UX for Beginners

Chapter 38. What Is Information Architecture?

So far, we have mostly discussed the ways to understand users and UX. In this lesson, we actually start making shit. The first step in designing a real solution is the general structure of the thing.

Information Architecture (IA) is the idea of giving a bunch of information some structure (i.e., organizing it, somehow). IA can be relatively simple with a small project, and incredibly complicated with a large project. IA is invisible. To work with it, we need to draw a site map.

This example shows a website with six pages: The home page, two sections in the main menu, and three subsections. The lines indicate which pages are connected by navigation (menus and buttons).

Note

A million users doesn’t mean you have a million profile pages. You have one profile page that can display any user’s profile.

When pages are organized this way—like a family tree—it is called a “hierarchy” or “tree.” Most sites and apps are organized like this (but it’s not the only way).

There are no “rules” for drawing site maps, but here are some general guidelines:

• Just because it looks simple, doesn’t mean it makes sense.

• Keep it clear and readable.

• We usually draw top-to-bottom, not left-to-right.

• Don’t make a site map “fancy.” It’s a technical document, not a fashion show.

Deep or Flat, Not Both

Generally speaking, your site map will either be very “flat”—which includes more ...