What is Information Architecture and Why You Need It
“Work smarter, not harder” is the mantra of most professional designers and UX design companies. Any tool that helps to facilitate optimal results with less effort is always welcome at a user centered design practice. These tools should assist in those areas that are the most challenging for visual designers to handle. One area in particular that presents many difficulties is the ability to clearly and succinctly communicate design ideas to other design team members. To alleviate that pain point, user experience designers lean on a tool called Information Architecture.
Information Architecture In A Nutshell
Information Architecture (IA) is the genetic makeup of any project. Anything created initially becomes the underpinning structure that all subsequent versions of the project for the foreseeable future will be built upon. It is also an integral factor in how the design is documented. This documentation should be clear, to the point, and intuitive so that it can be attached to work statements or the contract for the project. Now that we have defined IA let’s talk about why it is necessary and its various functions and patterns.
Why Information Architecture Is Necessary
A UX designer must communicate the responsibilities of team members to them and explain the reason for their work. Alongside user experience, users should have an emotional background and connection to complement the design. In other words, if the company wants to use the emotion of fear to motivate its customers to purchase their product, a information architect must take that aspect into account by developing tension for the user. A company that wants to use fun and happiness to convert sales will want to paint a different emotional picture through its IA.
Words and motivational pushes are generated by the details used in crafting the design. IA promotes the ability of UX/UI professionals to exhibit and broadcast such details and emotions to other design team members.
Essential Functions Of Information Architecture
There are several special functions of IA that are notable:
● Introspection Tool: The information architect follows a scheme where they always approach the project from the user’s mindset. This includes understanding the user’s needs and goals, how the product would be most conveniently used, and whether this is satisfactory.
● Visualizing Concepts: A diagram allows for a visual representation of conceptual ideas of the product.
● Design And Developer Guides: Though it is still too early in the process for the formal design, layout, or functional prototypes, information architecture has already mapped out the core of the product that the user will see. This allows target audience users to ask relevant questions, giving developers important notes. It will allow everything from cost assessment to determining subsequent development stages and ideas of how and where to implement particular features.
● User Ecosystem Viability Assurance: When something doesn’t quite line up in IA, it stands out, allowing UX designers and developers to make a note of any deficiencies and address them early on in the project’s life cycle rather than finding out the problem far too late.
● Comprehension The Holistic View Of The Site Or Service: Information architecture allows all design team members to see the full product in diagram form regardless of what limited branch of the design process they would typically be working with.
Information Architecture Design Patterns
Now let’s take a look at some of the standard design patterns applied in information architecture:
Hierarchical
The design can be mapped as a mental schema, a logically descending view, or a tree diagram, all of which rank the dominant elements on the top of the page, while secondary aspects like buttons, menu items, and text branch off the main “trunk.”.
Sequential
One of the hardest things to avoid, primarily for an unprepared observer, is defaults. To more substantively understand the project’s goal and work, it is necessary to look at a step-by-step, logical progression walking through particular scenarios. This can involve something like guiding the team through an optimal purchase scenario.
Matrixing
Rather than following the path crafted by the designer, a matrix structure allows users navigate in the way they prefer. While the user perceives this as “freedom” of navigational choice, all possible paths are set up and limited by the information architects’ overarching ideas. This format can leverage a hierarchical structure that permits horizontal transitions, though it ultimately leads the users to where the designer wanted them to end up in either case.
Database
When each information object contains a metadata set, it can be patterned in a database format, with content structuring occurring per request as frequently as required. This is, assuming proper website interface support, quickly the most user-friendly model.
The Wrap Up
Rather than being a dry, invariable structure, information architecture focuses on how users interact with the design. Rather than the often forgetful nature of designing development stage prototypes, visualization of IA allows a UX/UI designer to quickly communicate the essence of a project to their team, clients, and investors.
Thanks for reading!
