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Information Architecture

1. Information architecture organizes content to help users find information easily and intuitively; it includes site organization, link labels, page names, and visual hierarchy. 2. Key information architecture principles include focusing on user goals, providing fewer well-organized choices, avoiding unexpected information, allowing for multiple classifications of information, and planning for growth of content over time. 3. Developing an effective site map involves starting with user goals, considering related pages from competitors, using different colors for page levels, and carefully choosing page names to match content.

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364 views

Information Architecture

1. Information architecture organizes content to help users find information easily and intuitively; it includes site organization, link labels, page names, and visual hierarchy. 2. Key information architecture principles include focusing on user goals, providing fewer well-organized choices, avoiding unexpected information, allowing for multiple classifications of information, and planning for growth of content over time. 3. Developing an effective site map involves starting with user goals, considering related pages from competitors, using different colors for page levels, and carefully choosing page names to match content.

Uploaded by

wkurlinkus7386
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© © All Rights Reserved
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Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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INFORMATION ARCHITECTURE BASICS

Dr. Will Kurlinkus


W H AT I S
I N F O R M AT I O N
ARCHITECTURE
(IA)?

• IA organizes content to help


users understand where they are
in a product and where the
information they want is.
• Good IA helps users find what
they need quickly and intuitively
with as little thought as
possible.
• IA includes site organization but
also link labels, page names,
visual hierarchy, & breadcrumbs
• Site Map: A branching ”family tree”
type map that shows parent and
children pages as well as the
names, connections, and content of
site pages.
IA PRINCIPLES

1. Object principle: You should view your content as “living” and as something that changes and
grows over time.
2. Choice principle: People think they want to have many choices, but they actually need fewer
choices that are well-organized.
3. Disclosure principle: Information should not be unexpected or unnecessary.
4. Exemplar principle: Humans put things into categories and group different concepts together.
5. Front door principle: People will usually arrive at a homepage from another website.
6. Multiple classification principle: People have different ways of searching for information.
7. Focused navigation principle: There must be a strategy and logic behind the way navigation
menus are designed.
8. Growth principle: The amount of content in a design will grow over time.
SITE MAP STEPS

1. Begin with user goals and chart the major


flows from the homepage to get to those
goals.
2. Consider the other links and pages that
might come off of or inside of your major
flows
• use competitors’ sites to sus out other
expected pages for building in higher-order
basic structures including: login, account,
payment information, Homepage, Product
Features, User Settings, Pricing, Contact
Us, and Help.
3. Use different colors for different levels of
your site
4. Think very carefully about the names of
pages in relation to what content will
appear
WEB DESIGN: DON’T MAKE ME THINK

• Don’t Make Me Think: Web design should be obvious and self-explanatory.


Don’t create frustration and confusion. Let a user accomplish tasks as easily
as possible.
WEB DESIGN: HOME PAGE

• Goals: What is this website? What’s the company? How can I get from here to
the place I need to be? Should spell out the big picture of the site.
• Clear navigation
• Clear imagery and logo
• Search bar
• Avoids needless words
• Resonates with target audience
WEB DESIGN: SITE STRUCTURE

• There generally should only have to be three levels of a site structure (2-3
clicks to get anywhere from the homepage): Homepage>Level 1>Level
2>Level 3
• Getting to these lower-level pages should be easy and obvious
• Understanding what content belongs in what section and how to get a user
to that content is the most difficult parts of web design
• Usability: Card sorting for webdesign and writing
WEB DESIGN: PAGE STRUCTURE

• Clear visual hierarchy


• Size, spacing, font
• Nesting
• Chunk pages into clear
sections
• Avoid having too much on
any page
• Beware of content below
the fold
WEB DESIGN: PAGE STRUCTURE
WEB DESIGN: NAVIGATION 1

• Let me get where I want to


go
• Make terms obvious
• Give a search bar
• Navigation should tell us
where we are
WEB DESIGN: NAVIGATION 2

• Sign Posting: Once I’m on a page I should be able to see the title of the specific page,
have a visual marker of the page I’m on (a button is lit up), and know the path I took
to get to that page (breadcrumb trail).
• Uniformity: When I click something, the title of the button should match the title of
the page I’m sent to.

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