Information Architecture for Beginners

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Information Architecture for beginners

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@souvikdg

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By the end of this talk you   should be aware of what is  Information Architecture  without facing jargon-bullets.

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Mess Part 1 of 4

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wtf-am-i-supposed-to-do-wit by kris krüg on Flickr https://www. fl ickr.com/photos/kk/18768224 Mess

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wtf-am-i-supposed-to-do-wit by kris krüg on Flickr https://www. fl ickr.com/photos/kk/18768224 Mess disorganised or disarranged   and therefore not understandable

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mess by amanda on Flickr https://www. fl ickr.com/photos/pinprick/5879923126

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Unkept Room by Tom Blackwell on Flickr https://www. fl ickr.com/photos/tjblackwell/6007033415

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Photo credit: José Morcillo Valenciano on Visual Hunt / CC BY

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–Abby Covert Information Architect and author of How to Make Sense of Any Mess “I de fi ne the word ‘mess’ the same way that   most dictionaries do: A situation where the   interactions between people and information   are confusing or full of di ffi culties.”

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Mess

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Mess is somewhat manageable in small doses

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Mess is a problem at scale

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Order by Volgar on Flickr https://www. fl ickr.com/photos/volgar/27461981479

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Tukwila/International Blvd Station Parking lot by Atomic Taco on Flickr https://www. fl ickr.com/photos/atomictaco/4333647127

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Tukwila/International Blvd Station Parking lot by Atomic Taco on Flickr https://www. fl ickr.com/photos/atomictaco/4333647127 Mess may be visually neat and tidy

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India by Herry Lawford on Flickr https://www. fl ickr.com/photos/herry/6779074382

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My destroyed desk by josephbergen on Flickr https://www. fl ickr.com/photos/jbergen/2128605950

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My destroyed desk by josephbergen on Flickr https://www. fl ickr.com/photos/jbergen/2128605950 Mess is not about visual neatness or aesthetics

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Mess

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Information Part 2 of 4

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the electric information age book by MANYBITS on Flickr https://www. fl ickr.com/photos/manybits/6888838611

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Collection by Erich Ferdinand on Flickr https://www. fl ickr.com/photos/erix/2370752145

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365 0917 by Tim Caynes on Flickr https://www. fl ickr.com/photos/timcaynes/5408753242

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365 0917 by Tim Caynes on Flickr https://www. fl ickr.com/photos/timcaynes/5408753242

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–Abby Covert in How to Make Sense of Mess “Every mess and every thing shares   one important non-thing : information.”

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Information is inherent in everything

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Architecture Part 3 of 4

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“Architecture”

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Photo credit: variationblogr on Visual Hunt / CC BY

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Photo credit: variationblogr on Visual Hunt / CC BY • Structure • Doors • Windows • Rooms/Spaces • Corridors • Stairways • Signage • Labels • …

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Architecture is simply the structure of a thing or a place

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Architecture in fl uences how a space will be perceived and used

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а print from sortavala architecture book by Sasha ЯR on Flickr https://www. fl ickr.com/photos/rotten_reverie/8103565216

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а print from sortavala architecture book by Sasha ЯR on Flickr https://www. fl ickr.com/photos/rotten_reverie/8103565216 Blueprint

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“Architecture” may refer to two di ff erent things

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An Output a.k.a. blueprint or technical drawing

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A Practice i.e. application of skill or knowledge

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Information Architecture Part 4 of 4

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–The Information Architecture Institute   (now dissolved) “Information architecture is the practice of   deciding how to arrange the parts of   something to be understandable.”

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Where do you encounter IA? well, everywhere

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French dictionary page2 by Liz Eckmann on Flickr https://www. fl ickr.com/photos/24498687@N03/2337550017

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Old Map (33) by rosario fi ore on Flickr https://www. fl ickr.com/photos/38703275@N06/6884558828

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Docos by John Keogh on Flickr https://www. fl ickr.com/photos/jvk/6721198

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Facebook Messenger app by PROKārlis Dambrāns on Flickr https://www. fl ickr.com/photos/janitors/14039237076

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arsp_064 by Anthony Ryan on Flickr https://www. fl ickr.com/photos/useanthonyryansphotos/7946386402

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Exhibition Hall by Robert Ziegler on Flickr https://www. fl ickr.com/photos/63998580@N06/5980150860

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buffet by bigbigbigbigtoe on Flickr https://www. fl ickr.com/photos/10402746@N04/7165271584

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House Numbering An example

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What are the different ways of organising house numbers?

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European Scheme / Odd and Even

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Clockwise Scheme

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Distance Scheme

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–No one, ever “Hey, nice IA!”

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IA is typically accepted as is

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–Most people while experiencing mess “Where am I?” “Where am I supposed to go next?” “Where do I fi nd something” “This doesn’t make any sense!”

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Mess ❌

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Organising Things so that they make sense

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Broadly speaking…

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Labelling Structuring  Grouping  Arranging

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Labelling Structuring  Grouping  Arranging i.e. naming i.e. breaking down i.e. bunching up i.e. ordering

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What are the different ways of organising things?

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–Richard Saul Wurman Author of Information Anxiety (1989) “Information may be in fi nite, however… The organisation of information is fi nite as it can only be organised by LATCH: Location, Alphabet, Time, Category, or Hierarchy.”

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Location spatially

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Delhi Metro Rail Corporation

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https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Dorsal_Ventral_Body_Cavities.jpg

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Alphabet alphabetically

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Little phone by John Sheldon on Flickr https://www. fl ickr.com/photos/18909153@N08/6965138569

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Lord to Mumps by Kevin Grocki on Flickr https://www. fl ickr.com/photos/kgrocki/4353715409

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Time chronologically

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Music by Jesse Kruger on Flickr https://www. fl ickr.com/photos/jessekruger/390534244

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Photo credit: aafes49 on VisualHunt.com / CC BY-ND

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Category similarity

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Hierarchy continuum or rank

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Photo credit: Gilbert R. on visualhunt.com / CC BY-NC-ND

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Mailboxes by Lodewijk van den Broek on Flickr https://www. fl ickr.com/photos/12760128@N04/3765909892

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Location Alphabet  Time  Category Hierarchy

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Representing IA

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Block Diagram Flow Diagram Gantt Chart Quadrant Diagram Venn Diagram Swim Lane Diagram Hierarchy Diagram Mind Map Schematic Journey Map

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Wall sized mind-map of the Cambridge University MPhil course "Introduction to musicology and its debates” by Tim Regan on Flickr  https://www. fl ickr.com/photos/dumbledad/4441138308/in

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information by Tobi Gaulke on Flickr https://www. fl ickr.com/photos/gato-gato-gato/12851862915

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information by Tobi Gaulke on Flickr https://www. fl ickr.com/photos/gato-gato-gato/12851862915 Information Architect

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information by Tobi Gaulke on Flickr https://www. fl ickr.com/photos/gato-gato-gato/12851862915 –Richard Saul Wurman Author of Information Anxiety (1989) “An information architect is the individual   who organises the patterns inherent in data,   making the complex clear.”

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information by Tobi Gaulke on Flickr https://www. fl ickr.com/photos/gato-gato-gato/12851862915 Break Away thoughtfully and deliberately

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information by Tobi Gaulke on Flickr https://www. fl ickr.com/photos/gato-gato-gato/12851862915 Break Away from internal biases

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information by Tobi Gaulke on Flickr https://www. fl ickr.com/photos/gato-gato-gato/12851862915 Break Away from existing paradigms

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information by Tobi Gaulke on Flickr https://www. fl ickr.com/photos/gato-gato-gato/12851862915 Break Away from known structures

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information by Tobi Gaulke on Flickr https://www. fl ickr.com/photos/gato-gato-gato/12851862915 Break Away from chasing visual neatness or aesthetics

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information by Tobi Gaulke on Flickr https://www. fl ickr.com/photos/gato-gato-gato/12851862915 Break Away and question until we reach clarity in   understanding the properties inherent in things

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Scrabble Tiles and Scrapbooking Letters 3 by Barbara Mazz on Flickr https://www. fl ickr.com/photos/electricporcupine/4623214027

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Scrabble Tiles and Scrapbooking Letters 3 by Barbara Mazz on Flickr https://www. fl ickr.com/photos/electricporcupine/4623214027 See through the mess,  and help others.

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Now let’s try it

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The recipe by Bill Holsinger-Robinson on Flickr https://www. fl ickr.com/photos/billhr/3190017092

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The recipe by Bill Holsinger-Robinson on Flickr https://www. fl ickr.com/photos/billhr/3190017092 Cookbook

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The recipe by Bill Holsinger-Robinson on Flickr https://www. fl ickr.com/photos/billhr/3190017092 If you have a large collection of food recipes, what are the ways in which you could arrange them?

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Taboo

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The recipe by Bill Holsinger-Robinson on Flickr https://www. fl ickr.com/photos/billhr/3190017092 If you have a large collection of food recipes, what are the ways in which you could arrange them?

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Location Alphabet  Time  Category Hierarchy

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Information is subjective

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My destroyed desk by josephbergen on Flickr https://www. fl ickr.com/photos/jbergen/2128605950

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Information

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User Context

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Information User Context

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Information User Context IA

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Understanding of   Users and Context is essential

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Research is essential

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Objectives are essential

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Summary • IA is all around us, but practising IA means doing it   deliberately and thoughtfully • IA is created for speci fi c users in a particular context • IA requires the ability to understand and capture the inherent information in things (e.g. meta-information, traits, properties, characteristics, etc.) • IA typically involves labelling, structuring, grouping and arranging   (information can be organised using LATCH*) • IA is expressed using diagrams and schematics • IA is the means and not an end product *but don’t get too latched onto this

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≠ IA UX

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IA UX ⊆

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≠ IA Navigation

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informs IA Navigation

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Now where?

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How to make sense of any mess  by Abby Covert https://www.howtomakesenseofanymess.com/

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IA Resources https://www.howtomakesenseofanymess.com/resources

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The ultimate IA reading list https://blog.optimalworkshop.com/the-ultimate-ia-reading-list/

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You’re now an Information Architect…

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…and can possibly save the world from mess.

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🤔 Thanks! Chris How — All You Need To Know About IA In 10 Minutes  Abby Covert — How to Make Sense of Any Mess  Dan Brown — Eight Principles of Information Architecture 💬

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Bonus

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–Dan Brown  founder of EightShapes Eight Principles of IA

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Objects Treat content as a living, breathing thing, with a lifecycle, behaviors and attributes The Principle of

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Choices Create pages that o ff er meaningful choices to users, keeping the range of choices available focused on a particular task The Principle of

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Disclosure Show only enough information to help people understand what kinds of information they'll fi nd as they dig deeper The Principle of

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Exemplars Describe the contents of categories by   showing examples of the contents The Principle of

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Front Doors Assume at least half of the website's visitors will come through some page other than the home page The Principle of

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Multiple Classi fi cation O ff er users several di ff erent classi fi cation   schemes to browse the site's content The Principle of

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Focused Navigation Don't mix apples and oranges   in your navigation scheme The Principle of

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Growth Assume the content you have today is a small fraction   of the content you will have tomorrow The Principle of

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🙏