The document provides an introduction to an information architecture workshop. It includes an agenda for the workshop that covers topics like background on information architecture, the design process, user research, competitive reviews, personas, card sorting, site maps, page types, grids, and wireframes. The afternoon session will focus on activities like card sorting, site maps, page types, grids, navigation, sketching, and wireframes.

1. photo by davidteter on flickr Introduction to Information Architecture & DesignSchool of Visual Arts | Fall 2011Robert Stribley

2. Introduction

3. Introduction Aussie-Style Liquorice

4. Chocolate display, Xocolatti, SoHo, New York

5. Body Gel, Sabon, SoHo, New York

6. 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

7. Butterflies at the American Museum of Natural History’s Butterfly Conservatory.

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

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

11. Intro Introduction 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

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

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

19. An emerging discipline and community of practice focused on bringing principles of design and architecture to the digital landscape.Navigation Interaction Art/Science Discipline/ Community Information Architecture for the World Wide Web (1st Edition), p . 4, Rosenfeld and Morville

20. Background Background: Defining IA 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.”

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

22. Background: Defining IA context IA users content

23. Background: Defining IA interface information architecture

24. Background: Defining IA skin skeleton

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

26. 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

29. Design Process

30. Design Process Design Process Discovery Design Definition Development

32. Business requirements

33. Competitive & comparative audits

34. User research

36. Content & meta data audits

37. Card sorts

38. Use cases

39. Mood boards

40. Sketching

41. Site maps

42. Creative brief

44. Task flows

45. Sketching

46. Wireframes

47. Stakeholder reviews

48. Prototypes

49. Usability testing

50. Visual design

52. Quality assurance

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

55. Our Project

56. Our Project What to do?

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

58. Discover

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

60. 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 Discovery: User Research

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

62. 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? Discovery:User Research

63. Competitive Review image by brandonschauer

64. 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 Discovery: Competitive Review

65. Competitive Review Discovery: Competitive Review Methodology Usability Criteria Heuristic Evaluation See Ten Usability Heuristics by Jakob Nielsen http://www.useit.com/papers/heuristic/heuristic_list.html 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

66. Competitive Review Discovery: Competitive Review Competitors

67. Competitive Review: Flavorpill Discovery: Competitive Review Flavorpill “ Flavorpill loves culture. We embrace the high-brow, low-brow, underground, mainstream, and everything in between — as long as it's good. A city guide for those who like to go out, Flavorpill publishes a daily update of worthwhile cultural-event listings, from art exhibits and readings to concerts, plays, and festivals. ” http://flavorpill.com/about

69. Today

70. Editor Picks

71. Giveaways

72. Venues

73. Daily Dose

75. Sign In/Sign Out

76. SignUp/ Profile

77. Follow Us (RSS, Facebook, Twitter)

79. Calendar

80. Filtering

81. Google maps

82. Comments

85. Calendar

86. Profiles

87. Who likes it?

88. Comments

89. Event posting and promoting

90. RSVP online/Buy tickets

91. Event filtering

93. Places to Go

96. Inbox

97. Post an Event

98. Search

99. Settings

102. This Week carousel

103. NYC Highlights

104. Events calendar

105. Recent News

106. Plan Your Trip

107. Deals & Offers

108. Filter by borough

110. What to Do

111. Where to Stay

112. Plan Your Trip

113. Deals

114. Broadway

115. NYC Restaurant Week

117. Meeting Planners

118. Membership

120. Language Selector

121. Temperature

123. Google maps

124. Calendar

125. Find an event

126. Filtering

128. Clear need for and emphasis upon filtering events

129. Calendars provide obvious benefit

130. Profiles and community features are also common, but handled with varying degrees of detail, success

131. Free events often highlighted

132. Event detail pages vary, may have maps, RSVP, sharing, rating, commenting functionality

133. Maps would prove helpful, especially to out-of-towners

135. What are the strengths of these sites?

136. What are their weaknesses?

137. How might another event site differentiate itself from these sites?Discovery: Competitive Review

138. Define

139. 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 you how the Internet sees you. Created at Personas: http://personas.media.mit.edu

140. 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 Definition: Personas

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

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

143. Definition: Personas Big Budget Promoter Planner Small Budget

144. Definition: Personas Sabrina Jenny Donny Jerry

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

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

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

148. Personas Definition: 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 Events: Small gigs, big concerts, DJ sets Quote: “I manage a few bands and DJs and I have to ensure they’re listed in the right, targeted places.” Big Budget Planned Promoter Small Budget

150. What features can you imagine each persona might like on such a site?

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

153. Card Sorting

154. Card Sorting Definition: 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

155. 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 Definition: Card Sorting

156. 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 Definition: Card Sorting

157. 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 Definition: Card Sorting

158. 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 Definition: Card Sorting

159. Design

160. Site Maps

161. Conceptual Design Design: Site Maps “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

162. Conceptual Design Design: Site Maps Site map for Men‘s section of designer clothing site

163. Conceptual Design Design: Site Maps Site map by KaziShanto, Louise Blouin Media

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

165. Page Types

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

167. Grids

168. Grids Design: 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.” KhoiVinh, former design Director, NYTimes.com

169. Grids Design: Grids

170. Grids Design: Grids

171. Grids Design: Grids

172. Grids Design: Grids 12 column grid

173. Grids Design: Grids 3 columns of 4 units

174. Grids Design: Grids 4 columns of 3 units

175. Grids Design: Grids 6 columns of 2 units

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

177. Grids Design: 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

178. Navigation

180. Local – left nav/right nav

182. Dropdown

183. TabsSelf Study: Want to know more? Adapted from Atsushi Hasegagwa’s The 7 Navigation Types of Web Sites

184. Sketching

185. Design: Sketching

186. Design: Sketching

187. Design: Sketching Sketching Through the Ages 1485-1487 Ornithopter by Leonardo da Vinci 2005 Schematic representation of the major components of a helicopter by Richard Wheeler

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

189. Sketching Design: Sketching

190. Sketching Design: Sketching

191. Sketching Design: Sketching Any guesses as to what this is a sketch of?

192. Twitter.com “twttr sketch” Sketching Design: 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

194. Timely

195. Inexpensive

196. Disposable

197. Plentiful

198. Clear vocabulary

199. Distinct gesture

200. Minimal detail

201. Appropriate degree of refinement

202. Suggest & explore rather than confirm

203. AmbiguityBill Buxton Sketching User Experiences

204. Sketching Design: 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

205. Design: Sketching Class Exercise: Sketching In teams, sketch your ideas. 1) Create & Promote an Event Design: Sketching

207. Is it a single page? Multiples steps? Design: Sketching

208. Design: Sketching Don’t forget to keep your personas in mind Sabrina Jenny Donny Jerry

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

210. Info Design: Sketching Tools 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)

211. Wireframes photo & sculpture by polly verity

212. Design: Wireframes Wireframes What are 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

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

214. Design: Sketching Design: Wireframes - Examples wireframe by matthieumingasson

215. Design: Sketching Design: Wireframes - Examples wireframe by spaceboxru

216. Design: Sketching Design: Wireframes - Examples wireframe by matthieumingasson

217. Design: Sketching Design: Wireframes - Examples

218. Design: Sketching Design: Wireframes - Examples

219. Design: Sketching Design: Wireframes - Examples

220. Design: Sketching Design: Wireframes - Examples

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

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

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

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

226. A List Apart

228. Interaction Designers Association (IxDA)

230. The Information Architecture Institute

231. The IA Summit

232. Pratt – Course in Information Design

233. Nielsen Norman Group

234. Rosenfeld Media

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

237. Design: Sketching Design: Wireframes Addendum: Design Principles & Concepts Wireframe & Prototyping Tools Axure Dreamweaver InDesign Visio

238. Dieter Rams: 10 principles of good design Good design is… Good design is innovative.Good design makes a product useful.Good design is aesthetic.Good design makes a product understandable.Good design is unobtrusive.Good design is honest.Good design is long-lasting.Good design is thorough down to the last detail.Good design is environmentally friendly.Good design is as little design as possible. © Dieter Rams, amended March 2003 and October 2009

239. Design Concepts Design Concepts Donald Norman, Co-Founder, Nielsen Norman Group

240. Design Concepts Key Concepts Affordance Mapping Constraints Visibility Feedback Design Concepts

241. 131 Design Concepts Affordance “Perceived properties that determine how a thing is used [and] provide strong cues to the operations of things.” - Donald Norman

242. Design Concepts Design Concepts Mapping Relationship between two things http://flickr.com/photos/annavsculture/441610821/

243. Design Concepts Design Concepts Constraints Limitations that constrain possible interactions http://flickr.com/photos/hippie/2561854165/

244. Design Concepts Design Concepts Visibility “Just the right things have to be visible: to indicate what parts operate and how, to indicate how the user is to interact with the device.” - Donald Norman http://flickr.com/photos/huladancer22/530743543/

245. 135 Design Concepts Design Concepts Feedback “Sending back to the user information about what action has actually been done, what result has been accomplished.” - Donald Norman

246. Design: Sketching Design: Wireframes – Templates versus Pages