We have a lot of information available on the World Wide Web. In case, this information is unstructured and does not follow a standard format, it will be difficult for the human brain to perceive and understand any single thing. People that work with different digital products are looking for their content and functionality requirements to be structured and easy to use.
The blog discusses the basics of information architecture and what role it plays when you are structuring your content requirements in real-time. This concept has now become an important aspect of the user experience process.
What is Information Architecture?
Information Architecture (IA) is a science of organizing and structuring your content related to websites, web, and mobile applications. This approach was founded by an American architect and graphic designer, Richard Saul Wurman in 1975. This field aims at the creation of site maps, hierarchies, categorization, and navigation where the parts of the application are arranged so that they are understandable to the end-users who will be using the product or application. This has become a fundamental concept including design and software development.
Here are some of the questions we ask when we are doing information architecture:
- What is the user flow followed for the website?
- How is the information presented to the user?
- Is the user able to find real value in the existing information and can make further decisions?
- Is the overall experience up to the mark or not?
This is where the role of the Information Architect comes into the picture. The focus is on multiple aspects right from the target audience, and the technologies, to the data which is presented using the website.
Information Architecture and Design
The user-centric approach plays a crucial role during the design process and that is why you will see a lot of designers learning the art of Information Architecture. IA forms a solid foundation for any design project. The visual elements, functionality, and navigation are some of the key aspects that are built using Information Architecture principles. In case the design elements are disorganized, the users can easily get frustrated, and you can end up losing your customers. If the users do not have a great first interaction with the application or website, they are unlikely to give a second chance to your product.
Components Related to Information Architecture
If you are looking to create great products that add real value to the end-users, you are required to build strong information architecture. Four main components help you to build that:
- Organization Systems
- Labeling Systems
- Navigation Systems
- Searching Systems
Let us try and understand each of these components in more detail.
- Organization Systems
These are the groups or categories in which the information is divided. This means that end users can use these systems to navigate or find the required information easily. The organizational structures can be Hierarchical, Sequential, and Matrix.
- Labeling Systems
This system is all about the ways of representing data. This means that you can smartly organize the data so that it can be presented in the best possible manner from a usability perspective.
- Navigation Systems
Navigation allows a user to perform a set of actions throughout the website or the app. The navigation systems in terms of IA involve how users move through the content. You need the right techniques and systematic approach to make sure that it is done right.
- Searching Systems
This system helps the users search for the data when they are using a product. The searching system is effective when there are loads of information and you want users to utilize the information effectively. In this case, designers can use different data-related techniques like filtering, content organization, etc. so that the data is available perfectly after the search.
Conclusion
We discussed the basics and fundamentals related to Information Architecture. The role of the Information Architect has grown over the past few years. You will see an information architect use different techniques such as card sorting or interviews to understand the end-user behaviors and thinking patterns. Using the different research techniques, you learn and understand what people do with an application, and how is the information used for a better understanding of overall systems.