Information Architecture Lenses

Perspectives on Structure

Dan Brown
Dan Brown
Jul 22, 2017 · 7 min read

Available now!

Information Architecture Lenses is a deck of 51 cards in 8 categories, and they are now available for purchase.


Taking lenses to labels.

Education Lens

How does the navigation teach users about the product?

  • What approach does your structure take to educate people about it?
  • How does it establish a basic foundation, and then embellish?
  • Which concepts are the most important ones for people to understand?
Simplifying the main categories and embedding narrative in the megamenus, the new navigation helps users understand the role and mission of the World Bank.

Label/Concept Fit Lens

What is or is not covered by this label?

We have so many words for “money”.
  • Does the label appropriately cover the concept?
  • Is the concept obscured by preexisting meaning of the label?
  • How can you test the efficacy of different labels?
From Champions of Midgard. In the game, the beasts on the left are “monsters” but Trolls and Draugrs are not. IA anyone?

Precedence Lens

Would it be OK for other people to make this same decision?

  • Are you expecting this decision to be an exception?
  • What are the natural consequences of this decision?
  • How might people abuse the rule you’re establishing?
The bane of every Intranet is the quicklinks panel, mostly because it sets a precedent. Now EVERYONE wants to be in the quicklinks menu. Example from Nielsen-Norman Group.

Distraction Lens

If at their destination, will users find the navigation distracting?

ProPublica.org’s category pages offer a few navigation mechanisms to zero-in on an article. The primary article template maintains the intrusive navigation and distracting right rail. But an alternate article template uses a more minimalist approach to navigation.
  • What can you cut out without sacrificing clarity of context?
  • How much of the screen are you willing to dedicate to navigation?

The Utility of Perspective

There is no one way to design a structure. Even different organizations within the same domain, like the personal finance example above, exhibit differences in how they expose their content through navigation. If my work over the last couple years is anything to go by, there are still many unsolved IA problems.

43 Lenses and Counting

All this started when I began updating my article “8 Principles of Information Architecture.” As I sought to apply recent experience to expand the principles, I realized that “principle” wasn’t right. A principle is a guide toward an objective. It helps you determine which path to take as you journey toward your goal. What I relied on weren’t principles so much as perspectives.


Now available!

Information Architecture Lenses is a deck of 51 cards in 8 categories, and they are now available for purchase.


Have a difficult IA challenge?

EightShapes can help you discover and develop a robust structure and scalable navigation for your web sites and digital products. Find out more at eightshapes.com. Please get in touch!

EightShapes

A collection of stories, studies, and deep thinking from EightShapes

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Dan Brown

Written by

Dan Brown

Designer • Co-founder of @eightshapes • Author of 3 books on UX • http://bit.ly/danbooks • Board gamer • Family cook

EightShapes

A collection of stories, studies, and deep thinking from EightShapes

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