Search Describes Solutions -- But What About Problems?

harlan.harris@gmail.com (Harlan Harris) — Mon, 20 Jul 2026 00:00:00 +0000

In a previous post I said that Search User Interfaces (UI) have two jobs -- helping people find things and educating them about the catalog's structure. (I'll use "catalog" here under the assumption that I'm describing an e-commerce search system, but much of this post is relevant for other search domains.) The search results, facets, and other elements describe the catalog: the solutions and products available.

But there's a third job that's often not addressed and not always well defined: helping users understand their problem, before they're ready to evaluate solutions. Standard search UI patterns assume the user is already in the right mental state to evaluate what's on offer. The design challenge that I want to discuss, then, is to figure out how best to support problem education in search interfaces.

Design Decisions for a New Search Results Page

harlan.harris@gmail.com (Harlan Harris) — Fri, 08 May 2026 00:00:00 +0000

One of my specialties as a freelance consultant is discovery systems for e-commerce -- web pages and backend systems for helping users search for and find what they want or need. For the last year and a half, I've been working as a consultant for DesignShop, a company that sells materials samples for home renovations. Want to find a countertop, cabinet, paint, and tile combo for your kitchen reno that looks great, with samples shipped overnight? Check 'em out.

E-Commerce on Harlan D. Harris

Search Describes Solutions -- But What About Problems?

Design Decisions for a New Search Results Page