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Information Design—Week 3, Assignment 3

Compare and critique information design on the two search engine giants, Google (www.google.com) and Yahoo ( www.yahoo.com). Please write a one page comparison of them.

You should consider these questions:

• How easy is it to locate information?
• Where are the search fields and search buttons located?
• For both search engines, how much information and options are available on each page, and how do you feel as a user when viewing each home page?
• Why do these search engines approach information architecture differently?
• Which interface design is built toward broad general searching of information?

It is easier to locate information on Google. Fewer items fight for the user’s attention, so the user feels more at ease to choose which item to choose. If performing a search is their sole objective, Google’s interface doesn’t get in the way; the search field receives focus by default, so that the user can immediately begin typing after the page is finished loading.

On Yahoo!, there are lists and ads and button and links all competing to draw the user’s attention. There is no clear call to action. The user subconsciously feels pressure to make a choice. It is more difficult for the user to locate the information for which he is looking because so much unrelated information is being thrust in his face. The search field is also given focus on page load.

On Google, the search field and button are located directly in the center, vertically and horizontally. The search form fields on Yahoo! are located nearly at the top of the page and slightly to the right of center.

The information and options on Google’s home page are intentionally limited to give significance and priority to those items which are most likely to be useful to the user. The information displayed is minimal and invites the user to them without causing distraction. There are no ads. Nothing moves. The page feels established, trustworthy, ready, powerful. It says, “I’m good, and I know it.”

Yahoo!, however, chooses to inundate the user with as much information as possible. Reviews, shopping, ads, news—it is all thrown on the page, each element trying to grab the user’s attention. Personally, I find Yahoo! to be stressful and inefficient. It says, “I know ‘the other guys’ are good, but look at all the stuff I have!” To me, Google’s approach to design—minimalistic and relevant—is more appealing than Yahoo!’s approach—shotgun, hit-as-many-as-we-can, something-for-everybody.

But I realize that the reasons for the two different designs are founded in the user base. The typical user for Yahoo!, in my own limited perception, is less ‘geeky’ than the typical Google user. Yahoo!’s users are generally less technologically savvy and are more prone to be swayed by its dramatic flair and gimmicky ads and promotions. Google’s users are more to-the-point, matter-of-fact, get-the-job-done people. They are on a mission, whereas Yahoo!’s users aren’t necessarily sure what they, so they browse and peruse and explore whatever the site has to offer.

For finding broad, generalized information, Google is a better search engine. If you know the topic you want more information about, Google is more apt to accommodate that search, offer suggestions to clarify or refine your terms, and in general give you better results.