specificity
Exper,se
Task Specificity
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17. © 2010 Lucid Imagina,on, Inc. •Concept screen by IDEO 17

18. Exper,se & Task Specificity
moderate
co
hi ple
complexity
m
gh xit
y
Bloomberg
scien=fic research
Exper,se
moderate
complexity
booking a flight
web search
lo
w
co
Task Specificity
m
pl
ex
it
y
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19. Recall vs. Explora,on
User’s goals vary between...
Recall (straighborward lookup of facts)
Explora=on (more about the journey than the des=na=on)
Recall...
Solved by matching a query to the right result
Explora9on...
There is oden no correct answer, but the goal is the insight
gained along the way
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26. Immediate vs. Itera,ve
Users sometimes find what they’re looking for after one query
When the goal is recall and the task is specific
But not usually
When the goal is explora=on or the task is open-­‐ended
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29. Immediate vs. Itera,ve
Illustra,on by Marcia Bates
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30. How can we design for findability?
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31. The Searchbox
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32. 1. Make the searchbox obvious
It should look like a searchbox, feel like a searchbox,
and act like a searchbox
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33. 1. Make the searchbox obvious
It should look like a searchbox, feel like a searchbox,
and act like a searchbox
© 2010 Lucid Imagina,on, Inc. 33

34. 2. Provide as-­‐you-­‐type sugges,ons
Reduces spelling errors
Boosts users’ confidence
Globrix, eBay, Last.fm
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35. Search Results
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36. 3. Indicate the number of results found
Few results can be a potential red flag
Numerous results can boost users’ confidence
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37. 4. Use descriptive titles, hit highlighting, visited links
Use descriptive, 7-­‐12 word titles (don’t use filenames!)
Hit highlighting helps users quickly parse the results
Visited link color helps users remember where they’ve been
The Guardian
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39. 5. Use 'top hits' to show more info on key results
When there is a high probability that the first 1-­‐3 results are
what the user is looking for, top hits provide additional
information to help users make their decision
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40. 6. Never let “0 results” happen
“No result” screens are a roadblock to users
Use “or” instead of “and”
Use automatic spelling corrections and related searches
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41. Faceted Naviga,on
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42. 7. Use breadcrumbs
Breadcrumbs describe what the user is looking at, how he got
there, and – in case of mistakes – how to get back
Always allow users to easily remove filters
Wireframe by Greg Nudleman
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43. 8. Make metadata clickable
Clickable metadata enables organic filtering of the results
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44. 9. Indicate the number of matches for each filter
Filter counts give users a more complete picture of the result set
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45. 9. Indicate the number of matches for each filter
Filter counts give users a more complete picture of the result set
Visual indicators can help quicken comprehension
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46. 10. Use meaningful facet visualisations
A meaningful visualisation makes complex information tangible
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47. 10. Use meaningful facet visualisations
A meaningful visualisation makes complex information tangible
TED
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48. 10. Use meaningful facet visualisations
A meaningful visualisation makes complex information tangible
Starbucks
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49. 10. Use meaningful facet visualisations
A meaningful visualisation makes complex information tangible
New York Times
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50. 10. Use meaningful facet visualisations
A meaningful visualisation makes complex information tangible
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•IBM

52. Learn More
Read Peter Morville’s book “Search Patterns”
hp://searchpaerns.org/
Read my article “The Scent of Search”
hp://johnnyholland.org/2010/07/05/the-­‐scent-­‐of-­‐search/
Read Marti Hearst’s book “Search User Interfaces”
hp://johnnyholland.org/2010/07/05/the-­‐scent-­‐of-­‐search/
Check out Endeca’s design pattern library
hp://searchuserinterfaces.com/
Follow TwigKit’s blog, “The Dao of Search”
hp://blog.twigkit.com/
© 2010 Lucid Imagina,on, Inc. 52

53. Q&A
Slides are available for download
at h4p://bit.ly/design4search
Full replay available within
~48 hours of live webcast
Thanks for listening!
Your thoughts are welcome! Ping me at
tyler@twigkit.com, @tylertate, or @twigkit
© 2010 Lucid Imagina,on, Inc. 53