Introduction to Information Architecture & Design Workshop - Presented by Robert Stribley, 12/10/11 at SVA

1. photo by davidteter on flickr
Introduction to Information Architecture & Design
School of Visual Arts | December 2011
Robert Stribley

2. Introduction
This presentation will be available on SlideShare following today’s workshop:
http://www.slideshare.net/stribs

3. Introduction
Aussie-Style Liquorice

4. Chocolate display, Xocolatti, SoHo, New York

5. Body Gel, Sabon, SoHo, New York

6. Peppers, Union Square Market, New York

7. Pattern Recognition:
In cognitive psychology, the ability
to identify familiar forms within a
complex arrangement of sensory
stimuli
Butterfly on the New York City Highline

8. Butterflies at the American Museum of Natural History‘s Butterfly Conservatory.

9. Introduction
Intro
Robert Stribley
• I‘m a senior information architect Clients include:
at Razorfish • Bank of America, Wachovia
• JPMorgan, Morgan Stanley,
• I write music and arts reviews
Oppenheimer Funds, Smith Barney,
• I produce a promote a variety • Boston Scientific, Nasonex
show • Choice Hotels
• I photograph various things • Computer Associates, EMC
• I drink coffee • Ford
• Nextel
• Red Cross
• Travel Channel, Women‘s Wear Daily

10. Introduction
Intro
About You
• What‘s your name?
• What do you do for work?
• What do you do for fun?
• Coffee, tea or bottled water?

11. Introduction
Intro
Goals of this workshop
• Understand the basic concepts of user experience
design
• Experience the general process and techniques used
on a design project
• Review the basic deliverables an information architect
develops within a project

12. Agenda

13. Agenda
Agenda
Morning
• Background
• Design Process
• Our Project
• User Research
• Competitive Review
• Personas
• Lunch

14. Agenda
Agenda
Afternoon
•Card Sorting
•Site Maps
•Page Types
•Grids
•Navigation
•Sketching
•Wireframes
•Q&A

15. Background

16. Background: Defining IA
Background
in•for•ma•tion ar•chi•tec•ture n.
Navigation • The combination of organization,
labeling, and navigation schemes within
an information system.
Interaction • The structural design of an information
space to facilitate task completion and
intuitive access to content.
Art/Science • The art and science of structuring and
classifying web sites and intranets to help
people find and manage information.
Discipline/ • An emerging discipline and community of
Community practice focused on bringing principles of
design and architecture to the digital
landscape.
Information Architecture for the World Wide Web (1st Edition), p . 4, Rosenfeld and Morville

17. Background: Defining IA
Background
The Information Architecture Institute defines
information architecture as ―the art and
science of organizing and labeling websites,
intranets, online communities and software to
support usability.‖

18. Background: Defining IA
Background
"It's hard to say who really is an
information architect. In some
sense, we all are.‖
— Alex Wright, Author Glut

19. Background: Defining IA
context
IA
content users

20. Background: Defining IA
interface
information architecture

21. Background: Defining IA
skin
skeleton

22. Background: Defining IA
Design Process
metaphor: architectural plans
Flickr.com: Cornell University Library

23. Background: History
A Brief History of IA
1975
• Richard Saul Wurman coined the term
―information architecture‖ to describe the field
now more likely described as ―information
design‖
1994
• Formation of Argus Associates in Ann Arbor,
WI, the first firm devoted to IA
1998
• First edition of Peter Morville and Lou
Rosenfeld‘s Information Architecture for the
World Wide Web, affectionately known as
―The Polar Bear‖ book

24. Background: History
A Brief History of IA
2000
• First IA Summit, Boston, MA – Defining
Information Architecture
2002
• Boxes & Arrows, online journal for information
architects goes live
• 3 new books on IA published, including Jesse
James Garrett‘sThe Elements of User
Experience
2011
• 12th Annual IA Summit held in Denver, CO
Partially adapted from: ―A brief history of information architecture‖ by Peter Morville and Information
Architecture: Designing information environments for purpose, edited by Alan Gilchrist and Barry Mahon

25. Design Process

26. Design Process
Design Process
Discovery Definition Design Development

27. Design Process
Design Process
Discovery Definition Design Development
• Stakeholder interviewers
• Business requirements
• Competitive & comparative audits
• User research
• Site inventory

28. Design Process
Design Process
Discovery Definition Design Development
• Personas
• Content & meta data audits
• Card sorts
• Use cases
• Mood boards
• Sketching
• Site maps
• Creative brief
• UX brief

29. Design Process
Design Process
Discovery Definition Design Development
• Site maps
• Task flows
• Sketching
• Wireframes
• Stakeholder reviews
• Prototypes
• Usability testing
• Visual design
•Functional specifications

30. Design Process
Design Process
Discovery Definition Design Development
• Site development
• User acceptance
testing
• Quality
assurance
• Usability testing

31. Deliverables
Background
IA Deliverables
discover define design
requirements document sketches site map
comparative/competitive
personas wireframes
review
feature/functionality
inventory user flows prototype
experience brief use cases

32. Deliverables
Background
IA Deliverables
discover define design
requirements document sketches site map
comparative/competitive
personas wireframes
review
feature/functionality
inventory user flows prototype
experience brief use cases
visual design

33. Our Project

34. Our Project
What to do?

35. Our Project
Our Project
Events.com wants to revamp its website to
become the go-to online resource for people
wanting to attend or promote events across the
United States.

36. Discover

37. User Research
User Research in Copenhagen’s Elderly Homes

38. Discovery: User Research
User Research
Through research, we aim to learn enough
about the business goals, the users, and the
information ecology to develop a solid
strategy.
– Louis Rosenfield & Peter Morville

39. Discovery: User Research
User Research
Methodology
• Focus Groups
• Surveys
• Interviews
Goals
• Identify patterns and trends in user behavior,
tasks, preferences, obstacles.

40. Discovery: User Research
User Research
Class Exercise: Survey Questions
• How do you learn about events in NYC?
• What type of events are you interested in?
• What‘s more important to you:
– Price
– Type of Event
– Location
– Date
• How often do you attend the events?
• Do you ever need to promote an event?
• Do you ever invite people to an event?

41. Competitive Review
image by
brandon schauer

42. Discovery: Competitive Review
Discovery: Competitive Audit
This type of assessment helps set an
industry ―marker‖ by looking at what the
competition is up to, what features and
functionalities are standard, and how others
have solved the same problems you might
be tasked with.
– Dorelle Rabinowitz

43. Discovery: Competitive Review
Competitive Review
Methodology
• Heuristic Evaluation
• Usability Criteria
• Scorecard
Goals
• Review and analyze competitor sites according to
particular criteria
• Draw key findings, which can influence and guide IA
through the design phase
Also:
• Comparative Reviews

44. Discovery: Competitive Review
Competitive Review
Heuristic Evaluation
Ten Usability Heuristics by Jakob Nielsen
• Visibility of system status
• Match between system and the real world
• User control and freedom
• Consistency and standards
• Error prevention
• Recognition rather than recall
• Flexibility and efficiency of use
• Aesthetic and minimalist design
• Help users recognize, diagnose, and recover from errors
• Help and documentation
Self Study:
For a more detailed explanation of these heuristics, see Nielsen‘s explanation here: http://www.useit.com/papers/heuristic/heuristic_list.html

45. Discovery: Competitive Review
Competitive Review
Examples of Usability Criteria
Note: These examples are not intended to provide a comprehensive listing. Appropriate criteria may depend on the project
to be completed.
Home Page
• Are home page elements appropriately weighted and distributed?
• Is information clustered in meaningful ways?
Navigation
• Is the navigation structure concise and consistent?
• Are paths to important information intuitive and unobstructed?
Content
• Is content current? Are there visible indications of content freshness?
• Is content properly adapted for the Web? Is tone of voice consistent throughout content? Is
content chunked appropriately?
• Are headings and title scannable?
Design
• Are colors appropriate to the Web? Is white space used appropriately? Is text readable?
Search
• Are search results relevant and cleanly presented?
Functionality
• Are functionality and forms efficiently designed?
Messaging
• Are errors messages clear on the site? Is help readily available to users?
• Are there appropriate means for user feedback?

46. Discovery: Competitive Review
Competitive Review
Competitors

47. Discovery: Competitive Flavorpill
Competitive Review: Review
Home Page Navigation Features & Functionality
•Featured Event Strip Primary Utility •Search
•Search •Events •City Dropdown •Calendar
•Featured Event •Filtering
•Editor Picks •Log In/Log Out
•What‘s Happening •Google maps
•Featured Venues •SignUp/ Profile
•Recently Added •Comments
•Coming Up •Giveaways •Social (Facebook, •Profile
•Featured Venue Twitter, Tumblr)
•Giveaways •iPhone App
•New York Guide •Search

48. Discovery: Competitive Going.com
Competitive Review: Review
Features & Functionality
Home Page Navigation •Search
•Browse Events Primary Secondary •Calendar
•Event Carousel •My Events •Help •Profiles
•Events Listing •My Account •Comments
•Friends
•My Events •Event posting and promoting
•More •Search •RSVP online/Buy tickets
•Calendar
•Add an Event •Sign in/Sign •Event filtering/sorting
•Pandora/iTunes/Last.fm
integration out •Yahoo! Maps
•Link to Beta version

49. Discovery: Competitive NYCgo.com
Competitive Review: Review
Home Page Navigation Secondary Functionality
Primary • Search
•Search •Travel Trade
• Top Attractions • Google maps
•This Week carousel •Meeting Planners
• What to Do • Calendar
•NYC Highlights • Where to Stay •Membership
• Find an event
•Events calendar • Plan Your Trip •Press • Filtering
•Top 5 Events • Deals Utility • MyNYC
•Plan Your Trip • Broadway •Search
•Deals & Offers • NYC for the Holidays •Language Selector
• Free •Temperature
• NYC Shop
•Twitter, Facebook, Email

50. Discovery: Competitive Review
Competitive Review
Key Findings
• Search placed prominently on each site
• Clear need for and emphasis upon filtering events
• Calendars provide obvious benefit, but aren‘t always
prominent
• Profiles and community features are also common, but
handled with varying degrees of detail, success
• Free events are often highlighted
• Event detail pages vary, may have maps, RSVP, sharing,
rating, commenting functionality
• Displaying other venues and restaurants adds utility
• Maps prove helpful, especially to out-of-towners
• The ability to add or promote an event is not always
present or prominent

51. Discovery: Competitive Review
Competitive Review
What else have we learned?
• Who are the audiences of these sites?
• What are the strengths of these sites?
• What are their weaknesses?
• How might another event site differentiate itself from these sites?

52. Define

53. Personas
Personas is a component of the Metropath(ologies)
exhibit, recently on display at the MIT Museum by the
Sociable Media Group from the MIT Media Lab . It
uses sophisticated natural language processing and
the Internet to create a data portrait of one's
aggregated online identity. In short, Personas shows
Created at Personas: http://personas.media.mit.edu you how the Internet sees you.

54. Definition: Personas
Personas
Personas summarize user research findings
and bring that research to life in such a way
that everyone can make decisions based on
these personas, not based on themselves.
– Steve Mulder

55. Definition: Personas
Personas
Characteristics of Effective Personas
• Varied and distinct
• Detailed
• Not weighed down with minutiae
• Tied into business-specific goals
• Backed by data

56. Definition: Personas
Personas
Methodology
• Cluster Analysis
Goals
• Create a narrative based on real data to
illustrate user behavior, motivations, goals

57. Definition: Personas
Big Budget
Promoter Planner
Small Budget

58. Definition: Personas
Jerry Jenny Donny Sabrina

59. Definition: Personas
Personas
Sabrina, 27
The party planner
Location:
Gramercy Park
Attitude:
Organized, outgoing
Financial Perspective:
Generous, bit of spendthrift
Big Budget Online Habits:
Avid user of social networking sites,
Twitter, Facebook, etc
Events:
Promoter Planner
Wine tastings, gallery openings
Quote:
―I love getting bunches of friends
Small Budget together to attend all these NYC
events. There‘s so much great stuff to
do in this city!‖

60. Definition: Personas
Jerry, 44
The out-of-towner
Location:
Cincinnati, OH
Attitude:
Casual, yet adventurous
Financial Perspective:
Moderate spender
Online Habits:
Big Budget
Utilitarian use of the Web to
research trips, read about the arts
and pay bills
Events:
Promoter Planner
Museums, visiting landmarks, tours
Quote:
―I‘m visiting the Big Apple with my
Small Budget wife and we want to check out
some art-related events.‖

61. Definition: Personas
Personas
Donny, 38
The local comedian
Location:
East Village
Attitude:
Laidback, loosely organized
Financial Perspective:
Frugal, paycheck to paycheck
Online Habits:
Big Budget
Spends time networking, promoting his
act online, haunts comedy sites
Events:
Comedy slams, variety shows Promoter Planned
Quote:
―I land a few comedy gigs around the
city and I want to promote them better.‖ Small Budget

62. Definition: Personas
Personas
Jenny, 33
The professional promoter
Location:
Williamsburg
Attitude:
Busy, disciplined, professional
Financial Perspective:
Healthy budget for promotions and
advertising
Online Habits:
Heavy use of social networking sites both
professionally and personally, shops online Big Budget
Events:
Small gigs, big concerts, DJ sets
Quote:
Promoter Planned
―I manage a few bands and DJs and I
have to ensure they‘re listed in the right,
targeted places.‖
Small Budget

63. Definition: Personas
Class Exercise: Personas
Jerry Jenny Donny Sabrina
In regards to Events.com,
• What tasks might each persona attempt to complete on Events.com?
• What features can you imagine each persona might like on such a site?
• What obstacles or pain points might they encounter?

64. Lunch Break

65. Agenda
Agenda
Afternoon
•Card Sorting
•Site Maps
•Page Types
•Grids
•Navigation
•Sketching
•Wireframes
•Q&A

66. Card Sorting

67. Definition: Card Sorting
Card Sorting
There are often better ways to organize data
than the traditional ones that first occur to us.
Each organization of the same set of data
expresses different attributes and messages.
It is also important to experiment, reflect, and
choose which organization best
communicates our messages.
– Nathan Shedroff, Experience Strategist

68. Definition: Card Sorting
Methodology
• Grouping and labeling with index cards, post it notes
• Two types:
– Open – participants sort cards with no pre-established categories –
useful for new architectures
– Closed – participants sort cards into predetermined, provided
groups – useful for fitting content into existing architectures
• Online card sorts
– WebSort, OptimalSort, Socratic
Goals
• Organize content more efficiently
• Find names for groups of content based on users‘ perspectives
Self Study:
"Card sorting: a definitive guide" by Donna Spencer and Todd Warfel, Boxes and Arrows, 2004/04/07

69. Definition: Card Sorting
Class Exercise: Card Sorting
As individuals:
•Take 5 minutes to think of all the events a
person could attend
•Write each event you come up with on a Post-
It note

70. Definition: Card Sorting
Class Exercise: Card Sorting
Now, as a group:
•Take a few minutes to organize your events
into categories (group & label them)
•Then we‘ll share some categories

71. Definition: Card Sorting
Card Sorting: Next Steps
With the results of a card sort we then can:
• Build consensus
• Refine terminology
• Create a site map
• Help define navigation

72. Design

73. Site Maps

74. Design: Site Maps
Conceptual Design
A site map is a high level
diagram showing the hierarchy
of a system. Site maps reflect
the information structure, but
are not necessarily indicative of
the navigation structure.
- Step Two Designs

75. Design: Site Maps
Conceptual Design
Site map for Men‗s section of designer clothing site

76. Design: Site Maps
Conceptual Design
Site map by Kazi Shanto, Louise Blouin Media

77. Design: Site Maps
Conceptual Design
Biocarta Site map, Fromson Consulting

78. Page Types

79. Design: Page Types
Conceptual Design
Home Page Category Page Details Page

80. Grids

81. Design: Grids
Grids
The true benefit of using a grid is that as
you learn how to use a grid, you start
to think systemically about the
solutions you design. You start to try
and see how various details can echo
one another, how different regions of
the canvas can be reused or used for
similar things, how like elements can be
grouped together.
– Khoi Vinh, former design Director, NYTimes.com

82. Design: Grids
Grids

83. Design: Grids
Grids

84. Design: Grids
Grids

85. Design: Grids
Grids
12 column grid

86. Design: Grids
Grids
3 columns of 4 units

87. Design: Grids
Grids
4 columns of 3 units

88. Design: Grids
Grids
6 columns of 2 units

89. Design: Grids
Grids
Variations of the 12 column grid

90. Design: Grids
Grids
Self Study: Want to know more?
Learn more about design by grids:
960 Grid System
960.gs
Design by Grid
www.designbygrid.com
Hashgrid
www.hashgrid.com

91. Navigation

92. Design: Navigation
Grids
Types of Navigation Areas of Navigation
• Site Structure – major nav • Global – universal header/footer
• Hierarchical – product families • Local – left nav/right nav
• Function – sitemap privacy • Local content – text links, buttons
• Direct – banner ad/shortcut
• Reference – related links
Styles of Navigation
• Dynamic – search results
• Breadcrumb – location
• Rollover
• Step Navigation – sequence
through forms/results • Dropdown
• Faceted Navigation – filters • Tabs
results
Self Study: Want to know more?
Adapted from Atsushi Hasegagwa‘s The 7 Navigation Types of Web Sites

93. Design: Navigation
Grids
Mega Dropdowns

94. Design: Navigation
Grids
Power Footers

95. Sketching

96. Design: Sketching
Sketching Through the Ages
1485-1487
Ornithopter by Leonardo da Vinci
Schematic for modern AH-64
Apache helicopter

97. Design: Sketching
Sketching
―There are techniques
and processes whereby
we can put experience
front and center in design.
My belief is that the basis
Bill Buxton
for doing so lies in Sketching User
Experiences
extending the traditional
practice of sketching. ‖
- Bill Buxton

98. Design: Sketching
Sketching

99. Design: Sketching
Sketching

100. Design: Sketching
Sketching
Any guesses what this is a
sketch of?

101. Design: Sketching
Sketching
Twitter
[This sketch] has very special significance – it's hanging in the office somewhere with one other page.
Whenever I'm thinking about something, I really like to take out the yellow notepad and get it down.
– Jack Dorsey, Twitter
“twttr sketch‖ Twitter.com

102. Design: Sketching
Sketching
Attributes of a Sketch
•Quick
•Timely
•Inexpensive
•Disposable
•Plentiful Bill Buxton
Sketching User
•Clear vocabulary Experiences
•Distinct gesture
•Minimal detail
•Appropriate degree of refinement
•Suggest & explore rather than confirm
•Ambiguity

103. Design: Sketching
Sketching
Methodology
• Draw
• Limit your time
• Don‘t worry about mistakes or style
Goals
• Benefit from the participation of your
colleagues
• Quickly generate ideas and refine through
iterations

104. Design: Sketching
Design: Sketching
Class Exercise: Sketching
In teams, sketch your ideas.
1) Create & Promote an Event
- Take 5 or so minutes first to discuss what
features belong here
- Is it a single page? Multiples steps?

105. Design: Sketching
Design: Sketching
Class Exercise: Sketching
In teams, sketch your ideas.
1) Create & Promote an Event
2) A Homepage

106. Design: Sketching Tools
Info
Sketching Tools:
The following apps are all for the iPad
• Adobe Ideas (free)
• Bamboo Paper (free)
• Muji Notebook (3.99)
• Penultimate ($1.99)
• SketchBook Pro ($4.99)

107. Wireframes
photo & sculpture by
polly verity

108. Design: Wireframes
Wireframes
Web site wireframes are blue prints that
define a Web page‘s content and
functionality. They do not convey design –
e.g. colors, graphics, or fonts.
- fatpurple

109. Design: Wireframes - Examples
Design: Sketching
wireframe by Mike Rohde

110. Design: Wireframes - Examples
Design: Sketching
wireframe by
matthieu mingasson

111. Design: Wireframes - Examples
Design: Sketching
wireframe by
matthieu mingasson

112. Design: Wireframes - Examples
Design: Sketching

113. Design: Wireframes - Examples
Design: Sketching

114. Design: Wireframes - Examples
Design: Sketching

115. Design: Wireframes - Examples
Design: Sketching

116. Design: Way to Wireframe – Video by Russ Unger
The Right Sketching

117. Design: Wireframing Tools
Info
Wireframing/Prototype Tools:
• Adobe InDesign
• Axure
• Omnigraffle (Mac)
• Microsoft Visio
• Mockingbird (online, free)
Also:
• Balsamiq
• iPlotz
• iMockups (iPad)
• Omnigraffle (iPad)
Self Study: Want to know more?
Smashing Magazine: 35 Excellent Wireframing Resources

118. Design: Wireframes
Design: Sketching
Class Exercise: Final Wireframe
In your teams, create your final deliverable.
Assign one of the following to a team member:
1) Create & Promote an Event
2) Event Detail
3) Homepage
As an individual now, you‘ll create a final
―wireframe,‖ which incorporates your team mates‘
designs and feedback.

119. Design: Wireframes
Design: Sketching
Wireframe & Prototyping Tools
Axure
Dreamweaver
InDesign Develop
Visio

120. Additional Resources
Info
Books: Web Sites:
• Information Architecture for the World • Alertbox
Wide Web – Louis Rosenfeld, Peter • A List Apart
Morville
• Boxes & Arrows
• Information Architecture: Blueprints for
the Web – Christina Wodtke, Austin
Govella Organizations:
• The Elements of User Experience – • Human Computer Interactions (HCI)
Jesse James Garrett • Interaction Designers Association (IxDA)
• Designing Web Navigation: Optimizing • Usability Professionals Association (UPA)
the User Experience – James Kalbach,
Aaron Gustafson
Further Studies:
• Design of Everyday Things – Donald
Norman • Adaptive Path
• The Information Architecture Institute
Local Events: • The IA Summit
• Dot Dot Dot, SVA Lecture Series • Pratt – Course in Information Design
• IA Meetup • Nielsen Norman Group
• Rosenfeld Media
• User Interface Engineering

121. Additional Info
Info
Slideshare address:
http://www.slideshare.net/stribs
Additional credit:
Thanks to Anh Dang