Authors: C: Jeffery Callender
Jeffery Callender is vice president and design director of Q LTD, a strategic design consultancy with a global reach. Jeff joined Q in 1986, helping to shape a creative environment fueled on collaboration, authenticity, and ingenuity that has attracted a formidable team of talented designers, experienced writers, strategic planners, brilliant information architects, and 21st-century technologists. In partnership with Q Wiesbaden, Q has established itself as the world’s smallest global agency network. You can contact Jeff by email or learn more about his work at www.qltd.com.
Design Patterns: Faceted Navigation
Issue 304April 20, 2010
Faceted navigation may be the most significant search innovation of the past decade. It features an integrated, incremental search and browse experience that lets users begin with a classic keyword search and then scan a list of results. It also serves up a custom map that provides insights into the content and its organization and offers a variety of useful next steps. In keeping with the principles of progressive disclosure and incremental construction, it lets users formulate the equivalent of a sophisticated Boolean query by taking a series of small, simple steps. Learn how it works, why it has become ubiquitous in e-commerce, and why it’s not for every site.
