#info architecture

[adesignloversguide]

A walk round Gardens by the Bay with Grant Associates

[syzlak-blog]

so nice to be working on projects with revisions again

AM: is there a reason on the IA why you bolded some of the blck text on the light blue and some is not bold?

Me: yeah, it's easier to read, but it makes things bigger, and thus, when it's too long, it'll look weird

AM: huh really confused by the bold thing

Me: really? if i were to make the un-bold ones bold. the text would run off the box

AM: for example, under restraining orders you have "relocation" in bold and not "domestic violence protection orders" I think we need to make them all un-bold then

Me: but then they're harder to read

AM: otherwise the bold looks like that page is more important or something

Me: really?

AM: haha yes

Me: hmmm

AM: I think so

[eggertson]

This glossary was published by Argus Centre for Information Architecture, sponsored by a now-defunct consulting firm run by Peter Morville and Louis Rosenfeld, authors of Information Architecture for the World Wide Web.

This isn't required reading, but might help explain some of the terms used in the book and in the class.

The glossary is available for download and non-commercial use.

[eggertson]

One of the authors of the book Information Architecture for the World Wide Web talks about the evolving role of the information architect in an online world that has many channels, platforms and interconnections.

What used to be a fairly straightforward task -- designing the underlying structure of a website -- is now much more complicated:

The dance between Google and search engine optimization (SEO) has shifted attention from "home pages" to the design of findable, social objects that serve as both destination and gateway. The rise of user-generated content has invited the marriage of architectures and algorithms in support of conversation and collaboration. And, the growth of mobile has us thinking hard about Responsive Web Design and Ubiquitous Service Design in a world of cross-channel user experience.

If you don't let the layers of web design jargon phase you, he describes something akin to what users are experiencing. Our online experiences used to be less complicated. Nowadays bloggers aren't even sure if their blog is their main publishing platform, or if it has shifted to the status update realms of Twitter, Facebook and similar services. Imagine how people running a large company with multiple brands feel, as they see their brands represented on multiple platforms in a variety of ways.

Morville again: 

Increasingly, I'm asked by my clients to formulate a "web strategy" that explains relationships between their sites and social media channels, and these conversations naturally lead towards development of full-blown strategies for mobile and multi-channel user experience as well.

Most people taking PR40 don't have the luxury of having only one role. Either handling online content is only one duty among many, or managing websites has morphed into managing online relationships across a number of platforms.  Like Morville, our jobs aren't locked into a single website. We have to adapt to a more complex interactive landscape.

[eggertson]

PR40 Class Notes - to come

Watch here for info the University of Regina Continuing Education course on Electronic Information Design. Classes start in January 2012. Questions? Contact me at [email protected] 

Eric Eggertson