Guidelines to improve the choice in menus, catalogs and interfaces in general. Talk at UDC Seminar 2013, Classification & Visualization. + Audio: http://www.udcds.com/seminar/2013/media/audio/lrosati_udcseminar2013.mp3 + Paper: http://pervasiveia.com/blog/how-to-design-for-choice

1. How to design
interfaces for
choice
Luca Rosati ⋅ @lucarosati
Hick-Hyman law and classification

2. I want a
pair of jeans,
32-28.
Do you want them
slim fit, easy fit, relaxed fit,
baggy, or extra baggy?
Stonewashed, acid-washed, or
distressed? Bottom-fly or
zipper-fly? Faded or
regular?

4. Hick-Hyman law

5. Time
T = a + b log2 (n + 1)
N. of options

6. linear
sub-linear

7. “La fuga” by
Donnafugata!
A great red for
a green pepper
fillet.

8. I choose 1 time from
a 8 items menu:
I choose 2 times from a
4 items menu:
a + b log2 8 = a + 3b
2(a + b log2 4) = 2a + 4b
a + 3b < 2a + 4b

9. In other words...
information overload & paradox of choice
are more a quality issue (how options
are presented) than a quantity issue
(n. of information)

10. Hick-Hyman law
and classification

11. The sequence of the classes in
an array should be helpful
to the purpose of those for
whom it is intended
– Ranganathan

15. Strategies to reduce
the paradox of choice

16. 1. Split

20. 2. Customize

24. 3. Info scent

26. Let’s recap

27. the paradox of choice is linked to the
consistency issue of a classification
wide structures work better than deep
ones – but if and only if consistency is on
otherwise split, customize or
provide information scent

28. Credits
This work is the prosecution of a research
conducted with Andrea Resmini, published
in some papers and merged in the book
Pervasive Information Architecture.

29. How to design
interfaces for
choice
Luca Rosati ⋅ @lucarosati
Hick-Hyman law and classification