#12 – Designing the Search 2.0 Experience

Adam & Ste catch up on tea and coffee.

This weeks main focus: improving the search experience.

Summary

In this conversation, Adam and Ste discuss various topics including updates on Hardcover, the design of the search feature, and the use of quick search and full search. They also explore different options for implementing search, including using Algolia for search functionality. Overall, the conversation highlights the importance of providing comprehensive book data and a user-friendly search experience on the Hardcover platform. The conversation focuses on designing and improving the search feature for a book app. The team discusses various aspects of the search functionality, including Figma’s version of the Flexbox, searching across different types of entities, adding tabs to the search page, and showing counts for different entity types. They also explore the benefits of the quick command palette, optimizing the book display component, and adding series position and total books in a series. Additionally, they discuss including friends’ reviews, avatars of friends who have read the book, and expanding search to include lists, prompts, and reviews. Overall, the team is excited about the upcoming search feature and its potential to enhance the user experience.

Takeaways

Updates on Hardcover include improvements to the design and book data.
The search feature on Hardcover is being redesigned to provide a more comprehensive and user-friendly experience.
The use of quick search and full search options can enhance the search functionality on the platform.
Consideration is being given to using Algolia for search functionality on Hardcover. Figma’s version of the Flexbox is a useful tool for designing search functionality.
Including tabs in the search page can provide a better user experience, especially on desktop.
Showing counts for different entity types in search results can help users quickly identify relevant content.
The quick command palette is an effective intermediate ground between a dropdown and a separate page for search.

Chapters

00:00 Introduction and Tea Talk
04:38 Updates on Hardcover
10:35 Discussion on Search Design
26:06 Expanding Book Data and Search
36:45 Exploring Quick Search and Full Search
49:25 Figma’s version of the Flexbox
50:00 Search across different types of entities
51:01 Adding tabs to the search page
51:59 Showing counts for different entity types
52:48 The benefits of the quick command palette
53:31 Improving focus and search experience
54:22 Optimizing the book display component
55:38 Adding series position and total books in a series
56:07 Including friends’ reviews
57:38 Adding avatars of friends who have read the book
58:38 Creating a fast and efficient search experience
59:50 Expanding search to include lists, prompts, and reviews
01:04:25 Reusing components for lists, prompts, and reviews
01:05:21 Excitement about the upcoming search feature