Information / UX Architecture

From the battles between Librarians and Architects in the 70's and 80's, through the current debates about what to call this field of work, the debate around this branch of design shows no signs of abating.

However, the work still needs to be done. My own data driven twist on creating mental spaces and interaction flows that define the experiences we have online is an outgrowth of my design experience wed to my engineering background.

Part of this is picking up where librarians have left off with the organization of information in the physical environment, building a structure that allows for more than just direct retrieval. The online environment, however, provides certain types of lateral and liminal movement that foster unexpected discoveries, where what you find isn't what you were looking for but something better, and often something that you didn't even know existed. This facilitated serendipity is what drew me to Information Architecture.

My IA practice, while sometimes high minded, is tempered by my engineering background and a recognition that interfaces have to work, for both the business and for the users.

Discovery

  • What are the goals for this web site?
  • What content and actions support those goals?
  • What information must be included? What metadata are needed to describe it?

Competitive analysis

  • How do other sites accomplish similar tasks?
  • What are the user expectation based upon?
  • How do other sites promote and link on the web at large?

User language / Information landscape analysis

  • How does the business speak of itself and its products?
  • How do customers express their needs in language and actions?
  • Are these different paradigms at odds? How can we reconcile them?

Information architecture strategy development

  • Does the layout provide clear calls to action?
  • Do page level and site level information architecture support each other?

Iterative design with wireframes, mockups and prototypes

  • Are we headed in the right direction?
  • Are the business goals being served?
  • Are the user goals being served?

Sample Deliverables

The following sample materials are scrubbed client deliverables. All are in PDF format.