Oodles of Design » messaging

using pop-out tips to draw attention – kayak

zuzka — Mon, 20 Oct 2008 00:25:54 +0000

The usage of these pop-out tips is increasing lately. This one on KAYAK is just one example.

recommendations – buzzilions.com

zuzka — Mon, 20 Oct 2008 00:09:49 +0000

Example of a “recommendations” implementation above search results on buzzilions.com:

Messaging that there’s nothing else to refine by – B&N

zuzka — Sun, 19 Oct 2008 23:58:54 +0000

Barnes & Noble are using Endeca for navigating their online catalog. For most part, their left nav is pretty standard, but they are on to something interesting with showing a special message when you reach the end of all possible refinements. It could use more work, but it’s an interesting idea.

best bets messaging, bizrate

zuzka — Thu, 18 Sep 2008 21:07:30 +0000

Bizrate takes you to the best bet subcategory for your keyword search. I searched for “bike helmet” and they took me to the Bicycle Equipment subcategory. However, in case I want to expand my search or search elsewhere, they list other places on their site that have results for “bike helmet”. I like their wording and placement.

We do something similar, but we don’t do a very great job with the messaging right now. This is something we should work on improving:

neat account creation page

zuzka — Mon, 02 Jun 2008 23:25:05 +0000

I really enjoyed the mint.com account creation page.

Here’s why:

1. It gave me feedback as I was working through it (filling out each field correctly was “rewarded” with a green OK icon).

2. Unobtrusive marketing text on the right — it didn’t feel overwhelming, but I could have read it if I really cared.

3. Simple and light look and feel.