[Sigia-l] mixing apples and oranges and tomatoes

[Katherine Lumb]

Hi listers. I need some help.

I'm redesigning a corporate website, and I'm running into some conceptual roadblocks with my client.

Here's the problem: let's say, hypothetically, that my client publishes information about food on their website. They have the following categories in their global left hand nav: "Fruits", "Vegetables", "Meats" and "Beverages". I want to put "Tomatoes" as a second level item under "Vegetables." I recognize that some folks might come looking for tomatoes under "Fruits," so I suggest putting a prominent link on the Fruits landing page that says "If you're looking for information on Tomatoes, visit our Vegetables section."

My client insists on another arrangement. They want to put the exact same content about tomatoes under Fruits and Vegetables. And so they want Tomatoes to appear as a second level nav element under both Fruits and Vegetables. I've tried to convince them that this is the wrong way to go about it, but they won't budge.

The three arguments that I have the most difficulty countering are:

1. You claim to be an advocate for the user, but isn't the solution you're proposing more confusing to the user? If they go looking for tomatoes under Fruits and click that link, they get whisked away into the Vegetables section and lose their context. If they want to continue exploring information about other fruits, they have to navigate their way back to that section.

2. You claim to be a new media expert, but you seem hung up on conventional ideas of classification and taxonomy. This isn't a book, it's hypertext, and we can break the rules. C'mon, think outside the box!

3. Why not do it our way? At worst, isn't it just benign redundancy?

So, can you give me some bulletproof arguments and evidence to support my case? Or, conversely, convince me to let my client have their way?

Thanks very much,

K

Katherine K. Lumb
Content Designer
NOVO/Giant Step

2001 Adweek "Top 20 Interactive Agencies"
2001 IDC Ranking  "Top 25 Professional Services Firms"
2001 InfoWorld 100 "Most Technically Innovative Companies in the World"

Voice 646.336.3418 | Fax 646.336.3433
klumb at novocorp.com
http://www.novocorp.com