5. Information Architecture
In learning to construct and maintain both personal and organizational websites, the most important skill you can develop has absolutely nothing to do with software or HTML. Instead, it concerns a concept known as information architecture, which was first coined by information design guru Richard Saul Wurman.
In his 1996 book Information Architects, Wurman provided three separate definitions for the title term:
- The individual who organizes the patterns inherent in data, making the complex clear;
- A person who creates the structure or map of information which allows others to find their personal paths to knowledge;
- The emerging 21st century professional occupation addressing the needs of the age and focused upon clarity, human understanding, and the science of the organization of information.
One of the easiest ways to learn the basic principles of information architecture is to remember the phrase "LATCH," which is an acronym for five possible ways of arranging information in an organizational scheme:
- Location — information organized to reflect associated physical realities.
- Alphanumeric — information either numbered or alphabetized. A book index is a classic example, but others abound.
- Time — information organized across a temporal continuum. Historical timelines are a good example, but in some ways, computer instructions are also organized according to time, as the writers expect you to walk through a sequence of actions step-by-step.
- Category — information organized into categories that give some sense of human order to natural reality. The biological system of species categorization is a a good example.
- Hierarchy — information organized according to its importance. Closely related to category, but the items are also ranked in a defined value system of importance.
When structuring and labeling links for your own site, try to keep the LATCH acronym in mind and think about how your site reflects a single or mixed mode of information architecture. We'll talk more about this in class.
Labeling and Navigation Systems
For this week, you are reading sections of both Don't Make Me Think and the Web Style Guide that discuss the importance of organizational schemes in designing site architecture. But equally important is the creation of labels throughout the site and how they are used in site navigation.
In class this week, I want us to get some practice in creating labeling systems for a website. So what we'll do is make up a case scenario in which you pretend you work for a website consulting firm that's been hired by the Memorial Union Bookstore here at Iowa State to critique the architecture of their website. Here's your job:
- Take a moment to look around this site. Using the text box feature of Microsoft Word, write down all the labels you can find on the site according to the groupings in which they are located.
- Next, determine whether these labels are appropriate and descriptive enough for the main primary audience, e.g. students here on campus. Are they written in a language easily understood by the audience? Are they grouped in a way that makes sense as a navigation device? Does the site seem well organized? Is it easy for users to find information?
- Rewrite and regroup the labels in a way you feel would better serve the information needs of the primary audience. Use Word to create a mock layout of your new website. Just dive right in and do your best; there's no way you could do worse than they have.
- When you're finished, we'll share our answers with the class.
Learning how to create labeling systems as navigation devices and as site indices is somewhat difficult at first, but with time, you'll discover that it's mainly a matter of putting yourself in the shoes of the site's primary audience and thinking in linguistic terms they can fully understand.