{"id":7876,"date":"2023-02-08T10:55:06","date_gmt":"2023-02-08T10:55:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.uxdesigninstitute.com\/blog\/?p=7876"},"modified":"2024-03-26T11:58:49","modified_gmt":"2024-03-26T11:58:49","slug":"what-is-information-architecture","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.uxdesigninstitute.com\/blog\/what-is-information-architecture\/","title":{"rendered":"What is information architecture?"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Have you ever been faced with so much information on a page that you didn\u2019t know where to look? That&#8217;s a sign of bad information architecture.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Information architecture, or \u2018IA,\u2019 is the structure and organisation of information on a website. It might sound simple, but IA is more than simply presenting content in a clear and concise way\u2014it\u2019s about creating a logical navigation structure that helps users find what they\u2019re looking for without getting confused or frustrated.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">From who\u2019s responsible to the tools and methods used in its practice\u2014let\u2019s take a deeper look at information architecture and the role it plays in a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.uxdesigninstitute.com\/blog\/what-does-ux-stand-for\/\">digital product\u2019s overall user experience<\/a>.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<ol>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><a href=\"#what-is-information-architecture\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">What is information architecture?<\/span><\/a><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><a href=\"#why-is-information-architecture-important-in-ux-design\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Why is information architecture important in UX design?<\/span><\/a><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><a href=\"#information-architecture-principles\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Information architecture principles<\/span><\/a><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><a href=\"#whos-responsible-for-information-architecture\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Who\u2019s responsible for information architecture\u2014and when does it happen?<\/span><\/a><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><a href=\"#round-up\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Round up\u00a0<\/span><\/a><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<section id=\"promotion\" class=\"promotion-content-raw inlinepromo inlinepromo_professional-diploma-in-ux-designp-1 my-4\" style=\"\">\n\t<div class=\"w-container\">\n\t\t<div class=\"row align-items-center\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"col-md-12 promotion-info\">\n                <a class=\"link-content\" href=\"https:\/\/www.uxdesigninstitute.com\/courses\/ux-design?utm_source=blog&utm_medium=blog_panel_pdux&utm_campaign=blog_promo\" style=\"\">\n                    <p>[GET CERTIFIED IN UX]<\/p>\n                    <span>Take our Professional Diploma in UX Design course<\/span>\n                <\/a>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t<\/div>\n<\/section>\n\n<h2 id=\"what-is-information-architecture\"><strong>What is information architecture?<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Information architecture (IA) is the process of guiding users through the site by organising and arranging all the relevant content in a clear, intuitive way. It also ensures consistency throughout a product\u2019s design by standardising labelling conventions such as menu names, link titles, and button labels across all pages.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">IA consists of two main components:\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><b>Structure<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, which involves organising content into categories, hierarchies, and relationships; and\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><b>Labelling<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, which uses words to represent and classify these categories, hierarchies, and relationships.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Together, these components create an efficient navigation system so users can easily find what they need without getting lost or overwhelmed by too much information.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Think of it like an architect building a house. Before the house gets built, they\u2019ll map exactly what goes where\u2014considering what the tenant will expect at every turn and carefully placing elements in a way that helps them navigate the space with ease. In the end, they\u2019ll have created an inviting and efficient setup that makes the most of the space available.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">That&#8217;s what information architecture does for websites and apps. From what appears on each page, to how users move between pages, everything must align with one purpose: to help the user quickly and easily find what they need.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<h2 id=\"why-is-information-architecture-important-in-ux-design\"><strong>Why is information architecture important in UX design?<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">At its core, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.uxdesigninstitute.com\/blog\/what-does-ux-stand-for\/\">UX design aims to create a digital product or service that makes users\u2019 lives easier<\/a>. Information architecture is vital in helping companies achieve this goal by providing structure, consistency, and an easy-to-navigate interface. Put simply, <\/span><b>information architecture makes <\/b><a href=\"https:\/\/www.uxdesigninstitute.com\/blog\/good-ux-vs-bad-ux\/\"><b>good UX<\/b><\/a><b> possible<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">In an increasingly digital world, where many users suffer from \u2018information overload\u2019 and dwindling attention spans, helping users find what they need quickly is a guaranteed UX win. Without it, users can become impatient or disorientated\u2014and companies risk losing them to competitors who\u2019ve made IA a priority.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Perhaps the most compelling reason to invest in IA is that it helps to <\/span><b>increase conversion<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">. By organising the information in a clear, intuitive way, IA reduces cognitive load\u2014which means users can complete certain tasks, like making a purchase or signing up for a newsletter, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.uxdesigninstitute.com\/blog\/the-kiss-principle-in-ux-design\/\">much faster<\/a> (and are much less likely to abandon their session out of frustration).\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<h2 id=\"information-architecture-principles\"><strong>Information architecture principles<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">So far, we\u2019ve explored the purpose and importance of information architecture\u2014and few have championed the role of IA in UX design like <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/eightshapes.com\/dan-brown\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Dan Brown<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">: A UX designer, information architect, and consultant from The United States.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">In 2010, Dan outlined eight guiding principles of information architecture, which have since become universal reference points for the structure of digital information.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Let\u2019s take a look at these in more detail.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<h3><strong>The Principle of Objects\u00a0<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Content should be viewed as a living, breathing thing with a lifecycle, behaviours, and attributes. Before structuring the content, architects need to carefully consider the characteristics of each object\u2014and how they complement each other.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<h3><strong>The Principle of Choices\u00a0<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Users should never feel overwhelmed by too many choices when navigating an <a href=\"https:\/\/www.uxdesigninstitute.com\/blog\/user-interface-ui-design-tools\/\">interface<\/a>. Instead, there should be a limited number of options available at any given time. This allows users to focus on the task at hand without feeling confused.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<h3><strong>The Principle of Disclosure\u00a0\u00a0<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Only reveal relevant information as needed. Users can become overwhelmed if too much information is presented to them all at once, so it&#8217;s important to show them what they need to complete their task (and let them make their own decision about how to move forward).\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<h3><strong>The Principle of Exemplars\u00a0\u00a0<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Instead of descriptions, designers should use examples (or \u2018exemplars\u2019) to illustrate how certain elements work together. For example, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.uxdesigninstitute.com\/blog\/7-principles-of-icon-design\/\">icons<\/a> or images help users navigate an interface by creating an easy-to-grasp visual language.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<h3><strong>The Principle of Front Doors\u00a0\u00a0<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Not all users will land on the home page first. Regardless of what page users \u2018enter\u2019 the site from, they should always be able to find what they\u2019re looking for quickly and easily.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<h3><strong>The Principle of Multiple Classification\u00a0\u00a0<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">People navigate an interface differently, and it\u2019s the architects\u2019 responsibility to provide multiple classification systems tailored to different needs; like a menu bar and search bar.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<h3><strong>The Principle of Navigation\u00a0\u00a0<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Navigation should be clear, consistent, and intuitive so that users can quickly get from one page or section to another. Hyperlinks and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.uxdesigninstitute.com\/blog\/ui-design-dos-and-donts\/\">breadcrumbs are good<\/a> ways to guide users through the site without being too restrictive.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<section id=\"promotion\" class=\"promotion-content-raw inlinepromo inlinepromo_professional-certificate-in-content-designp-1 my-4\" style=\"\">\n\t<div class=\"w-container\">\n\t\t<div class=\"row align-items-center\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"col-md-12 promotion-info\">\n                <a class=\"link-content\" href=\"https:\/\/www.uxdesigninstitute.com\/courses\/content-design?utm_source=blog&amp;utm_medium=blog_panel_text&amp;utm_campaign=blog_promo\" style=\"\">\n                    <p>[GET CERTIFIED IN CONTENT DESIGN]<\/p>\n                    <span>Take our Professional Certificate in Content Design course<\/span>\n                <\/a>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t<\/div>\n<\/section>\n\n<h3><strong>The Principle of Growth<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Designers should consider how the design will evolve. Over time, more information will be added to the interface\u2014so it should have built-in flexibility to accommodate additional content without becoming too cluttered.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<h2 id=\"whos-responsible-for-information-architecture\"><strong>Who\u2019s responsible for information architecture\u2014and what does the process look like?<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Now we\u2019ve got a handle on what information architecture is and its guiding principles, let\u2019s move on to the age-old question: Who actually <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">does<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> IA? And when does it happen?<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Larger companies with a <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.uxdesigninstitute.com\/blog\/recognise-ux-maturity-job-hunting\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">high UX maturity level<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> will usually have a <\/span><b>dedicated information architect<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> in-house, who\u2019s primarily responsible for creating the structure of digital products.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">However, not all teams have an information architect. In smaller companies, the responsibility of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.uxdesigninstitute.com\/blog\/what-does-a-ux-designer-do\/\">IA will fall to UX designers<\/a>, who\u2019ll work collaboratively with <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.uxdesigninstitute.com\/blog\/what-does-a-ui-designer-do\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">UI designers<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> and product managers to create an IA strategy that meets user needs and hits business goals.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Information architecture usually takes place in the early stages of a product design process, once the <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.uxdesigninstitute.com\/blog\/ux-strategy\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">overall UX strategy<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> is set and the user researchers have lots of juicy data to share.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Before committing anything to code, information architects and\/or UX designers will flesh out the structure of each page using methods like:\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.uxdesigninstitute.com\/blog\/what-is-wireframing\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Low-fidelity wireframing<\/span><\/a><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.uxdesigninstitute.com\/blog\/card-sorting-in-ux-what-is-it\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Card sorting\u00a0<\/span><\/a><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.uxdesigninstitute.com\/blog\/design-a-customer-journey-map\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">User journey mapping<\/span><\/a><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Site mapping<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">User flows<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">But an information architect\u2019s job doesn\u2019t stop there. In fact, IA plays a role at <\/span><b>every stage of the product design process<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Once the structure is agreed upon, and the UI designer steps in to embellish the interface with style and branding, information architects will <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.uxdesigninstitute.com\/blog\/prototyping-guide\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">analyse the prototype<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u2014paying close attention to how the aesthetic elements (i.e., colour and font choices) enhance or interact with the technical elements (i.e., navigation cues) to create a cohesive user experience.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">After the website or application\u2019s gone live, information architects will constantly test the site\u2019s IA based on evolving user habits. They\u2019ll use analytics tools such as Google Analytics or <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.hotjar.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">HotJar<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> to track user behaviour on their website or application, and continually optimise the site to maximise conversion and minimise pain points. In addition, they\u2019ll rely heavily on customer feedback loops to better understand how users interpret the information so they can adjust the structure accordingly.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<h2 id=\"round-up\"><strong>Final thoughts<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">In our \u2018golden age of information,\u2019 information architecture is essential to any <a href=\"https:\/\/www.uxdesigninstitute.com\/blog\/ux-strategy\/\">good UX strategy<\/a>. Not only does it keep users on your site for longer, it also helps to build trust\u2014while staying true to the core UX principles of accessibility and ease of use.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Like so much of UX, IA is virtually invisible to users when it\u2019s good\u2014and only sticks out like a sore thumb when it\u2019s implemented incorrectly (or absent altogether). To avoid giving users a headache, good IA takes time, thought, and testing\u2014but while it might be dubbed the \u2018science of order,\u2019 it\u2019s certainly not rocket science. By simply keeping the eight principles of IA in mind, you\u2019ll end up with a digital product that <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.uxdesigninstitute.com\/blog\/business-needs-and-user-needs\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">meets business goals while keeping up with evolving user needs<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> and expectations.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">To learn more about the fundamentals of good UX, we recommend giving these blog posts a read next:<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.uxdesigninstitute.com\/blog\/the-value-of-ux-design\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The value of UX design<\/span><\/a><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.uxdesigninstitute.com\/blog\/5-elements-of-ux-design\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The 5 elements of UX design explained<\/span><\/a><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.uxdesigninstitute.com\/blog\/7-principles-of-icon-design\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">7 Principles of Icon Design All UI Designers Should Follow<\/span><\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>IA is about creating a logical navigation structure that helps users find what they\u2019re looking for without getting confused or frustrated.\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":34,"featured_media":10185,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"content-type":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[278,279],"tags":[345],"class_list":["post-7876","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-design","category-ux-explained","tag-information-architecture"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.uxdesigninstitute.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7876","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.uxdesigninstitute.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.uxdesigninstitute.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.uxdesigninstitute.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/34"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.uxdesigninstitute.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=7876"}],"version-history":[{"count":9,"href":"https:\/\/www.uxdesigninstitute.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7876\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":9450,"href":"https:\/\/www.uxdesigninstitute.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7876\/revisions\/9450"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.uxdesigninstitute.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/10185"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.uxdesigninstitute.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=7876"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.uxdesigninstitute.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=7876"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.uxdesigninstitute.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=7876"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}