🏷️Multi-level Tags

Many people often wonder how to categorize items, and Sorter's answer is to use multi-level tags for classification.

Design Intent

When I used other apps before, I often felt conflicted about categorizing items during data entry. This created significant pressure because the categorization never felt perfect. This experience made it difficult for me to consistently input items. Sorter's multi-level tags were developed specifically to solve this problem.

Later, when I thought about categorization, I realized that it's often just to fulfill users' need to "see" items within the app. It doesn't necessarily make setting up or finding items any easier. For example, if I buy a T-shirt and categorize it under clothing, and if there are too many items in the clothing category, it becomes difficult to find. This leads to the need for sub-categories. However, over time, it becomes hard to remember the exact sub-category, and searching can become ineffective due to incorrect keywords. So, Sorter uses "multi-level tags" to address these issues.

Feature Experience

When people search for items in their minds, they rely on cues that are unique to their associative habits. In Sorter, "multi-level tags" serve as these personalized associative cues. Therefore, the best way to create categories is not to follow traditional item attributes but to organize them based on your usage scenarios or thought processes, making it more suitable for you.

Here’s an example based on my own habits: In my closet, I organize my clothes by color because I use color as my first "cue" when searching for clothes. When I think about what to wear, I start by considering color combinations, so organizing by color helps me find clothes more easily. In Sorter, I set up multiple color tags, which align with my thought process. This way, Sorter adapts to my habits, rather than me having to change my thinking to fit an app.Similarly, some people use the wearing scenario as a cue to create tags, such as "Wearing Scenario/Work," "Wearing Scenario/Leisure," "Wearing Scenario/Home," and so on. Categorizing by items like jackets or skirts might diminish the experience of actually using the app, in my opinion.

Another advantage of tags is that you can add multiple tags to a single item. For example, combining the previous examples: "Wearing Scenario/Work," "Color/Gray," and "Temperature/Summer." This way, regardless of the "cue" you're thinking of, you can quickly find the right item for any scenario.

This is also why I believe multi-level tags are more suitable than traditional categories for Sorter. Sorter aims to ensure that every item is used effectively rather than just being stored and forgotten.