A LIST Apart: For People Who Make Websites

No. 343

Authors: M: Peter Morville

Peter Morville

Peter Morville is a writer, speaker, and consultant. His bestselling books include Information Architecture for the World Wide Web and Ambient Findability. He advises such clients as AT&T, Harvard, IBM, the Library of Congress, Microsoft, the National Cancer Institute, Vodafone, and the Weather Channel. His work on user experience design and the future of search has been covered by Business Week, The Economist, Fortune, NPR, and The Wall Street Journal. You can reach him by email or find him online at semanticstudios.com and findability.org. Peter lives in Ann Arbor, Michigan with his wife, two daughters, and a dog named Knowsy.

Articles By This Author

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.

Ambient Findability: Findability Hacks

Issue 205October 10, 2005

In this excerpt from his new book, Ambient Findability, Peter Morville explains why findability is a required element of good design and engineering--and what that means for you.