You need tahini, but where is it? Baking aisle? International? Condiments? Without the right clues, each search is a guess — and the feeling is frustration.

Information scent is the idea that signs are clues, and people follow the strongest clue. When a label, link, or category doesn't clearly signal what's behind it, users abandon the trail.

A question to ask: How many people can accurately predict where the tahini lives?

An experiment to try: Log where they pick and why. Then compare where they looked to where it actually lives.

Part of the Design and Research Critique Framework — 1 minute videos that help you turn reactions into reasons using design and research principles.