Search Types

The human mind ".. operates by association. With one item in its grasp, it snaps instantly to the next that is suggested by the association of thoughts, in accordance with some intricate web of trails carried by the cells of the brain." Bush V., 'As We May Think', 1945

The search types project pondered the problems of search engines and ways of making the search process more intuitive. Using a range of techniques, behaviour patterns of searchers were recorded and examined. The findings were used to create a visual grammar for searching. Simple building blocks were used to create a series visual representations of search types. It was envisaged that (combined with visual metaphors) these could be used to help a user focus their search to get more relevant results.