blink design library

Communicating Popularity Trends

The Lycos 50 communicates trends in search terms by showing:

• a term's current rank
• whether its popularity is on the rise or on the wane
• its rank last week
• the total number of weeks it has been in the top 50 list

The table format is an effective way to communicate differing aspects of popularity (current, trend up or down, change from previous week, and popularity endurance).

Highlighting the current row

Rather than using alternating row shading (a common technique to help differentiate rows), the Netflx queue highlights a row when you roll your mouse over it. This, combined with the generous amount of white space between rows, makes it easier to read across rows. It also makes for a cleaner, simpler layout compared to using alternating row shading (click to see full-sized image).