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Information Architecture for Beginners

Souvik Das Gupta
September 27, 2023

Information Architecture for Beginners

This talk was given to students of NID Bangalore.

Souvik Das Gupta

September 27, 2023
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Transcript

  1. By the end of this talk you 
 should be

    aware of what is
 Information Architecture
 without facing jargon-bullets.
  2. 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
  3. –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.”
  4. Tukwila/International Blvd Station Parking lot by Atomic Taco on Flickr

    https://www. fl ickr.com/photos/atomictaco/4333647127
  5. 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
  6. –Abby Covert in How to Make Sense of Mess “Every

    mess and every thing shares 
 one important non-thing : information.”
  7. Photo credit: variationblogr on Visual Hunt / CC BY •

    Structure • Doors • Windows • Rooms/Spaces • Corridors • Stairways • Signage • Labels • …
  8. а print from sortavala architecture book by Sasha ЯR on

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

    Flickr https://www. fl ickr.com/photos/rotten_reverie/8103565216 Blueprint
  10. –The Information Architecture Institute 
 (now dissolved) “Information architecture is

    the practice of 
 deciding how to arrange the parts of 
 something to be understandable.”
  11. Old Map (33) by rosario fi ore on Flickr https://www.

    fl ickr.com/photos/38703275@N06/6884558828
  12. –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!”
  13. –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.”
  14. Lord to Mumps by Kevin Grocki on Flickr https://www. fl

    ickr.com/photos/kgrocki/4353715409
  15. Mailboxes by Lodewijk van den Broek on Flickr https://www. fl

    ickr.com/photos/12760128@N04/3765909892
  16. Block Diagram Flow Diagram Gantt Chart Quadrant Diagram Venn Diagram

    Swim Lane Diagram Hierarchy Diagram Mind Map Schematic Journey Map
  17. 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
  18. 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.”
  19. 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
  20. Scrabble Tiles and Scrapbooking Letters 3 by Barbara Mazz on

    Flickr https://www. fl ickr.com/photos/electricporcupine/4623214027
  21. 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.
  22. 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?
  23. 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?
  24. 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
  25. How to make sense of any mess
 by Abby Covert

    https://www.howtomakesenseofanymess.com/
  26. 🤔 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 💬
  27. Objects Treat content as a living, breathing thing, with a

    lifecycle, behaviors and attributes The Principle of
  28. 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
  29. Disclosure Show only enough information to help people understand what

    kinds of information they'll fi nd as they dig deeper The Principle of
  30. Front Doors Assume at least half of the website's visitors

    will come through some page other than the home page The Principle of
  31. 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
  32. Growth Assume the content you have today is a small

    fraction 
 of the content you will have tomorrow The Principle of