Information Architecture for the World Wide Web, 3rd Edition

Chapter 4. The Anatomy of an Information Architecture

What we’ll cover:

Why it’s important (and difficult) to make an information architecture as tangible as possible

Examples that help you visualize an information architecture from both the top down and the bottom up

Ways of categorizing the components of an information architecture so you can better understand and explain IA

In the preceding chapters, we discussed information architecture from a conceptual perspective. This chapter presents a more concrete view of what information architecture actually is to help you recognize it when you see it. We also introduce the components of an architecture; these are important to understand because they make up the information architect’s palette. We’ll cover them in greater detail in Chapters 5–9.

Visualizing Information Architecture

Why is it important to be able to visualize information architecture? There are several answers. One is that the field is new, and many people don’t believe that things exist until they can see them. Another is that the field is abstract, and many who might conceptually understand the basic premise of information architecture won’t really “get it” until they see it and experience it. Finally, a well-designed information architecture is invisible to users (which, paradoxically, is quite an unfair reward for IA success).

IA’s lack of tangible qualities forces all information architects to be salespeople to some degree. Because it’s highly probable that you’ll ...