[Sigia-l] List order

[Listera]

"Joe Sokohl" wrote:
 
> Topic: How shuold a menu list be ordered

There's not enough info here to make a definitive judgment.

If you have, say, 3-4 items in a list, realistically speaking, it doesn't
matter how you order it, the eye can usually scan the whole enchilada
usually with a single take.

But as the number of items grow or the length of each item (words therein)
increase, then then eye has to scan iteratively. Here you have a number of
factors that can effect the efficiency in spotting a specific item. For
example, excessive variation in line lengths matters. So does the
distribution. If you have a list of dozen items and each item starts with a
different letter of the alphabet, it's easier to scan that list than, say,
one where several items start with the same letter and second, third or
fourth word in each item determines the order, which means the user has to
scan both vertically and horizontally several times. There's also the issue
of expectation: it's easier to scan a list of items you are already familiar
with than one that's composed of unfamiliar ones. You can use graphical cues
like color, type weight, etc., to group/separate/layer items in an otherwise
ordered list to enhance 'scanability.'

So it depends. If all you have is a dozen one- or two-word items, then,
fortunately, the likelihood of the user getting lost is pretty slim,
regardless of the ordering scheme used.

Ziya
Nullius in Verba