SensoryMetrics

Online retailers have become popular because of a bunch of obvious reasons: long-tail inventories, decent search and browse, good self-serve UIs, and reliable customer support. I’m surprised that more sites aren’t pushing the boundaries of the shopping experience. SM friend Jenny Mehan points us to Etsy -a place to buy and sell handmade goods. What sets Etsy apart is its design: there’s all sorts of participatory features from forums to chat rooms. The coolest thing is some of their wacky “shop by” methods. There’s the usual “shop by category”. But there’s also “shop by color”, which brings up this wild Electric Kool-Aid UI that bubbles up a rich color palette. Click on a color and a bunch of stickies appear with items that match your color selection. Move the stickies around, pick another color… It’s a fun UI and worth checking out – especially if you’re a pigment-phile!

Tags: Etsy, E-com, Electric-Kool-Aid, Color