In a world where everything is getting more complex and we are all experiencing personal information overload, there is a growing need to understand the tools and processes that are used to make sense of complex subjects and situations. These tools aren't hard to learn or even tough to implement but they are also not part of many people's education.
Information Architecture is a practice of making sense. A set of principles, lessons and tools to help anyone make sense of any thing. Whether you are - a student or professional, a designer, technologist or small business owner, an intern or executive - learn how information architecture can help you make sense of your next endeavor.
9. We are all experiencing information overload
...and with that comes information anxiety
*HT Richard Saul Wurman
10. We have to
have a
website
But our
users still
like printed
things
that website
needs to talk
to the
inventory
system
And be easy
to update
without a
technologist
Oh!
Everything
actually
needs to be
in 5
languages
And the
content
should be
controlled by
our brand
But don’t forget to
let the users make
content too
Our
creative director
says the future
is flat design
Don’t
forget our
partnership
with
_____
We don’t
like the
word “cart”
Our CEO
hates flat
design
23. Or they think of ways to
pretty up the mess...
New User
tutorial to
explain the mess
Incentive
structure
for dealing
with the
mess
Fancy
Front end
fluffing
46. Lexicography vs Ontology
• Lexicography is the practice of compiling
dictionaries. Lexicographers collect
different meanings for words
• Ontology represents the knowledge of
terms and concepts within a domain
47.
48. Meaning is subjective
Meaning is demographic
Meaning is socio political
Meaning gets lost in translation
Meaning is complex
50. Controlled Vocabularies
• A controlled vocabulary is a list of approved terms and
definitions for a particular context and/or setting
• This exercise can help teams to decide on things like:
– Variant Spellings (i.e. American vs. British)
– Scientific vs. Popular Term Use (i.e. Cockroaches vs. Periplaneta Americana)
– Acceptable Synonyms (i.e. Automobile vs. Car)
– Acceptable Acronyms (i.e. GE vs. General Electric)
– Business vs. User Terms (i.e. What we say in meetings vs. what we say to
customers)
– Identification of homographs (i.e. the word “pool” can relate to “swimming pool” or
“shooting”)
50
53. I am sorry you have having issues using our
mobile site. I am sure I will be able to help
you...Can you see the hamburger menu?
Careful: We LOVE to use words anyways
even if we have to make them up
59. There are
only 5
ways to
organize
anything
1. Location: Rome is a city in Italy
2. Alphabetical: Rome starts with “R”
3. Time: Rome started in 753 BC
4. Category: Rome is a Romantic city
5. Hierarchy: Rome is within Italy, which
is within Europe, which is within the
Eastern and Northern Hemisphere
*HT
Richard
Saul
Wurman
-‐
Informa9on
Anxiety
2
60. A facet is a particular aspect, or
feature about some “thing”
The more facets something has the more
ways it can be organized against other things.
61. 20 ways to organize a box of vegetables
1.!By cost at the grocery in the USA (Location)
2.!By cost at the grocery in the UK (Location)
3.!By countries it is eaten in (Location)
4.!By first letter scientific names (Alphabetical)
5.!By first letter popular names (Alphabetical)
6.!By first letter cultural names (Alphabetical)
7.!By seasonality of harvest (Time)
8.!By length of season (Time)
9.!By cooking time (Time)
10.!By popularity today (Time)
11.!By popularity 100 years ago (Time)
12.!By color (Category)
13.!By taste (Category)
14.!By texture (Category)
15.!By size (Category)
16.!By growing style (Hierarchy)
17.!By climate (Hierarchy)
18.!By type (Hierarchy)
19.!By soil type (Hierarchy)
20.!By best storing technique (Hierarchy)
10 facets of a vegetable
1.! Color
2.! Texture
3.! Taste
4.! Season Planted
5.! Season Harvested
6.! Soil Grown In
7.! Class
8.! Subclass
9.! Countries Consumed in
10.!Cost by Country
68. “It takes knowledge to know a
tomato is a fruit. It takes wisdom
to not put one in a fruit salad”
- Miles Kington
69. 1. Know your material & level
2. Start to unravel “truth”
3. Wipe out linguistic insecurity
4. List words you say/don’t say
5. Identify facets
6. Try on structures
Next Steps:
72. • Time: “I only have ___ left.”
• Resources: “I only have ________”
• Skill-set: “I know how to ________but I don’t know how to ______, yet.”
• Environment: “I am working within a market, serving an audience made of
various user types, within an ecosystem, via a platform, using technology.”
• Personality: “I want my work to say _____________________ about me”
• Politics: “Others want my work to say _________________ about ________”
• Ethics: “I want my work to do right by the world”
• Integrity: “I want to be proud of the results of my work”
Reality involves many factors
73. • Users: People you intend to interact with whatever is being made
• Stakeholders: People who care about the outcome of what is being made
• Makers: People making whatever is being made
WARNING: You may fall into all three categories yourself on a given project. Be
extra careful when this is a case. Remember that in many cases, meeting our own
needs can prevent us from meeting the needs of others.
Reality involves many players
74. 1. Know your material & level
2. Start to unravel “truth”
3. Wipe out linguistic insecurity
4. List words you say/don’t say
5. Identify facets
6. Try on structures
7. Deal with subjective reality
Next Steps:
83. 1. Know your material & level
2. Start to unravel “truth”
3. Wipe out linguistic insecurity
4. List words you say/don’t say
5. Identify facets
6. Try on structures
7. Deal with subjective reality
8. Diagram the damn thing
Next Steps:
87. But in case you need permission to go with
those next steps and few words of advice, I
can give you your membership card:
Information
Architecture
helps me make
sense of my
messes.
Your Name
And suggest you think about
joining the IAInstitute.org
89. If you forget everything else,
please remember...
• We live amongst a mounting mess of information
• People make this mess of information
• Information architecture helps us make sense
• Language matters
• Structure is rhetoric
• We must define good realistically
• We must make diagrams and prototypes to
understand each other's models of the world
90. ...my hope is that the
world will make a whole
lot more sense.
If we all think a little harder about
the information we architect...
(a girl can dream )
91. How to
Make Sense
of Any Mess
@Abby_the_IA
http://abbytheia.com/makesense/
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