Information just got easier to find

SpicyNodes is an easy and fun visual way for users to explore a web site and immediately access what they need. It’s coming this Fall.

SpicyNodes gives web site visitors the opportunity to walk through information in a natural and interactive way. Information is represented using interconnected "nodes” in a virtual space. Users can see how each node relates to others around it, and then drill down for more detail.

Organization: the missing ingredient

Sometimes we know exactly what we’re looking for, and sometimes we only have a general idea. Nodes are visual representations of information that help users see your entire site on a single page. With nodes, you get the big picture right away. Just as people rely on maps to find things in the real world, nodes allow users to find information in the virtual world.

But nodes provide more than just the big picture; they also act like a magnifying glass that allows users to see details in context, within a larger body of information.

Tasty and inviting

We’ve all experienced information overload. We don’t need hundreds or thousands of pages of information - we just need the nugget we’re seeking. SpicyNodes’ organic structure is reminiscent of the way we look for things in the real world. It feels so natural and inviting that visitors can intuitively and interactively search and navigate a web site to easily find the information they need. Because manipulating nodes is fast and fun, users are more likely to take full advantage of a web site, whether for learning, information gathering, or social interaction.

Spice up your classroom

SpicyNodes directly supports several kinds of teaching and curricula. In design courses, students can create novel designs based on radial map layouts, with SpicyNodes as the underlying engine. In programming courses, students can use the API to utilize SpicyNodes for visualizing information in various scenarios. More broadly, students and teachers can use SpicyNodes to create concept maps and represent topics that contain complex relationships, on any subject.

What’s the recipe for SpicyNodes?

It’s a heaping spoonful of math stirred into a bowl full of fun. SpicyNodes brings the concept of radial maps to life as a navigational tool. It solves the problem of browsing complex sets of information by allowing users to manipulate and interact with “nodes” or pieces of information, just as if they were pushing coins around on a countertop.

SpicyNodes achieves its user-friendliness by mimicking space that is familiar and intuitive to users. Related information radiates out from its parent in a cascade, just as the planets orbit the sun. Likewise, nodes elegantly jump from orbit to orbit, just as a spacecraft would when maneuvering under the influence of a planet’s gravity.