Search from a Design Perspective

At the surface level, many people see search as simply the search box. But according to Peter Morville of Semantic Studios, there is so much more that can be done with search in regards to the interface, the search engine, the people, the content, the metadata, and the content producers. He says all these factors are players in the “complex, adaptive system called search.”

Morville goes on to say how he was inspired by Christopher Alexander to look at design patterns and patterns of physical behavior. By looking at these behavior patterns that searchers have, he says it is fascinating to study how these patterns can be turned into design patterns that are solutions for very common problems.

On the subject of the future of search, Morville believes the vision of the future is the same as it was several decades ago. He says the future is artificial intelligence with a little bit of information visualization. While he foresees many things happening in the future, he does believe