information architecture presentation basics

information architecture

1. Introduction to Information Architecture & Design

2. Butterfly on the New York City Highline Pattern Recognition: In cognitive psychology, the ability to identify familiar forms within a complex arrangement of sensory stimuli 

3. Butterflies Labeled by Species

4. Intro Understand the basic concepts of information architecture Experience the general process and techniques used on a design project Review the basic deliverables an information architect develops within a project Introduction

5. Agenda Background Design Process Our Project User Research Competitive Review Personas Agenda

6. Afternoon Card Sorting Site Maps Page Types Navigation Sketching Wireframes Q&A Agenda

7. Background

8. Background: History A Brief History of IA 1975 Richard Saul Wurman coined the term “information architecture” to describe the field now more often described as “information design” 1994 Argus Associates founded in Ann Arbor, MI, the first firm devoted to IA 1998 First edition of Peter Morville and Lou Rosenfeld’s Information Architecture for the World Wide Web, affectionately known as “The Polar Bear” book 2000 First IA Summit, Boston, MA – Defining Information Architecture

9. Partially adapted from: “ A brief history of information architecture” by Peter Morville and Information Architecture: Designing information environments for purpose, edited by Alan Gilchrist and Barry Mahon A Brief History of IA 2002 Boxes & Arrows, online journal for information architects goes live 3 new books on IA published, including Jesse James Garrett’s The Elements of User Experience 2014 Capital One purchases Garrett’s UX-consulting firm Adaptive Path 2015 15 th Annual IA Summit held in Minneapolis, MN, April 22-26 4th edition of Information Architecture for the World Wide Web … coming soon! Background: History

10. in•for•ma•tion ar•chi•tec•ture n. The combination of organization, labeling, and navigation schemes within an information system. The structural design of an information space to facilitate task completion and intuitive access to content. The art and science of structuring and classifying web sites and intranets to help people find and manage information. An emerging discipline and community of practice focused on bringing principles of design and architecture to the digital landscape. Information Architecture for the World Wide Web (1 st Edition), p. 4, Rosenfeld and Morville Navigation Interaction Art/Science Discipline/ Community Background: Defining IA

11. “It's hard to say who really is an information architect. In some sense, we all are.” — Alex Wright, Glut Background: Defining IA

12. users content context IA Background: Defining IA

13. Interface (skin) information architecture (skeleton) Background: Defining IA

14. Design Process m etaphor: architectural plans Flickr.com: Cornell University Library Background: Defining IA

15. UX i nformation architecture Background: User Experience i nteraction design c ontent strategy u sability testing u ser research u ser experience

16. Image by Oliver Reichenstein on flickr

17. Design Process P roject phases by Harold Kerzner

18. Discovery Definition Design Development Design Process

19. Discovery Definition Design Development Stakeholder I nterviews Business Requirements Competitive/Comparative Audit User Research Site Inventory Site Map Design Process

20. Discovery Definition Design Development Personas Content Audit Card Sorts Use Cases Sketching Site Map User Journeys Conceptual Wires/Design Creative Brief UX Brief Design Process

21. Discovery Definition Design Development Site Map Content Matrix Task Flows Sketching Wireframes Stakeholder Reviews Visual Design Prototype Usability T esting Functional Specifications Design Process

22. Discovery Definition Design Development Site Development User Acceptance T esting (UAT) Quality Assurance (QA) Usability Testing Design Process

23. IA Deliverables site map features/ functionality inventory comparative/competitive review requirements document personas sketches use cases user flows prototype wireframes discovery design experience brief u ser journeys Design Process definition

24. Our Project

25. Events.com Events.com wants to revamp its website to become the go-to online resource for people wanting to attend or promote events across the United States. Our Project

26. Discovery

27. User Research User Research in Copenhagen’s Elderly Homes

28. User Research “Through research, we aim to learn enough about the business goals , the users , and the information ecology to develop a solid strategy.” Louis Rosenfeld & Peter Morville Discovery: User Research

29. Goals Identify patterns and trends in user behavior, tasks, preferences, obstacles. Methodology Focus Groups Surveys Interviews Discovery: User Research

30. Class Exercise: Survey Questions How do you learn about events in NYC? What type of events are you interested in? What’s more important to you: Price Type of Event Location Date Do you ever need to promote an event? Do you ever invite people to an event? Discovery: User Research

31. Competitive Review image by brandon schauer

32. “This type of assessment helps set an industry ‘marker’ by looking at what the competition is up to, what features and functionalities are standard, and how others have solved the same problems you might be tasked with.” Dorelle Rabinowitz Discovery: Competitive Review

33. Heuristic Evaluation … involves evaluators examining the interface and judging its compliance with recognized usability principles (the ‘heuristics’) - Wikipedia Self Study For a more detailed explanation of heuristic evaluation, see Jakob Nielsen’s Ten Usability Heuristics . Discovery: Competitive Review

34. Sample Usability Criteria These examples aren’t comprehensive. Appropriate criteria will depend on the project to be completed. Home Page Elements are appropriately weighted and distributed Information is clustered in meaningful ways Navigation N avigation structure is concise and consistent P aths to important information are intuitive and unobstructed Content Content is content chunked appropriately Headings and titles are scannable Content is current. T here are visible indications of content freshness. C ontent is properly adapted for the Web. Tone of voice is consistent throughout. Design C olors are appropriate for the Web. W hite space is used appropriately. T ext is readable . Search S earch results are relevant and cleanly presented Functionality Functionality and forms are efficiently designed Messaging Errors messages are presented in clear language. H elp readily available contextually to users Appropriate channels are provided for user feedback Discovery: Competitive Review

35. Methodology Review and analyze competitor sites according to particular criteria Draw key findings, which can influence and guide IA through the design phase Include a scorecard for high-level comparison of points across all sites Also: Comparative Reviews Discovery: Competitive Review

36. Competitive Review Competitors Discovery: Competitive Review

37. Competitive Review Key Findings Search is fairly prominent on each site Filtering on events is valuable, but not always easily available Calendars are helpful, but not always prominent Profiles and social features are handled with varying degrees of detail Free events are often highlighted Event detail pages may have maps, RSVP, sharing, rating, commenting functionality Displaying other venues and restaurants adds utility Option to add or promote an event isn’t always prominent Discovery: Competitive Review

38. What else have we learned? Who are the audiences of these sites? What are the strengths of these sites? What are their weaknesses? How might another event site differentiate itself from these sites? Discovery: Competitive Review

39. Definition

40. Personas Created at p ersonas.media.mit.edu Personas is a component of the Metropath ( ologies ) exhibit, recently on display at the MIT Museum by the Sociable Media Group from the MIT Media Lab. It uses sophisticated natural language processing and the Internet to create a data portrait of one's aggregated online identity. In short, Personas shows you how the Internet sees you.

41. “Personas summarize user research findings and bring that research to life in such a way that everyone can make decisions based on these personas, not based on themselves .” Steve Mulder, The User Is Always Right Definition: Personas

42. Methodology Cluster Analysis Goals Create a narrative based on real data to illustrate user behavior, motivations, goals Small Budget Big Budget Planner Promoter Definition: Personas

43. Characteristics of Effective Personas Varied and distinct Detailed Not weighed down with minutiae Tied into business-specific goals Backed by data Definition: Personas

44. Definition: Personas Sabrina Jenny Donny Jerry

45. Sabrina, 27 The p arty planner Location: Gramercy Park Attitude : Organized, outgoing Financial Perspective: Generous, bit of spendthrift Online Habits: A vid user of social networking sites, Twitter, Facebook, etc Events: Wine tastings, gallery openings Quote : “I love getting bunches of friends together to attend all these NYC events. There’s so much great stuff to do in this city!” Small Budget Big Budget Planner Promoter Personas Definition: Personas

46. Jerry, 44 The out-of-towner Location: Cincinnati, OH Attitude : Casual, yet adventurous Financial Perspective: Moderate spender Online Habits: Utilitarian use of the Web to research trips, read about the arts and pay bills Events: Museums, visiting landmarks, tours Quote: “I’m visiting the Big Apple with my wife and we want to check out some art-related events .” Small Budget Big Budget Planner Promoter Definition: Personas

47. Donny, 38 The local comedian Location: East Village Attitude : Laidback, loosely organized Financial Perspective: Frugal, paycheck to paycheck Online Habits: Spends time networking, promoting his act online, haunts comedy sites Events: Comedy slams, variety shows Quote: “I land a few comedy gigs around the city and I want to promote them better.” Small Budget Big Budget Planned Promoter Definition: Personas

48. Jenny, 33 The professional promoter Location: Williamsburg Attitude: Busy , disciplined, professional Financial Perspective: Healthy budget for promotions and advertising Online Habits: Heavy use of social networking sites both professionally and personally, shops online Events: Small gigs, big concerts, DJ sets Quote: “ I manage a few bands and DJs and I have to ensure they’re listed in the right, targeted places.” Small Budget Big Budget Planned Promoter Definition: Personas

49. Class Exercise: Personas Definition: Personas What tasks might each persona attempt to complete on Events.com? What features can you imagine each persona might like on such a site? What obstacles or pain points might they encounter? Sabrina Jenny Donny Jerry Self Study ”Personas and the Role of Design Documentation" by Andrew Hinton, Boxes and Arrows, 2008/02/ 2 7

50. Afternoon Card Sorting Site Maps Page Types Navigation Sketching Wireframes Q&A Agenda

51. Card Sorting

52. “There are often better ways to organize data than the traditional ones that first occur to us. Each organization of the same set of data expresses different attributes and messages . It is also important to experiment, reflect, and choose which organization best communicates our messages.” Nathan Shedroff , Experience Strategist Definition: Card Sorting

53. Methodology Grouping and labeling with index cards, post it notes Two types: Open – Participants sort cards with no pre-established categories. Useful for new architectures Closed – Participants sort cards into predetermined, provided groups. Useful for fitting content into existing architectures Online card sorts WebSort, OptimalSort, Socratic Goals Organize content more efficiently Find names for categories based on users’ perspectives Self Study " Card sorting: a definitive guide " by Donna Spencer and Todd Warfel , Boxes and Arrows, 2004/04/07 Definition: Card Sorting

54. Class Exercise: As individuals: Take 5 minutes to think of all the events a person could attend Write each event you come up with on a Post-It note Definition: Card Sorting

55. Class Exercise: Now, as a group: Take a few minutes to organize your events into categories (group & label them) Then we’ll s hare some categories Definition: Card Sorting

56. Characteristics & Findings: Looking for redundancies Lumping and splitting Outliers and miscellaneous items Placing items in multiple categories Categories versus filters E.g. Free, Family, Outdoors Unique but intuitive labels E.g. Geeks Definition: Card Sorting

57. Next Steps: With the results of a card sort we then can: Build consensus Refine terminology Create a site map Help define navigation Definition: Card Sorting

58. Post-It Plus This new app from 3M allows you to scan your Post-It Notes, organize and share them. Definition: Card Sort Tools

59. Design

60. Site Maps

61. Conceptual Design Design: Site Maps “A site map is a high level diagram showing the hierarchy of a system. Site maps reflect the information structure, but are not necessarily indicative of the navigation structure.” – Step Two Designs

62. Conceptual Design Design: Site Maps

63. Conceptual Design Design: Site Maps

64. Conceptual Design Design: Site Maps Site Map Tools: Omnigraffle (Mac) Microsoft Visio InDesign

65. Page Types & Templates The Mercator Atlas of Europe From The British Library

66. Home Page Category Page Details Page Examples: Design: Page Types & Templates

67. Navigation Navigation Bridge, USS Enterprise by Serendigity , Flickr

68. Types of Navigation Site Structure – major nav Hierarchical – product families Function – sitemap privacy Direct – banner ad/shortcut Reference – related links Dynamic – search results Faceted Navigation – filters results Breadcrumb – location Step Navigation – sequence through forms/results Self Study Adapted from Atsushi Hasegagwa’s The 7 Navigation Types of Web Sites Design: Navigation

69. Areas of Navigation Global – universal header/footer Local – left nav /right nav Local content – text links, buttons Styles of Navigation Rollover Dropdown Flyout Tabs Accordion Self Study Adapted from Atsushi Hasegagwa’s The 7 Navigation Types of Web Sites Design: Navigation

70. Mega Dropdowns Design: Navigation

71. Power Footers Design: Navigation

72. Sketching Aerial Screw by Leonardo da Vinci, 1485-1487

73. Can you guess what this is a sketch of? Design: Sketching

74. “twttr sketch” Twitter.com Twitter [This sketch] has very special significance – it's hanging in the office somewhere with one other page. Whenever I'm thinking about something, I really like to take out the yellow notepad and get it down. – Jack Dorsey, Twitter Design: Sketching

75. “There are techniques and processes whereby we can put experience front and center in design. My belief is that the basis for doing so lies in extending the traditional practice of sketching. ” - Bill Buxton Design: Sketching

76. Attributes of a Sketch Quick Timely Inexpensive Disposable Plentiful Clear vocabulary Distinct gesture Minimal detail Appropriate degree of refinement Suggest & explore rather than confirm Ambiguity Design: Sketching

77. Goals To communicate your ideas effectively by visualizing them To benefit from the participation of your colleagues To quickly generate ideas and refine through iterations Design: Sketching

78. Process Discuss Sketch Share Iterate Design: Sketching

79. Discuss the purpose of the experience you’re sketching What’s its purpose? What features are necessary? How would you prioritize them? Who’s the audience? You’re not discussing layout or design Just the problem you’re trying to solve You’re not sketching yet Design: Sketching Discuss

80. Design: Sketching

81. Design: Sketching

82. Sketching Tools: The following apps are all for the iPad: Adobe Ideas (Free) Bamboo Paper (Free) Muji Notebook ($3.99) Penultimate (Free) SketchBook (Free) Paper (Free) Adonit Forge (Free) Design: Sketching

83. Wireframes photo & sculpture by polly  verity

84. Wireframes “Web site wireframes are blue prints that define a Web page’s content and functionality. They do not convey design – e.g. colors, graphics, or fonts.” - FatPurple Design: Wireframes

85. Wireframing /Prototyping Tools: Adobe InDesign Axure Omnigraffle (Mac) Microsoft Visio Sketch/ Invision Mockingbird (online, free) Also: Balsamiq iPlotz iMockups ( iPad ) Omnigraffle ( iPad ) Self Study Smashing Magazine: 35 Excellent Wireframing Resources Design: Wireframes

86. Responsive Design

87. Responsive Web Design “Rather than tailoring disconnected designs to each of an ever-increasing number of web devices, we can treat them as facets of the same experience. We can design for an optimal viewing experience, but embed standards-based technologies into our designs to make them not only more flexible, but more adaptive to the media that renders them. In short, we need to practice  responsive web design .” – Ethan Marcotte , Responsive Web Design, A List Apart Self Study Ethan Marcotte : Responsive Web Design Design: Responsive Design

88. Design: Responsive Design

89. Desktop Tablet Mobile Design: Responsive Design

90. Design: Responsive Design

91. Design: Responsive Design

92. Responsive Design Characteristics Think “mobile first” The goal: Maintain content and features across devices Responsive designs adjust at different “break points” corresponding to the dimensions of various devices, typically desktop, tablet and mobile Navigation may be repositioned Modules may be repositioned but hierarchies are maintained Images scale down in size or may be cropped Text size is maintained where possible, though headings may be reduced in size Filters may be moved into a dropdown Occasionally, content or features are dropped to save screen real estate or if they’re not device appropriate Design: Responsive Design

93. Design: Sketching Design a Responsive Home Page In your teams, create your final deliverable, a responsive home page for Events.com Discuss features needed for a homepage Sketch your ideas for a homepage individually Discuss your sketches again with your team Design: Final Exercise

94. Design: Final Exercise Home Page Collaboration In your teams, create your final deliverable, a responsive home page for Events.com Collaborate as a team on a final responsive version of the home page Include a high-level sketch of how the mobile version would display Confirm details of this final exercise

95. Development

96. Additional Resources Books: Information Architecture for the World Wide Web – Louis Rosenfeld, Peter Morville Information Architecture: Blueprints for the Web – Christina Wodtke , Austin Govella The Elements of User Experience – Jesse James Garrett Designing Web Navigation: Optimizing the User Experience – James Kalbach , Aaron Gustafson Design of Everyday Things – Donald Norman Responsive Web Design – Ethan Marcotte Local Event s: IA Meetup Brooklyn UX Content Strategy Meetup Web Sites: Alertbox A List Apart Boxes & Arrows wireframes.tumblr.com Organizations: Human Computer Interactions (HCI) Interaction Designers Association ( IxDA ) Usability Professional s Association (UPA) Further Studies: School of Visual Arts Continuing Ed classes MFA in Interaction Design Pratt – Course in Information Design Rosenfeld Media General Assembly Skillshare Adaptive Path The Information Architecture Institute The IA Summit Nielsen Norman Group User Interface Engineering Video: The Right Way to Wireframe by Russ Unger (YouTube)