In this 4-minute article is an introduction to Information Architecture.
Information architecture is the science of organizing information in digital products.
This is a crucial step in design , you don't want to give users a hard-time navigating your application or website, because there are studies showing most users bounce off a page in less than 10 seconds that don't seem relevant.
So what are the steps to better information architecture?
An Understanding in Cognitive psychology is a great foundation. Cognitive psychology studies the mental activities and perceptions that influence us.
A core factor information architects use to organize information within their products.
Simply put the mind is an information processor on its own and with cognitive psychology there are a lot of factors that to that influence what we do.
Here are a few factors:
Mental Models
Mental Models are assumptions people have in their minds before they interact with a product.A clear translation would be,Information Architects placing information where a user is likely to find it.
This proves useful especially for call to action buttons. Sometimes our designs can hinder a user from accessing information , no matter how pleasant the UI is.
Cognitive Load
What is 234 multiplied with 443? Yeah, That's cognitive load.
Some products have too much going on, information displayed in overloads, Bright and contrasting colors are used or four different sets of typography.
This is Cognitive load, the brainpower to be used to process
information. Having a minimalist design is powerful in communicating to users.
Using cognitive psychology information architects spend their time designing the content structure around users.
The Duties of an Information Architect includes:
Conducting User Interviews - to ask questions related to product designing, what the user likes and dislikes. A user is generally one of the many personas your building for.
Card sorting and tree testing sessions - seeing how different users are able to categorize information.
Contextual inquiries - UX architects observe how users interact with real life products.
Content inventory, content grouping and content audits - which is what a good understanding of the content that the product offers.
Taxonomies and Labeling - is classifying items based on similarities.
Prototyping - Information architects also create simple , low-fidelity prototypes to demonstrate the hierarchy of information and navigation.
Conclusion
A summary of Information Architecture is that it allows great content to be displayed in with easy accessibility, this is the backbone in any Application or Website.
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