craigslist redesigned

REDESIGNING CRAIGSLIST

How much time do you spend on Craigslist to find what you want?

Daniel Jonggyu Lee | www.jonggyulee.com

KyungMin Kim | www.kyungmink.com

Overview

Craigslist Redesign Project | Fall 2009 Daniel Jonggyu Lee | KyungMin Kim

Introduction

User Needs

Goals

Design Iterations

Main Features

Demo


Introduction

What was your experience like the last time

you browsed through ads on Craigslist?

Have you ever felt you wasted a ton of time,

just to keep track of ads you've seen, ads you like,

and to remind yourself why you liked the ads?

Here are our suggestions on how to make searching

on Craigslist more efficient and enjoyable.


Defining Search Keywords

User Needs

I urgently need a

house in NYC.

East village would

be nice, but I don't

have to live there.

.. but I do need

high speed

Internet.

I don't have time.

I need to make

decision quickly.

I want to check

new ads for this

search query

tomorrow


Browsing Search Results

User Needs

How close is this

to what I want?

Where was I? Did I miss

anything on the list?

East village, internet,

clean apartment, female

only... what else was I

looking for?


Managing Candidates

User Needs

Did I search for

"internet" or "wi-fi"

yesterday?

Where did that great

apartment I saw

yesterday go?

How am I supposed to

keep track of all of the

apartments I like?


Goals

Provide simple but powerful ways to tailor your search

Suggest a more efficient workflow to browse and manage search results

Provide tools to manage selected ads and to help make decisions


Design Iterations: Search

MUST include "wireless internet"

exclude "female only"

OPTIONAL most important

least important

include "no dogs"

include "furnished"

civic 20042005

white Search

clean is o

optional

students clean flexible Search

east villagefurnished$100-700 not female only Search

prioritizing criteria

powerful but simple

customizing


Design Iterations: Contextual Menu

like

dislike

2

1

3

0

-1

optional

mandatory

undesirableadd as

nice to have

exclude

must include

add as

add as

efficient browsing

continuous searching

setting importance


Design Iterations: Tagging

favorite don't show again

good location email about gas bill

call 123.456.7890

09/28/09remind me on:

by emailalert:

power tag:

good location

Recent Tags Power TagsAdd a new tag

automating

taking notes

managing ads

remind


Craigslist Redesigned

Main Features


Prioritize search

keywords

Quickly browse

through articles

using the

preview pane

Review and manage

your favorite ads

Mark and take notes

on your favorite ads

using tags

Search keywords are

highlighted and new

keywords can be added

from the content


Demo: Craigslist Redesigned

Craig is looking for an apartment to share with other roommates for a year. He opens the website,

CraigslistRedesigned.com, and selects the “rooms / shares” category.

ManagerBrowser My Account Logout

Hello, Craig!

housing

apts / housing

rooms / shared

sublets / temporary

housing wanted

housing swap

vacation rentals

parking / storage

office / commercial

real estate for sale

for sale

appliances

antiques

barter

bikes

boats

books

business

computer

free

furniture

general

jewelry

materials

barter

bikes

boats

books

business

computer

free

furniture

general

jewelry

materials

rvs

sporting

jobs

accounting+finance

admin / office

arch / engineering

art / media / design

biotech / science

business / mgmt

customer service

education

food / bev / hosp

general labor

government

human resources

internet engineers

legal / paralegal

manufacturing

marketing / pr / ad

medical / health

nonprofit sector

real estate

retail / wholesale

sales / biz dev

salon / spa / fitness

security

skilled trade / craft

software / qa / dba

services

beauty

computer

creative

event

financial

legal

lessons

pet

adult

adult

beauty

computer

creative

event

financial

legal

lessons

pet

community

activities

artists

childcare

general

groups

pets

events

lost+found

musicians

local news

politics

rideshare

volunteers

classes

personal

strictly platonic

women seek women

women seeking men

events

discussion forums

appliances

antiques

barter

bikes

boats

books

business

computer

free

furniture

general

jewelry

materials

rvs

sporting

tickets

tools

wanted

appliances

antiques

barter

bikes

boats

books

business

computer

free

furniture

general

jewelry

materials

rvs

sporting

tickets

tools

wanted

for sale

appliances

antiques

barter

bikes

boats

books

business

computer

free

furniture

general

jewelry

materials

rvs

sporting

tickets

tools

wanted

barter

bikes

boats

books

business

computer

free

furniture

general

jewelry

materials

rvs

sporting

tickets

tools

wanted

barter

bikes

(change)new york > manhattan


Craig types in “east village” and “furnished” into the Quick Search popup box and sets the price

range. The search criteria are automatically added to the main Search text box. Craig then hits

the “Search” button and reviews the results.


Hello, Craig!


Search

Quick Search

0+BR100rent: 700dogs

cats

has image

only search titleseast village, furnishedsearch for:

$1125 1 to people for private Bedroom for NYC visits

(Manhattan)

Date: 2009-10-15, 10:36PM EDT

Reply to: [email protected] [Errors when replying to ads?

]

$500 for a one-bedroom long-term rental in a two-bedroom, 1-bath apartment, not including gas/electric utilities (these are split).

The room boasts plenty of natural light and a huge closet for storage.

It is located 2 blocks from the N train in Brooklyn - the 18th Avenue station.

25 min. direct to Manhattan, a bike ride to Coney Island and Prospect Park.

Near pizzerias, bakeries, laundromats, Starbucks, drug stores, the supermarket and fruit stands... a mixed area.

east village

Preview Full page

furnished$100-700


Sep 28 - $950 Monthly Upper East Females Only -

Sep 28 - $1125 1 to people for private Bedroom for NYC visits (Manhattan)

Sep 28 - $900 1 bedroom in 3 bed apt (available starting Nov 15) - (Lower East Side)

Sep 28 - $1400 Room for rent - Duplex garden apt. - (Midtown West)

Sep 28 - $1450 Huge bedroom in 2BR Apt in Theatre District - (Midtown West)

$1000 Comfortable 1bdrm - (SoHo)Sep 28 -


The Quick Search box is shown when starting a search. The Quick Search box automatically collapses afterwards.

Craig browses through a few ads, but can!t find anything he likes. He updates his preference for

“east village” to "nice to have" in the search box.


Hello, Craig!


Search

Quick Search

Date: 2009-10-15, 10:36PM EDT


]






Recent Tags

Preview Full page

Power Tags

east village furnished$100-700

Sep 28 - $700 room for rent - (East Village)

Sep 28 - $100 NEED A PLACE TO STAY IN NYC? 1 Private bdrm - (East Village)

Sep 28 - $450 Available roomshare - Female preferred (East Village)

Sep 28 - $700 Fully Furnished AVAILABLE ASAP 2BDS/$700 EACH (East Village)

Sep 28 - $500 1 Bdrm in 2br Apt Share (East Village)

Add a new tag

change to

change to

nice to have

exclude

$500 1 Bdrm in 2br Apt Share (East Village)


The preference for each search word can be changed from the context menu. There are 3 preference options to choose from: “must include”, “nice to have” and “exclude”.

"East village" has been changed to “nice to have” and is displayed in yellow. The search results

are updated automatically as he makes the change.


Hello, Craig!


Search

Quick Search

Recent Tags

Preview Full page

Power Tags

east villagefurnished$100-700

Sep 28 - Add a new tag

Date: 2009-10-15, 10:36PM EDT


]








Sep 28 - $685 SMALL FURNISHED ROOM - (SoHo)


Sep 28 - $400 Share Studio - (Upper East Side)



Sep 28 - $650 Bedroom is East Village -


The 3 search preference options, "must include", "nice to have" and "exclude" are identified by different colors – green, yellow and red.

Craig also types in “not female only” to the Search text box. The text automatically changes to

red.


Hello, Craig!


Search

Quick Search

Date: 2009-10-15, 10:36PM EDT


]






Recent Tags

Preview Full page

Power Tags

east villagefurnished$100-700 not female only








Add a new tag



The preference for search keywords can be specified while typing in, using the prefixes “optional” and “not”, as in “optional east village” and “not female”. If a prefix is not used, the keyword is set as “must include” by default.

Craig clicks on one of the search results and previews the ad. He clicks on the next result to

quickly switch to the next ad.


Hello, Craig!


Search

Quick Search

Preview Full page

furnished$100-700 not female only

Recent Tags Power Tags








Date: 2009-10-15, 10:36PM EDT


]

$685 SMALL FURNISHED ROOM - (SoHo)

Room for rent in 3 bed room apartment in 2nd ave. About the Apartment: 3 bed room apartment, Cable and Internet access, Living room, dining area, kictchen area shared

About the Room: Fully furnished, Full size bed, dresser, closet, Large windows, (very nice veiw), $700 a month- No security deposit required-

I am looking for a roommate to come join me and another roommate of mine in my 3 bed room apartment. The building has a laundry room as well as an elevator. I am seeking short term ONLY 11/09-5/10. All utilities are included as well as internet access and cable. The right candidate will be (male perferred) clean, reliable,responsible person (with no pets, sorry) to move in by the week of 11/15. I will be showing the room all this week tue/wed before 4pm and thur/fri/sat/sun after 3pm. If you are intrested in seeing the room please feel free to contact me @347-679-3822. I attened school and work if you call and do not get an answer leave a message with your name and telephone number and I will get back to you, Thanks.

Add a new tag


east village

Users can switch between “Preview” and “Full page” mode. Preview mode, which shows search results and the ad preview in two columns, is the default view mode.

Ads that haven!t been viewed are shown in bold text.


Hello, Craig!


Search

Quick Search

Recent Tags

Preview Full page

Power Tags

furnished$100-700 not female only

Date: 2009-10-15, 10:36PM EDT


]



About the Room: Fully furnished, Full size bed, dresser windows, (very nice veiw), $700 a month- No security d









Add a new tag

add as

nice to have

exclude

must include

add as

add as

east village

Craig realizes from the Search box that the currently displayed ad is within his price range and

includes the word "furnished", but not "east village". As Craig reads the ad, he realizes that he needs

internet connection. He highlights the text “internet” and selects “must include” from the context menu.


Search keywords found in each ad are highlighted with the same color as in the search box.

New search keywords can easily be added from the ad content through the context menu.

Search keywords that aren't found in the ad are striked out in the search box.

“Internet” is added to the Search box and search results are again updated automatically.


Hello, Craig!


Search

Quick Search

Preview Full page

furnished$100-700 not female onlyinternet


Date: 2009-10-15, 10:36PM EDT


]












Add a new tag

east village


Craig finds an interesting ad that he wants to bookmark and compare with other ads. He clicks on

the star button to mark the ad as favorite.


Hello, Craig!


Search

Quick Search

Preview Full page



Date: 2009-10-15, 10:36PM EDT


]












Add a new tag

east village


The star button is provided as a way to quickly tag ads.

Craig also wants to make a note about the ad, so he clicks the “Add a new tag” button and adds a

custom tag by typing in “good location”.


Hello, Craig!


Search

Quick Search

Preview Full page


Date: 2009-10-15, 10:36PM EDT


]

$685 SMALL FURNISHED ROOM - (SoHo)Sep 28 - $700 room for rent - (East Village)









I am looking for a roommate to come join me and another roommate of mine in my 3 bed room apartment. The building has a laundry room as well as an elevator. I am seeking short term ONLY 11/09-5/10. All utilities are included as well as internet access and cable. The right candidate will be (male perferred) clean, reliable,responsible person (with no pets, sorry) to move in by the week of 11/15. I will be showing the room all this week tue/wed before 4pm and thur/fri/sat/sun after 3pm. If you are intrested in seeing the room please feel free to contact me @347-679-3822. I attened school and work if you call and do not get an answer leave a message with your name and telephone number and I

good location

good location



east village

Any custom tag can be created and added by clicking on the “Add a new tag” button. Previously added tags that match will be shown as you type in.

All added tags are also displayed in the results list below each result.

The “Recent Tags” dropdown box displays a list of custom tags that have been used recently.

Craig also wants to remind himself to call the advertiser on Monday. He types in “remind” as a

tag. An auto-complete menu is displayed beneath the textbox, suggesting that there is a Power

tag for the "remind" keyword. Craig clicks on the Power tag menu.


Hello, Craig!


Search

Quick Search

Preview Full page


Date: 2009-10-15, 10:36PM EDT


]

$685 SMALL FURNISHED ROOM - (SoHo)Sep 28 - $700 room for rent - (East Village)










good location

remin

remind! (power tag)

good location



east village

Power tags have an icon displayed next to the tag name.

The Power tag edit box automatically expands for adding details, such as when and how to

remind himself and for additional notes.


Hello, Craig!


Search

Quick Search

Preview Full page


Date: 2009-10-15, 10:36PM EDT

Reply to: hous-j5czz-1423530889@cra ng to ads?]

$685 SMALL FURNISHED ROOM (S Ho)Sep 28 - $700 room for rent - (East Village)










good location

remind

CANCEL OK

send me an email

When:

How:

Note:

good location



east village

Power tags are predefined tags that provide additional features depending on the context, such as fields for adding when, how to contact and for other notes. “Compare”, “Contact” and “Remind” are examples of predefined Power tags.

Power tags can be added by typing in the Power tag name or by selecting a Power tag from the “Power Tags” dropdown box.

After reviewing all the search results, Craig clicks on the “Manager” tab to view all the ads that he

has tagged. Craig clicks on the “remind” Power tag to see which ads he decided to remind himself

of.

Browser Manager My Account Logout

Hello, Craig!


Tags

Power Tags

good location

excellent price

Remind

remind

wireless

nice neighborhood

Search History


when tomorrow

how email


when this weekend

how sms

note call and ask if wifi is available

starred

compare

contact


The “Browser” and “Manager” tabs are provided to switch between search results and tagged ads.

Clicking on a Power tag shows a list of ads that include the tag along with additional information for the Power tag.

Craig clicks on the “good location” and “wireless” tag in the Tags panel to only see the ads that

have both tags.


Hello, Craig!


Tags: good location, wireless


good location wireless


good location wireless excellent price

Power Tags

Tags

good location

excellent price

wireless

nice neighborhood

Search History

starred

compare

contact

remind


Tagged ads can be filtered and viewed by selecting the tags you are interested in.

Craig can save different search sessions for different items he is searching for on Craigslist.

Clicking on the “Search History” header in the left pane shows previous searches and the search

query for each search.


Hello, Craig!


Search History

NY housing

not female onlyeast villageinternetfurnished$100-700

Xbox

$0-400upper west side

Bike

light weight$10-100

Power Tags

Search History

good location

excellent price

wireless

nice neighborhood

Tags

starred

compare

contact

remind


Users can save multiple search queries and group ads and tags by each query. This allows users to separate search results for different items they are looking for on Craigslist.

not women


Find what you want with the

powerful, but simple search

Take notes and manage

your favorite ads with tags

Quickly scan ads with ad

preview and search highlighting Date: 2009-10-15, 10:36PM EDTReply to: [email protected]

$500 for a one-bedroom g rental in a two-bedroom, 1-bath apartment, not


Sep 28 - $500 1 Bdrm in 2br (SoHo) $500 1 Bdrm in 2br (SoHo)

long-term

Recap of Craigslist Redesigned

Thank you!

Daniel Jonggyu Lee | www.jonggyulee.com

KyungMin Kim | www.kyungmink.com

craigslist redesigned

Design

searchingon craigslist

redesigning craigslist

selected ads

checknew ads

new keywords

search resultsprovide

track of ads youve

preview pane search