Wayfinding on the Web

Presented at Midwest UX 2014 with Tara Bazler.
http://2014.midwestuxconference.com/speakers/chris-basham.html

Inspired by adventuring in the great outdoors, we will explore principles, practices, and patterns that can guide those designing a web navigation experience. How do we design for users wanting to browse content or just wanting to efficiently accomplish a given task? How does context, such as resource constraints, prior knowledge, knowledge acquisition, and personal experience affect how a user traverses an interface? How can navigational experiences adapt for context?

Recording: https://vimeo.com/110190912

Transcript

1. Wayfinding  on  the  Web:   Design  Principles  from   Exploring  the  Great  Outdoors   Tara  Bazler  ·∙  Chris  Basham
2. WAYFINDING   BEHAVIORS
3. Locate   Get  to  the  end.  
4. “NavigaOng  around  a  web  site  or   applicaOon  is  like  commuOng.  You   have  to  do  it  to  get  where  you  need   to  go,  but  it's  dull,  it’s  someOmes   infuriaOng,  and  the  Ome  and  energy   you  spend  on  it  just  seems  wasted.” —  Jennifer  Tidwell,  Designing  Interfaces
5. Explore   Enjoy  the  journey.  
6. Meander   Aimless  wandering.  
7. NAVIGATING  THE   PHYSICAL  WORLD
8. Signposts
9. Maps
10. Trails
11. Landmarks
12. Stars
13. NAVIGATING  THE   DIGITAL  WORLD
14. Links   Magical  portals.  
15. Links   Magical  portals.  Stargates.  
16. Search   The  omniscient  librarian.  
17. Sitemaps   The  mall  directory.  
18. Breadcrumbs   The  marked  trail.  
19. Terminology   Page  Btles,  headings,  logos.  
20. WAYFINDING   QUESTIONS
21. Where  am  I?   3   K E Y   Q U E S T I O N S
22. Where  am  I?   Where  can  I  go?   3   K E Y   Q U E S T I O N S
23. Where  am  I?   Where  can  I  go?   How  do  I  return? 3   K E Y   Q U E S T I O N S
24. PRINCIPLES
25. Understand  users’  goals  &   behaviors.
26. Provide  clear  paths  for  users   to  aaain  their  goals.
27. Choose  wording  wisely.
28. Simplify  the  process.
29. Create  a  logical  structure   through  content  organizaOon,   landmarks,  &  convenOons.
30. “We  must  move  beyond  the  page   metaphor,  think  of  informaOon  as   an  environment,  consider  how   people  interact  with  that   environment,  and  apply  design   principles  that  opOmize   wayfinding.” —  Tyler  Tate,  InformaBon  Wayfinding
31. Tara  Bazler         @taranoba   Chris  Basham     @chrisbasham   I N D I A N A   U N I V E R S I T Y   ·∙   U I T S 
 
 M I DW E S T   U X 
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