Information Wayfinding

B Y T Y L E R TAT E

The Future of Search

We are drowning in information.

“What information consumes is rather obvious: it consumes the attention of its recipients. Hence a wealth of information creates a poverty of attention, and a need to allocate that attention efficiently among the over-abundance of information sources that might consume it.”

— Herbert Simon, 1956

Big data is not a technology problem.

Big data is not a technology problem. It’s a people problem.

How can we make ever-growing volumes

of information accessible and useful to

people without overwhelming them?

1. We need to think about search from a new mindset.

2. We need to understand how people seek information.

3. We need to unify interaction with information.

A Brief History of Information

1

The Analog Era

The Analog Era

The tablet and the written word

The Analog Era

The tablet and the written word

The scroll and the table of contents

The Analog Era

The tablet and the written word

The scroll and the table of contents

The printing press and the index

The Digital Era

The Digital Era

The early Internet and the Web page (1990s)

The Digital Era

The early Internet and the Web page (1990s)

The CMS and the search engine (2000s)

The Digital Era

The early Internet and the Web page (1990s)

The CMS and the search engine (2000s)

Big data and ? (2010s)

The Information Environment

2

"Mankind evolved in a world of space and

time. Our memories evolved to record events

that transpire in space and time. Modern

attempts to externalise and enlarge that

memory should not, and probably need not,

neglect its spatiotemporal dimensions.”

— George A. Miller

“We must consider not just the city as a thing

itself, but the city being perceived by its

inhabitants.”

— Kevin Lynch

Paths

Edges

Districts

Nodes

Landmarks

The EnvironmentA place someone goes to seek information in order

to satisfy an information need.

Districts

Layers

Nodes

DistrictsThe primary categories into which an environment

can be logically divided.

LayersSecondary categories which describe a specific

facet of a given node.

NodesPrecise points in the environment (that we might

otherwise refer to as a Web page, document, or record).

Information Wayfinding3

Wayfinding is the collection of cognitive

processes people use to navigate physical

environments.

Information wayfinding is the collection of

cognitive processes people use to navigate

information environments.

Locate

Explore

Q1

Q2

Q3

Q4

Q5 Q6

Q7

RecognizeNeed

Validate andInterpretInformation

FindInformation

UseInterpretation

Meander

Principles for a New Architecture

4

Structured Districts

Flexible Layers

Positional Cues

Survey Knowledge

Clear Paths

Coherent Interaction

1. Structured Districts

2. Flexible Layers

3. Positional Cues

4. Survey Knowledge

5. Clear Paths

6. Coherent Interaction

How can we make ever-growing volumes

of information accessible and useful to

people without overwhelming them?

1. Consider information as a spatial environment rather than a book.

2. Understand how users find their way through an information environment, and support them along that journey.

3. Unify navigation and search, districts and layers into a single, coherent experience.

DesigningTheSearchExperience.com

twigkit.com

vimeo.com/78578346

@TylerTate, @Twigkit

Information Wayfinding

B Y T Y L E R TAT E

The Future of Search