UX For Dummies

Chapter 9

Building the Information Architecture

In This Chapter

Defining the core components of information architecture

Understanding why information architecture is critical to the UX process

Using assets to illustrate the future experience

Architecture starts when you carefully put two bricks together. There it begins.

— Mies van Der Rohe

Good information architecture enables people to find and do what they came for. Great information architecture takes ‘find’ out of the equation: The site behaves as the user expects.

— Jeffrey Zeldman

Information architecture (IA) is one of the most fundamental and critical components within UX. The information architecture of an experience defines how the content is structured and how a user can navigate through the experience. It also defines the hierarchy of all features, functions, and content. Similar to physical architecture, the IA outlines the underlying structure of an experience, combining form and function into one cohesive whole. And also similar to physical architecture, the process for defining information architecture involves blueprinting the experience in the form of wireframes, sitemaps, annotations, specifications, and illustrations. ...