Hi Audrey, First, I just want to be sure I'm clear about what you're talking about. Are you referring to filters similar to those in the following examples?
John Lewis (Left hand filter/sub nav) http://www.johnlewis.com/Technology/Televisions/Televisions/SubCategory.aspx Tiso (Right hand filter/sub nav/tagged breadcrumb) http://www.tiso.com/shop/clothing/mens/berghaus/ Second, are you saying that in the user research you have carried out, novice/lightweight internet users find it difficult to understand these methods of interaction? Third, with regard to your car filters examples, surely it would be better for the majority of users to have the key filters listed/opened/indicated as primary filters so that the site benefits the majority of users. At the first step, it's not important to disclose all options/filters in one go. It's probably better to have "sensible default" filters to let people dive in, while supporting power users with additional and deeper filters later in the process. A faceted search lets you navigate through tags or attributes of a product. That's a pretty powerful way to navigate through a data set. Supporting the UI through good copy writing and labelling should help the users. Terms like "Refine your search" or your "Choose Your New Car" example are good. While, I understand you have problems with filtering (that is if I am properly understanding your original point!), I'm not sure seeking an alternative to faceted search is the best route to take. Faceted search/navigation/browsing works for many very successful ecommerce sites. If it was broken, they wouldn't use it. Finally, a good visual design will address your issues of affordance and clarity. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Posted from the new ixda.org http://www.ixda.org/discuss?post=43844 ________________________________________________________________ Welcome to the Interaction Design Association (IxDA)! To post to this list ....... disc...@ixda.org Unsubscribe ................ http://www.ixda.org/unsubscribe List Guidelines ............ http://www.ixda.org/guidelines List Help .................. http://www.ixda.org/help
