Information architecture

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Definition

Information architecture is the science of organizing and structuring of information for use in defined contexts. This may involve the classification and management of information as in library sciences or the structuring of a web or software architecture or the modeling of the relationships between data within a system.

• also referred to as information design

A selection of definitions over at eleganthack.com.

Origins

Wyllys (2000) claims Information architecture has its origins in architecture. and was brought into wide use by Richard Saul Wurman, who used the term to refer to the process of bringing together the multifaceted information contained within urban environments and representing them to multiple target users (city planners, architects, engineers, dwellers). Wurman likened this task to function of an architect who must:

• “ascertain needs”
• “organize the needs into a coherent pattern that clarifies their nature and interactions”
• “design a building that will-- by means of its rooms, fixtures, machines and layout, i.e., flow of people and materials--meet the occupants' needs”

“In teams that can include visual designers, interface designers, navigation designers, information designers, and interaction designers, the information architect is free to focus on the structure and organization.”

The concept of information being embedded within an environment in a way that affords intended use and serves users' needs was extended by Wurman to design principles where he sought to inform and "bring meaning or understanding" to space. “I mean architect as in the creating of systemic, structural, and orderly principles to make something work--the thoughtful making of either artifact, or idea, or policy that informs because it is clear.”

These principles have become the core of in HCI, systems design and user-centered design.

Information architecture is now used most commonly to refer to the organization of information on the Web.

Structures

• hierarchies: classification such as the Dewey Decimal Classification system whose goal is to classify knowledge into categories, sub-categories, sub-sub-categories, etc.
• networks of nodes and links between nodes (non-hierarchical), such as the Web
• database-oriented models: pieces of information stored in fields and grouped into records and files with metadata to relate the fields and records

Information architecture models

From webdesignfromscratch.com, some models for structuring information within websites (this of course can apply to other computer-based media, e.g.: cdrom, intranet.

• All-in-one: all information in one page
  

  All-in-one model
  .
• Flat: all pages of information are accessible from every page. All pages are on the same level. The homepage is one category among others.
  

  Flat model
  .
• Index: The homepage acts as an index to structure available information, as in an alphabetical index of a directory.
  

  Index model
• Hub-and-spoke / Daisy: Several interaction paths radiate from and return to a central page.
  

  Hub-and-spoke or daisy model
• Strict hierarchy:
  

  Strict hierarchy model
• Multi-dimensional hierarchy:
  

  Multi-dimensional hierarchy model
• Search:
  

  Search model

References

Wyllys, R.E. (2000). Information Architecture. Notes from LIS 386.13 class team at the Graduate School of Library and Information Science at UT-Austin. [1]