Designing Mobile Interfaces

Chapter 8. Information Controls

The Weilers, Version 1

Jack, Maggie, and their 5-year-old, Melissa, approach the entrance to the brand-new shopping mall that recently opened in their hometown. Melissa, thrilled with the opportunity to finally go to a Build-A-Bear Workshop, skips ahead in pure excitement.

Just inside the main walkway Jack sees the large vertical store directory and map. Rather than getting lost in such a large place through exploratory wandering, he decides to use the directory to figure out exactly where in the mall the Build-A-Bear store is.

The directory in front of him is typical. A floor plan is illustrated that labels each store using apparently arbitrary numbers. Those numbers are referenced and sorted by category to comprise the store directory.

Immediately, Jack’s frustration begins to build. He struggles to determine what category Build-A-Bear falls into; he’s looking under Gifts, then Baby, both without luck. Maggie chimes in and finally finds the store under Fun & Games with a label of “L34.”

Once again, frustration builds when the family members can’t find their current location, or determine where L34 is. They do not see a “You are here” indicator. Annoyed by this barrier, Jack and the family give up, and walk farther into the mall in hopes of eventually coming across the store.

The Weilers, Version 2

Figure 8-1. Search within the address book is a modal behavior ...