35. People Are Driven To Create Categories

35. People Are Driven To Create Categories

1. People naturally create categories. Just as learning a native language hap- pens naturally, so does learning to categorize the world around us.

   • Categorizing doesn’t emerge as a skill until about age seven.

2. PEOPLE LOVE TO CATEGORIZE

   • IF YOU DON’T PROVIDE CATEGORIES, PEOPLE WILL CREATE THEIR OWN
     • WHO ORGANIZES DOESN’T MATTER AS MUCH AS HOW WELL IT’S ORGANIZED
       • Takeaways
         • People like to put things into categories.
           • If there is a lot of information and it is not in categories, people will feel overwhelmed and try to organize the information on their own.
             • It’s always a good idea to organize information for your audience as much as possible. Keep in mind the four-item rule from the “How People Remember” chapter.
               • It’s useful to get input from people on what organization schemes make the most sense to them, but the critical thing is that you organize the material. What you call things is often more important than how you have it organized.
                 • If you’re designing sites for children under age seven, any organization into categories you are doing is probably more for the adults in that child’s world, not for the child.