Information Architecture

Information Architecture, also widely known as IA, serves as the design structure for computer information. Information Architecture deals with organizing and strategizing different parts of a website.

User experience and information architecture closely relate to each other. Information architecture deals with the primary structure of an app or website. It focuses on the blueprints that goes along with the process of building the app or website. User experience involves the audience’s point of view after trying the blueprint of the website. You cannot have Information Architecture with having the testing abilities from User Experience. U will need UX useability testing to determine how well the Information Architecture is structured.

In order to compose efficient Information Architecture, you have to understand what components you want to be a part of the app or website. These components are divided into four categories. The categories include organization, labeling, navigation, and searching systems.

With organizational structures, there are three sub-categories. These categories include: Hierarchal, sequential, and matrix. Hierarchal deals with looking at the physical attributions of the structure to organize the structures. Sequential involves going through each step continuously. You must complete sequential structure task by task. Matrix is used to navigate according to what the user decides. It is based off of the specific user’s experience in the app.

Some more organizational structure schemes are topics, audiences, alphabetical, and chronological.

The labeling system involves using a simpler way to allow audiences to understand where to go in an app by adding clear labels to specific buttons or pages. When important parts of a website or app are labeled it draws attention and allows users to easily see where to go. Labeling also allows the work to look more cohesive. It gives a clean aesthetic to the website or app.

The navigation system involves a website or app including specific instructions throughout the structure telling the users how to properly navigate throughout the app. The navigation system offers techniques and goals that can help the user understand the content featured in the app as well.

In the searching system, it is typically used when an app or website offers a lot of information for users to comprehend. When there is a lot of information to take in you would have to search through the structure to find specific ideas needed by the users. The most common type of search structure is the search engine. In sites like Google and Yahoo, the search engine is the main function. Without a search engine on sites like those, it would be impossible for users to try to navigate through all of the information provided from the sites.

Overall, Information Architecture stands as the standard for if users will comprehend the work on a website or app. It is arguable that Information architecture is one of the most important components of User Experience. Without the structure of Information Architecture, it would be hard for someone to navigate through websites and apps. This is the reason why Information Architecture is vital to the learning process for User Experience.