21 Oct 2008 1447H

Are carousels abused?

Probably. We talk about carousels but no one properly seems to know what are the appropriate contexts around when to use them.

For those not in the know, carousels are a kind of web user interface widget that essentially displays a subset of a larger set of information in a loop, and typically not only shows where the user is in the set of information being shown, but also the allow the user to control the direction of scrolling. The most common use for this is a space-saving measure when one wants to display a short (say, between 5 and 10 objects) series of serially-related objects. Why 10? Well, because typically, one has to retain in short-term memory what is NOT being shown in the loop of larger information, and where that might be located, and so memorability of the thing or things desired becomes an issue the larger the set becomes. That’s when we might invoke the cognitive psychologist’s Rule of Seven (plus or minus 2). But beyond that there are other issues:

For more info you can look at the Yahoo Design Pattern Library entry on Carousels.

Permanent link to Are carousels abused?

Filed under Design, Information Architecture, Information Design, Interaction Design, User Experience, Web

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