Search Patterns: Design for Discovery

What people are saying about Search Patterns

"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

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. In this provocative and inspiring book, you'll explore design patterns that apply across the categories of web, ecommerce, enterprise, desktop, mobile, social, and real-time search and discovery. Filled with colorful illustrations and examples, Search Patterns brings modern information retrieval to life, covering such diverse topics as relevance, faceted navigation, multi-touch, personalization, visualization, multi-sensory search, and augmented reality.

By drawing on their own experience-as well as best practices and evidence-based research-the authors not only offer a practical guide to help you build effective search applications, they also challenge you to imagine the future of discovery. You'll find Search Patterns intriguing and invaluable, whether you're a web practitioner, mobile designer, search entrepreneur, or just interested in the topic.

• Discover a pattern language for search that embraces user psychology and behavior, information architecture, interaction design, and emerging technology
• Boost enterprise efficiency and e-commerce sales
• Enable mobile users to achieve goals, complete tasks, and find what they need
• Drive design innovation for search interfaces and applications

Peter Morville is president of Semantic Studios, an information architecture, user experience, and findability consultancy. Since 1994, he has advised such clients as AT&T, Harvard, IBM, the Library of Congress, Microsoft, the National Cancer Institute, Vodafone, and the Weather Channel. Peter is best known as a founding father of information architecture, having co-authored the field's best-selling book, Information Architecture for the World Wide Web. Peter has served on the faculty at the University of Michigan's School of Information and on the advisory board of the Information Architecture Institute. He delivers keynotes and seminars at international events, and his work has been featured in major publications including Business Week, The Economist, Fortune, and The Wall Street Journal. You can contact Peter Morville by email (morville@semanticstudios.com). You can also find him online at semanticstudios.com, findability.org, and searchpatterns.org.

Jeff Callender is vice president and design director of Q LTD, a strategic design consultancy with a global reach. Jeff is focused on bringing clarity to everyday graphic communications that promote positive user experiences. His wide body of work includes design for brand identity, user interface, print collateral, packaging, tradeshow, and exhibit graphics for a variety of clients including AT&T, Converse, Dow, NuStep, Jensen, ProQuest, and SIGGRAPH. Jeff has taught graphic design at the University of Michigan and lectured at the Stephen M. Ross School of Business and the SIGGRAPH Conference on Computer Graphics and Interactive Techniques.