Information Architecture

Week 3

CDGD304 - Fall 2011
http://bit.ly/massart-304-3

Order of Business

  1. Review Homework

  2. Discuss Readings

  3. What is Web Design?

  4. User Expectations

  5. Information Architecture

  6. User Stories

  7. Wireframing

  8. Exercises

What is Web design?

A List Apart Says:

Web design is the creation of digital environments that facilitate and encourage human activity; reflect or adapt to individual voices and content; and change gracefully over time while always retaining their identity.

-alistapart.com/articles/understandingwebdesign

Wikipedia Says:

Web Design is the skill of creating presentations of content (usually hypertext or hypermedia) that is delivered to an end-user through the World Wide Web, by way of a Web browser or other Web-enabled software like Internet television clients, microblogging clients and RSS readers.

Web Design lets content do it's thing on on the web

A Website is not..


a book!
a brochure!
or a poster!

What is good design?

Reminded of a famous Supreme Court Quote:

I shall not today attempt further to define the kinds of material I understand to be embraced within that shorthand description; and perhaps I could never succeed in intelligibly doing so. But I know it when I see it, and the motion picture involved in this case is not that.

Know your audience...

Know your audience...

Know your content...

Know your content...

Know your medium...

Know your medium...

Know your medium...

User Expectations

You are designing for people...



You are also designing for
2011 Web Surfers

Think about who will use the website and their needs

What is this?



My Article

What is this?



Buy Button

Where do you look to log into a site?

How do you go back to the Homepage?

Feed into
User Expectations

Good Conventions

Some Bad Conventions

Information Architecture

is a big word...

What is IA?

How about:
have a plan

Things to think about



Many restaurants are a perfect example of NOT thinking of user stories

Restaurants

Universities

user stories

User stories, think about:

  • Who is visiting your site (give them a name)

  • Their goals and how they got to your site

  • How can you help them and keep them interested?

  • Exercise 1: Local Coffeeshop

    Pair up and write 3 user stories for visitors to a local coffeeshop's website

    Exercise 2: Bed and Breakfast

    Pair up and write 3 user stories for visitors to a bed and breakfast website

    Exercise 3: Lawyer website

    Pair up and write 3 user stories for visitors to a personal injury laywer's website

    Wireframes & Sitemaps

    Sitemaps

    Why Make Sitemaps?

    Wireframing

    Great way to look at the big picture. Don't start with a perfect mockup, do something crude and basic first.

    Some Great Examples

    What is Wireframing?

    Some tools

    Homework

    Reading

    Coding