Why information architecture is important for designers
Sitting inside any beautifully crafted and designed digital product, there must be a fully functional and considered information architecture.
As much as information architecture shouldn’t be developed in a vacuum. Neither should the design and look of digital products. In fact, a large proportion of the function of digital designers is devoted to supporting users locating content they need and driving them towards content that the product owners want them to find.
Incorporating visual markers to make sure that certain content is distinct from the rest or creating layers that demonstrate the diverse content on a product.
If you do not have quality content, it is impossible to design a quality digital product. It all comes back to creating a user experience that makes sense and is designed to make task completion simple. And this relates back to designing the product with the content planned for it in mind.
8 Principles of information architecture, according to Dan Brown 🏗️
As a designer, the more you know about information architecture, the better the products you design will meet your user requirements and deliver what they need. If you work with an information architect, even better. If you’re still learning about information architecture the 8 Principles according to Dan Brown is a great place to begin.
If you haven’t come across Dan Brown yet, you have more than likely come across his 8 principles. Dan Brown is one of the UX world's most prolific experts with a career that spans most areas of UX designs. He’s written 3 books on the subject and experience across a multitude of high profile projects. Aiding large organizations to make the most of their user experience.
The principle of objects: Content should be treated as a living, breathing thing. It has lifecycles, behaviors, and attributes.
The principle of choices: Less is more. Keep the number of choices to a minimum.
The principle of disclosure: Show a preview of information that will help users understand what kind of information is hidden if they dig deeper.
The principle of examples: Show examples of content when describing the content of the categories.
The principle of front doors: Assume that at least 50% of users will use a different entry point than the home page.
The principle of multiple classifications: Offer users several different classification schemes to browse the site’s content.
The principle of focused navigation: Keep navigation simple and never mix different things.
The principle of growth: Assume that the content on the website will grow. Make sure the website is scalable.
It’s highly likely that you’ve already used some, or all, of these IA principles in your designs. Don’t be shy about mastering them, or at the very least be familiar. They can only help you become a better user experience designer.
Wrap up 🌯
Mastering the 8 principles, according to IA expert Dan Brown will see you mastering the complex tasks of information architecture. Understanding IA is key to creating digital designs with a content structure that is functional, logical and just what your users need to navigate your product. Design without good IA doesn’t work as well, just as a content structure without a well designed interface will not engage users.
According to Abby Covert, author, teacher and community leader in the field of information architecture (IA) : ‘IA is the way we arrange pieces of content to make sense when experienced as a whole. By this definition: there is information architecture in everything. Mindblown?’
😮 (That’s a resounding yes from an IA rookie like me.)
In this issue of CRUX we go in search of information architecture and have some surprising encounters in the worlds of emoji, elevators, walking tracks, games and more. We meet UX designers, developers, researchers and even a Senior Park Ranger. It seems you can have your ‘IA hat’ on without even realising it. That’s the power of information architecture.
Some highlights from this issue:
UX research and strategy specialist, Q Walker explores the world of emoji from an information architecture perspective and sparks curiosity along the way. Have you ever wondered why clock emojis are organized under travel and places? 🤔
We talk to Senior Park Ranger David Rogers about the thinking behind creating and building New Zealand’s national walking track network and reveal how information architecture can also live ‘in the wild’.
UX developer Ben Chapman delves into the classification systems of libraries over time and ponders the pros and cons for users of moving information online.
We talk to Sam Cope, Lead UX Designer at Wētā Workshop’s Interactive division about what it takes to drive design decisions with the end user in mind - something crucial for any video game’s success, whether it’s a blockbuster or something more niche.
And much more about information architecture in unexpected places….
The stories and people in this issue of CRUX certainly captured our imagination and attention - we hope they inspire and even surprise you too.
Do you have a burning idea to share or a conversation you’re dying to kickstart that’s of interest to the world of UX? Now’s your chance. We’re already on the lookout for contributors for our next edition of CRUX for 2022. To find out more please drop us a line.
According to Abby Covert, a leader in the field of information architecture, IA is ‘the way we arrange the parts to make sense of the whole.’ Information architecture (IA) is found in every digital product, from websites and apps to an intranet.
For the purposes of this article we focus on the importance of information architecture to user experience (UX) design because IA is fundamentally important to the success of your user experience. It determines how users will access your content and ultimately how successful their experience is when using your product.
When put like this it does seem pretty straightforward. Maybe even simple? But these tasks need to be straightforward for your users. Putting thought, time and research in at the front of your design and build can help build an intuitive product. IA is the structure that sits in behind and allows the design to tell the story and the content to be found in an easy way.
The role of information architecture in UX design 🏗️
Information architecture forms the framework for any UX design project. You need to consider the visual elements, functionality, interaction, and navigation and if they are built according to IA principles. If not considered fully even the most compelling content and powerful user experience design can fail without an organized and functional IA design. Disorganized content can make finding your way through difficult, meaning users get lost, annoyed and frustrated. Frustrated users don’t stick around and most likely don’t come back.
Through solving or preempting users’ issues with research and designing powerful and effective IA it reduces usability and navigation problems. Meaning that researched, thought through and designed information architecture can save both money and time for your organization in the longer term.
What is the difference between IA and UX? 🤯
Often it can be confusing that there isn’t much difference between IA and UX design. While these terms do relate to each other and need to be considered alongside, they are not one and the same.
“Information architecture (IA) is the discipline of making information findable and understandable, helping people understand their surroundings and find what they’re looking for online and in the real world” -Interaction Design
“User experience (UX) design is the process design teams use to create products that provide meaningful and relevant experiences to users” - Interaction Design
UX design is well grounded with good functional information architecture but that’s not where it stops. The user experience focus is on influencing users’ behaviors and actions through emotion and psychology. Information architecture is focussed on the users' goals and task completion. They work together to create the very best user experience. IA provides the foundation of a well organized space that is easy to navigate and UX design ensures that the overall experience meets (or exceeds) users’ expectations, through their wants, needs and desires.
The key components of IA 🧱
There are four key components to consider when building a strong information architecture:
Labeling
How information is named and represented. Labels need to communicate information to users without using too much space or requiring much work on the user’s part.
Navigation
How people make their way through information. Without robust IA which has been thought through this is the quickest way to confuse users. If they can’t find their way to the information they need, they won’t be able to complete their task. It really is that simple.
Search
How people will look for information (keywords, categories). A search system is especially important when there is a lot of content to wade through. A search engine, filters, and many other tools help users search content. Great UX design will consider how the information will be displayed once searched.
Organization
How the information is ordered. These help users to predict where they can find information easily:
Hierarchical is the hierarchy of the content and literally the order of importance the user expects to see information against what the organization needs.
Sequential Taking a stroll in your user's shoes can be valuable. Considering the path a user would take and the journey they make. Walking step-by-step, ensuring that as users progress through their tasks they are easily led to the next step.
Matrix This is a little more complicated for users as it lets them choose how to navigate on their own. Users are given the choice of content organization. For example, the searchability of a website. Where the user could choose to search by topic, size, price or any other filter or option.
Wrap up 🥙
Information architecture is a key part of a powerful user experience design. Efficient IA helps users quickly and easily move through content and find what they want. And what do users want but to find what they want, complete their task and get on with their day!
Provide an IA that functions well, is intuitive to use and well labeled, coupled with UX design that is smooth, attractive and responds to users needs, wants and desires and you’ll have a winner on the day.
There is an enormous amount of information on the internet. Every page you load is crammed with it. With so much information around, it’s incredibly important to remember that for human minds to be able to actually process and make sense of it, considered, strategic, ordered information architecture is needed.
Information architecture is everywhere digitally, but where does it actually live? IA sits in behind all of the digital interfaces we humans use (and even out in the real world). It ideally has been considered, researched, and implemented with humans in mind, though as we all know, this isn’t always the case.
Information architecture always has a role to play, and here we’ll focus on 4 key digital spaces where information architecture is most prominent, and likely most familiar.
Websites
Apps
Company intranet
Social media software
To find out more about putting information architecture into action check out our blog.
1. Websites 🌐
Information architecture for websites can often be confused with navigation. While site navigation is super important, (think of it as the ‘skin’ that sits above the information), that’s only part of the story. Great website architecture considers and organizes user requirements, organizing the content and structure of the website with labels, search and navigation that simply makes sense and is easy to use. Done well, it will feel simple and straightforward, guiding users through smoothly.
Hubspot has a great article on IA for websites and how they can be structured. From a complex library system, to travel booking systems. Each has its own needs and can be quite deep in layers of information. The trick is to create a website structure, based on user needs, that makes sense of the piles of information and a simple navigation that sits above, making the journey to task completion as quick as possible. Working together they make any user experience feel quick, simple, and intuitive!
2. Apps 📱
An organization's app acts as the first point of contact. It needs to be super simple, clean, and quick to interact with. A well thought out, thorough, researched, and organized information architecture plays a big part in this.
Information architecture for mobile use has a different set of rules than websites. The key consideration here is around the ease of use across a smaller screen. Navigation that makes sense for a laptop or desktop computer can be clunky in a mobile app.
An app's interface needs to have fewer options, and fewer clicks to complete the task. Researching and designing an app’s IA with just the right amount of information is key. Some retail apps are simplified websites, whereas other apps exist on their own merits, with no need for a website.
Bringing it back to the humans that will interact with the app is key to creating a product that delivers on user requirements and increases interaction.
3. Intranet 🖥
An organizational intranet is possibly less of a priority than a website or an app but is vitally important to the success of an organization. And in these times of remote or hybrid working, intranets have proven to be more valuable than ever. An intranet is more than where to stick newsletters for staff, it is an interface that can make or break the productivity or even the wellbeing of an organization.
Access to files, information, messaging platforms, and corporate requirements wherever and whenever people are working is more important than ever. A well researched and designed information architecture can build an intranet that meets users’ requirements, increase communication and interaction and ultimately boost productivity.
Conducting UX research with staff on what they need to access, when, and how will help inform the intranet IA far more intuitively. The information available (and needed) can be huge, keeping it simple and human focused is key.
Social media software is complex in terms of ecosystem and display of information. Each social media platform has developed over time, think back to Facebook and how it looked when it initially launched. And through the uptake of users, gathering of information over time, and continual research and testing, it has evolved into what we see today. And will continue to evolve with users’ needs.
Every user has a different experience based on the individuals, groups, organizations and even retailers that they choose to interact with (or haven’t chosen via advertising). The piles of information that sit behind and are brought to the interface for an individual through their choice, associations, labels, tags, interests, age, etc will present them with a unique feed.
The interface of a social media platform needs to be considered, tested, tested again, and occasionally tested or changed once launched as the interaction of users is vitally important.
The information architecture sitting behind is huge in order to enable the agility to pull the right information forward in a dynamic and coherent way. Continuously learning, testing and requesting interaction from users through options to ‘hide’ posts that aren’t appropriate or respond to direct queries about what they do and don’t want to see are just some instances of continuous user research.
Social media continues to be a sophisticated information architecture that is constantly updating and changing with user needs.
Wrap Up 🫔
Information architecture lives wherever there is information needing to be found by humans. Successful information architecture is sorted, organized and labeled in a way that is simple, intuitive, and considered. Making interaction and life simple, which in a world where there are an increasing number of websites, apps, and tools to choose from – intuitive information architecture has never been more important for your business and your customers.
