What is Information Architecture?

Information Architecture is one of the most important and least understood aspects of web site design.

One should NEVER start constructing a web site or eLearning application without consulting an information architect first. This would be similar to constructing a tower or a bridge without consulting a traditional architect.

Although the field of information architecture is relatively new, it is already quite refined. Typical project times for a small to medium sized web site is two to four weeks with around 40 to 80 hours of work.

Larry JH Zoumas is a current member of the Information Architecture Institute and abides by its guidelines on all appropriate projects.

Want to learn more?

A good starting reference in this field is the seminal O'Reilly Press book, Information Architecture for the World Wide Web, Second Edition, by Louis Rosenfield and Peter Morville.

In this volume IA is defined as:

1. The combination of organization, labeling, and navigation schemes within an information system.

2. The structural design of an information space to facilitate task completion and intuitive access to content.

3. The art and science of structuring and classifying web sites and intranets to help people find and manage information

4. An emerging discipline and community of practice focused on bringing principles of design and architecture to the digital landscape.

Common Deliverables include:

Blueprints - flowchart of the navigation structure of the web site
Wireframes - minimal graphical representation of layout and labels
Thesaurus - labels, semantics, and internationalization.
Metadata Schema - for organization, SEO and internal search
IA Roadmap - the master plan to implement the IA