INFORMATION

ARCHITECTURE

Master in Information Science

INTRODUCTION University of Porto

 CONTENTS
What is Information Architecture (IA)?

Problems that IA solves

What we mean by IA

Goals of an IA

How users experience IA

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INFORMATION

Facts provided or learned about something or someone.

Sequence of facts also conveys information.

Useful to resolve uncertainty and gives the ability to decide and act.

<> data: raw material that conveys information.

<> knowledge: cognitive change triggered by information.

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INFORMATION OVERLOAD

Many centuries ago, formal information could probably fit within a single
building. Information was tied to objects such as books.

We are now surrounded by more information today than ever. We are

producing more information than ever.

The information overload leads to difficulties finding information and

making sense of it. This impacts productivity and has costs to society.
Source: https://www.statista.com/statistics/195140/new-user-
generated-content-uploaded-by-users-per-minute/

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MORE FORMS OF ACCESS AND PRODUCTION

Multiple devices for information access and production.

More contexts and situations of information access.

Offering coherent user experiences is becoming increasingly difficult.

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INFORMATION ENVIRONMENT

Aggregate of all different means that the user has to interact with the
information an organization makes available through its products and
services.

Interaction with digital information happens through diverse channels

Web browsers on devices such as computers, smartphones

Apps on smartphones, watches, TV boxes, smart home devices, cars, etc.

https://isure.ca/inews/self-driving-cars-how-will-they-affect-
your-car-insurance/

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INFORMATION ARCHITECTURE (IA)

The structured design of shared information environments.

Gives product managers, designers, developers, and other stakeholders, a

holistic understanding of the ways users interact with information,
allowing them to structure it so it can be easily found and understood.

Informs the design of websites and applications by defining semantic

structures, i.e., their visual and textual language in the information
environment.

Combines learnings from Information Science and Architecture.

https://adamfard.com/blog/information-architecture

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INFORMATION ARCHITECTURE

https://uxdesign.cc/a-brief-history-of-information-architecture-d26b17205e7b INFORMATION 12
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INFORMATION ARCHITECTURE PERSPECTIVES

PLACES MADE OF COHERENCE

INFORMATION ACROSS CONTEXTS

SYSTEMS THINKING

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PLACES MADE OF INFORMATION

Information environments are seen as places where we go to do certain things (e.g., read news, pay
bills, buy something).

We often use spatial metaphors (e.g., “go online”, “log into the bank”, “go back”) when talking
about our experience in information evironments.

In the real world, visual clues tell us what we can do and not do in that context.

The words in a navigation bar have the same role, they let us know where we are, where we can go
next, and what we can do in that environment.

https://kinsta.com/blog/website-navigation/
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COHERENCE ACROSS CONTEXTS

Platforms of access with different capabilities and constraints.

Experiencing the product in a different platform should be familiar.

Coherence and not consistency

The product needs to be familiar and understandable but not identical.
Essential to fit the platforms’ capabilities and limitations.

https://content.techgig.com/internet/3-ways-to-watch-ad-free-
videos-on-youtube/articleshow/68081327.cms

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SYSTEMS THINKING

Think about the overall system that the product or service creates or
participates in.

It is essential to understand how channels interact with each other and

with other systems.

Contributes to articulate the vision and set the direction for future efforts.

Not necessary to design the whole system upfront.

Best systems start small and evolve.

https://www.metabolic.nl/what-we-do/systems-thinking/

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INFORMATION ARCHITECTURE GOALS

Findability
Creating semantic structures to align the subject and the user's mental model.

Understandability
Framing information in such a way, that users can get its meaning.

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INFORMATION ARCHITECTURE INVISIBILITY

IA work deals with abstraction.

It’s hard to visualize IA in apps and websites.

Good IA helps create a place where finding and understanding come

naturally.

It is most noticeable when it is not done right.

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IA MISCONCEPTIONS

IA is only concerned with navigation structures.

Major concern but are only one of the ways in which we experience the
semantic structures of these systems

IA is the sitemap or blueprint of the application or website.

IA is not a set of diagrams but a design aspect that allows experiencing a sense
of placeness when interacting in an information environment.

https://www.elegantthemes.com/blog/wordpress/xml-sitemap-seo

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INFORMATION ARCHITECTURE …

Is the structural design of shared information environments.

Helps make information easier to find and understand.

Acts across multiple contexts and devices.

Is abstract.

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REFERENCES AND READINGS

Louis Rosenfeld, Peter Morville, Jorge Arango. Information Architecture

– For the Web and Beyond. [The Problem That Information Architecture
Address and Defining Information Architecture chapters]

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 INFORMATION
ARCHITECTURE

THANK YOU!
Carla Teixeira Lopes [email protected]
www.fe.up.pt/~ctl/