Information architecture
A descendant of the unglamorous fields of library science and human-computer interaction, the discipline of information architecture is crucial to designing great user experiences on the web. It’s also fiendishly difficult to do well.
A broad discipline
Information architecture is a broad discipline, often overlapping with other areas of user experience. Three of its core concerns are where content lives, how it’s described, and how you get to it.
Structure
A website is a hypertext information space—a set of text documents that link to each other. Information spaces need a clear and consistent structure—all of your content needs to “live” somewhere, or you won’t be able to find it.
Labelling
To create structure, you need a labelling system—a taxonomy. Coming up with a taxonomy that accurately describes your content, makes sense to your users, and helps them to find what they’re looking for is challenging.
Navigation
Navigation systems communicate structure and taxonomy—enabling users to get to the content they want, and letting them know where are they are now.
Joel Bobeck is a multi-discipline designer who specializes in creative thought and problem solving through art direction and graphic design for digital media.
