1. A method of performing an electronic search of a database and generating a combined ranked item list, said method comprising: associating metadata with each of a set of graphical icons comprising at least two graphical icons in the database; processing user input acquired through user interaction with an icon selection tool to define at least two selected graphical icons from the set of graphical icons; processing user input to define a search weighting preference for each of the at least two selected graphical icons; processing the at least two selected graphical icons to generate a ranked item list for each of the at least two selected graphical icons based on the metadata, wherein the ranked item lists each comprise: items having an associated numerical ranking relative to other items in the ranked item list, wherein the metadata include seed products associated with corresponding graphical icons, wherein the seed products are weighted, using keywords, and combined into a single ranked list for each corresponding graphical icon, wherein the single ranked list is also used to generate the ranked item list; processing the search weighting preferences and the ranked item lists for the at least two selected graphical icons to generate a weighted ranked item list for each of the at least two selected graphical icons, the weighted ranked item lists being generated by applying each of the search weighting preferences to the numerical rankings of the items in the ranked item list; and generating the combined ranked item list by processing the weighted ranked item lists for the at least two selected graphical icons and grouping the items from each of the weighted rank item lists into the combined ranked item list.
1. A method of performing an electronic search of a database and generating a combined ranked item list, said method comprising: associating metadata with each of a set of graphical icons comprising at least two graphical icons in the database; processing user input acquired through user interaction with an icon selection tool to define at least two selected graphical icons from the set of graphical icons; processing user input to define a search weighting preference for each of the at least two selected graphical icons; processing the at least two selected graphical icons to generate a ranked item list for each of the at least two selected graphical icons based on the metadata, wherein the ranked item lists each comprise: items having an associated numerical ranking relative to other items in the ranked item list, wherein the metadata include seed products associated with corresponding graphical icons, wherein the seed products are weighted, using keywords, and combined into a single ranked list for each corresponding graphical icon, wherein the single ranked list is also used to generate the ranked item list; processing the search weighting preferences and the ranked item lists for the at least two selected graphical icons to generate a weighted ranked item list for each of the at least two selected graphical icons, the weighted ranked item lists being generated by applying each of the search weighting preferences to the numerical rankings of the items in the ranked item list; and generating the combined ranked item list by processing the weighted ranked item lists for the at least two selected graphical icons and grouping the items from each of the weighted rank item lists into the combined ranked item list. 13. The method of claim 1 , wherein the graphical icons comprise avatars.