IA - Definitions
August 27, 2002
This interview by Digital Web covers topics including the definition of information architecture, overall design concepts and how IA relates to usability, and Adaptive Path as a business. Read the interview...
Filed in: IA - Definitions, IA - Practical Approaches, Usability
August 02, 2002
"Definition: An information architecture is the underlying organizational structure for a system of content and interactions (e.g., Web, broadband, wireless, and speech)." There's a lot more to this definition than this pithy statement presented by Sapient's Arnie Lund at the "Practicing Information Architecture" Special Interest Group meeting at CHI 2001 and available via Keith Instone. Read the definition...
July 26, 2002
"As a follow-up to the ASIS Summit on Information Architecture (IA), which focused on defining the field, something practice-oriented seemed appropriate. More specifically: Who are information architects, anyway? What do they do? How do they do it? In this special section of the Bulletin of the American Society for Information Science we get answers from five IA's who responded by e-mail to a series of questions." This is from August 2000, but it's still interesting. Start at the table of contents...
June 13, 2002
From Info.Design, "We define Information architecture as a systematic, question-based process for creating communication products that improve users’ performance." Read the rest...
June 11, 2002
By Craig Marion, "I created my site to help me track developments in user interface design from a number of perspectives that arose independently and, at the time, weren't communicating very well. As I scoured the Web each month for information to keep my site current, I found myself continually encountering a term I was unfamiliar with: 'interaction design.'" Read the article...
"This lesson discusses ideas associated with the phrase "information architecture" and relates them to aspects of the library- and information-science (LIS) professions." This essay, by R. E. Wyllys at the University of Texas at Austin, Graduate School of Library Science, was last updated in early 2001 and is a good look at early thoughts on IA. Read the paper...
June 04, 2002
"Defining Information architecture is a re-occuring theme in all IA forums, and frequently leads to re-naming efforts as well, from information therapist to experience designer.
"Arguments dredge up the history of IA, from its birth in database design and RichardSaulWurman's first coinage of the term to its development in the hands of LouisRosenfeld and PeterMorville. Arguments get lost in job descriptions [1] and cries of 'that's not what I do!' Arguments get wild with dreams of grandeur, leading to hopes of creating a position of CXO. Arguments go round and round until they lose steam. "
This is the definitive collection of IA definitions and arguments. If you want to know why we're all so confused, just look here. Read more...
[A] systematic approach to analyzing and preparing plans for communication products for their intended purposes and audiences, while working within the business constraints of the project.
Saul Carliner's definition of the discipline emphasizes the design approach. Read more...
"Information architecture, as the name implies, is basically about taking content and a structure to present that content to an audience. Whether the content is intended for a private audience on an intranet or for the public, it is the information architect's job to ensure that information is well-organized and presented in an easily accessible interface."
From a Monster.com interview with Mattie Langenberg and Michael Brooks. Read the whole interview...
"An information architecture is composed of organization, navigation, indexing and searching systems. These systems play a central role in determining whether users can easily find the information they need. They also influence the long-term costs of managing the dynamic growth and constant change of information resources in the online environment. "
From the late, lamented Argus Associates, whose website lives on. Read more...
