[Sigia-l] mixing apples and oranges and tomatoes

[Joe 10 Enterprises]

As much as I'd like to start my own tirade about "why isn't 
everything that comes from a cow together in the store" I think it 
comes down to the original poster saying ".. let's say, 
hypothetically, ..."

So, fruits, computer parts or guest services, there is nothing wrong 
with duplicating data under multiple categories if it makes sense. 
That's why databases are relational for goodness sake.

Is a CD Writer a "peripheral" or a "storage device"? Who cares! If 
people are likely to look in both places, put it in both places, 
unless you're trying to retrain the world on the technicalities.

Data maintenance shouldn't even be an issue if your site is being 
generated intelligently. Orientation should be OK too if your app 
wraps the appropriate section aware info, sub-nav, etc. around the 
data it pulled form your repository... be that at run time or when 
you generate your site, if you're rendering static pages.

Real Video (physical store here in Berkeley) rocks because I can look 
up a movie under a genre, a directors name, an actors name...and it 
doesn't "see also" me...

And don't forget to list tomatoes under "Babes" :-)
/Joe

At 7:04 AM -0700 4/10/02, Katherine Lumb wrote:
>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
>
>_______________________________________________
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>Sigia-l at asis.org
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-- 
Joe Tennis
Information Design Honcho
Joe 10 Enterprises
2430 5th Street
Studio L
Berkeley, CA 94710
510-649-1744
joe at joe10.com
http://www.joe10.com
Usability Consulting | Information Architecture | Interface Design
for Web, Wireless and Interactive Media
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