Search is among the most disruptive innovations of our time. It influences what we buy and where we go. It shapes how we learn and what we believe. This provocative and inspiring book explores design patterns that apply across the categories of web, e-commerce, enterprise, desktop, mobile, social, and real time search and discovery. Using colorful illustrations and examples, the authors bring modern information retrieval to life, covering such diverse topics as relevance ranking, faceted navigation, multi-touch, and mixed reality. Search Patterns challenges us to invent the future of discovery while serving as a practical guide to help us make search applications better today.
Book
Library
- Explore our Search Patterns Library
- Behavior Patterns
- Quit
- Narrow
- Expand
- Pearl Growing
- Pogosticking
- Thrashing
Author Biographies
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.
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.
Recommended Reading
Here are a few good resources for learning more about search and discovery. Please let us know what we're missing by contributing to the discussion.
- Books
- Search User Interfaces by Marti Hearst
- Exploratory Search by Ryen White and Resa Roth
- Faceted Search by Daniel Tunkelang
- Search Analytics by Louis Rosenfeld (coming soon)
- When Search Meets Web Usability by Shari Thurow and Nick Musica
- Sites
- AltSearch
- Findability by Peter Morville
- Search Blog by John Battelle
- Search Engine Land
- Search Tools by Avi Rappoport
- The Noisy Channel by Daniel Tunkelang
- Organizations
- ACM SIGIR
- ASIS&T (sponsor of the IA Summit)
- Information Architecture Institute
- Interaction Design Association
Book Reviews
Thanks for all the positive feedback and constructive criticism. If we've missed a review, please let us know by contributing to the discussion.
- Advance Praise
- “Search Patterns is a delight to read -- very thoughtful and thought provoking. It's the most comprehensive survey of designing effective search experiences I've seen.” —Irene Au, Director of User Experience, Google
- “I love this book! Thanks to Peter and Jeffery, I now know that search (yes, boring old yucky who cares search) is one of the coolest ways around of looking at the world.” —Dan Roam, author, The Back of the Napkin (Portfolio Hardcover)
- “Search Patterns is a playful guide to the practical concerns of search interface design. It contains a bonanza of screenshots and illustrations that capture the best of today's design practices and presents a fresh perspective on the broader role of search and discovery.” —Marti Hearst, Professor, UC Berkeley and author, Search User Interfaces (Cambridge University Press)
- “It's not often I come across a book that asks profound questions about a fundamental human activity, and then proceeds to answer those questions with practical observations and suggestions. Search Patterns is an expedition into the heart of the web and human cognition, and for me it was a delightful journey that delivered scores of insights.” —Dave Gray, Founder and Chairman, XPLANE
- “Search is swiftly transforming everything we know, yet people don't understand how mavens design search: by stacking breadcrumbs, scenting widgets, and keeping eyeballs on the engine. I urge you to put your eyeballs on this unique and important book.” —Bruce Sterling, Writer, Futurist, and Co-Founder, The Electronic Frontier Foundation
- “As one who searches a lot (and often ends up frustrated), Search Patterns is a revelation.” —Nigel Holmes, Designer, Theorist, and Principal, Explanation Graphics
- “Search Patterns is a fabulous must-have book! Inside, you'll learn the whys and wheres of practically every modern search design trick and technique.” —Jared Spool, CEO and Founder, User Interface Engineering
Feedback & Discussion
Please join our Flickr Group Pool where you can provide feedback and suggestions, discuss search design and discovery, and contribute new patterns and examples.