Keeping in mind the user’s cognitive load helps prevent information architects from inadvertently overloading a user with too much information all at once. Cognitive load is the amount of information that a person can process at any given time.Here are some of the key elements of cognitive psychology information architects most value: However, information architecture draws on some different elements of cognitive psychology to influence how we structure information. Cognitive psychology is the study of how the mind works, and what mental processes take place there, so it’s not surprising that it influences both the interactions we design and the way we architect information. In our Complete Beginner’s Guide to Interaction Design, we also referenced cognitive psychology as a common methodology. Both elements are directly translatable to user experience work, where our goal is to create an information architecture that has appropriate and usable metadata, with content available in a well-maintained archive. Archival science is the process of building and curating archives filled with content, which may need to be edited or removed in the future in order to maintain the integrity of the archives. Cataloguing is the process of creating metadata and assigning it to content in order to find it again in the future. Two particularly valuable areas of library science for information architects are the art of cataloguing, and archival science. It is used everywhere from traditional libraries to museums, science labs, and hospitals.
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They define library science as the development of “knowledge-organization systems.” Library science is the study of how to categorize, catalogue, and locate resources. Library science has many definitions, but one that seems particularly clear is from the University of Washington’s description. Timothy Greig structures the information flow of a library website. It has roots in numerous fields and methodologies that UX practitioners still draw on today, including library science, cognitive psychology, and architecture. Information architecture, as we know it today, began around the 1970s, far before the rise of web and mobile apps or the popularization of user experience design. To answer these questions, the information architect must focus on a number of things: the target audience, the technologies related to the website, and the data that will be presented through the website. Is that information helping the customer, and driving decisions?.How is that information presented back to the user?.How does the application help the user catalog their information?.What is the flow of users through our site?.
Regardless of what task is being accomplished, here are some of the questions we ask when doing information architecture: When a designer sketches a top level menu to help users understand where they are on a site, he is also practicing information architecture. When a content strategist begins separating content and dividing it into categories, she is practicing information architecture. Information architecture results in the creation of site maps, hierarchies, categorizations, navigation, and metadata. In other words, information architecture is the creation of a structure for a website, application, or other project, that allows us to understand where we are as users, and where the information we want is in relation to our position. Information architecture is about helping people understand their surroundings and find what they’re looking for, in the real world as well as online. The Information Architecture Institute is a non profit organization dedicated to furthering the field of information architecture. It is, however, a valuable and necessary field which crosses multiple roles. Unlike content strategy, which is accomplished by content strategists, or interaction design, which is accomplished by designers, information architect is very infrequently a job title. Information architecture is a more difficult field to define than many others.
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