My first impression of the site was the design of it. It was very futuristic in appearance and reminded me of the science fiction genre, which does not really attract me, but I could see how it could draw other people in. The site was very easy to navigate, which for me is a very important factor. I found the list of clients which included Adobe, Six Flags, T-Mobile, Wells Fargo Bank and Sony Computer Entertainment to be quite impressive. However, I did not like the background music that the site was playing. It was very distracting and I ended up turning off the volume. Another thing I noticed was how outdated some of the content was. The last press release was for June of 2006. Their current news section was hardly current as its last update was on November 30th of 2009. Also, in looking through their case studies, the last one they did was in June 2006 for something called 2A V5 “Attractor”. In fact, the only information that I could find from this year was in their blog where there was an entry from January 28th that made a hiring announcement. Because there is such a lact of recent information and events on this site, this would probably keep me from using it or recommending it to others.
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Semantic Studios is the website for Peter Morville’s consulting firm and it is highly informative and well structured. Of course given Mr. Morville’s expertise concerning the subject of Information Architecture, I am not surprised at the website’s excellent design or the easy access to information regarding the topic. In navigating the site, I was impressed by the clients he has worked with such as AT&T, IBM, Microsoft, Harvard Business School, Procter & Gamble, and Yahoo. I really liked his blog where he discusses things like Endeca’s design pattern library. There is also information about upcoming events, articles that are related to Information Architecture, and details about his many books. Maneuvering through the site and the menu options was very simple and all in all I found the website to be an excellent example of well designed Information Architecture. When I first viewed the opening page for the IA Summit website, my initial thoughts were of how clever and funny it was to use the napkin to showcase the options of where to go. It was very simple and to the point, but without being boring. In perusing the site, I thought it was a great example of how Information Architecture is supposed to be uncomplicated for users to contemplate and use. I loved how the links were listed all in one place on the main menu and enjoyed being able to read the transcripts and listen to the podcasts. I also thought it was a great touch to provide links to sites such as Facebook and Twitter in order to allow searchers to communicate with each other. I really enjoyed browsing through this site. First off, the design was incredible and it was pleasing to look at. I found the links to be easily accessible and the information that was provided was concisely explained. Everything was broken down and covered all aspects of Information Architecture such as defining it, providing information on educational and career prospects, resources such as a glossary of terms and tools to use, details about the institute and its mission. One thing I really liked was how the site addressed how the work in designing Information Architecture tends to go unnoticed and how they were making the effort to acknowledge the field and display its value. I was also very impressed by the size of its membership and how it is connected to 60 countries. I think that this site is a great resource and look forward to studying it further during the course of the semester. This week I read the third and forth chapters of Information Architecture for the World Wide Web by authors Peter Morville and Louis Rosenfeld. Chapter three of the book discusses user needs and behaviors. Information architecture begins with the searcher and why they are searching the web in the first place. It is because they have a need for certain information. According to Moreville and Rosenfeld (2007), “Information architects need to understand those needs and behaviors, and their designs should correspond accordingly. There is no goal more important to designing information architecture than to satisfy user’s needs” (p. 30). The authors call attention to the fact that many searchers believe that locating information is an uncomplicated process, but that is far from the truth. Based on all the Internet searches and research I have done for projects, I absolutely do not believe it to be uncomplicated. There are many methods of searching that can vary depending on if the researcher knows what they are looking for. For example, known-item seeking is when the person knows what they need and where to go for it. A second type is exploratory seeking where the person is not quite sure what they want. In this case, the searcher may not know how to convey in words what need and really do not have high expectation in locating what they are specifically trying to find. Usually, it is just that they find a few things that are similar to what they were looking for. Lastly there is exhaustive research where the searcher who is focused on a specific subject, looks at everything that is remotely related to the topic. However, this could be frustrating for the user as they can find themselves lost in an onslaught of results. I have used all three of these methods and exhaustive research has always been a thorn in my side. There have been several instances when I have been doing research for a large project on a specific topic and have had to waste time sifting through results that are only somewhat linked to my topic. In addressing information-seeking behaviors, the authors (2007) stated that, “Searching, browsing and asking are all methods for finding, and are the basic building blocks of information-seeking behavior” (p. 35). Searchers will certainly be utilizing these methods and information architects should be aware of this and make every effort to learn what users need and want. Some of the methods that information architects can use to research what users desire are surveys, task analysis, and focus groups. By having a clearer idea of what users need from specific websites will aid information architects in the design process. In chapter four of Information Architecture for the World Wide Web, the authors lay out the anatomy of information architecture. It is very important for the architect to be able to visualize information architecture, but it can be difficult as the field is very abstract and when it is well-built, it should be undetectable to users. As a result, information architects must be prepared to promote it. In discussing what is recognizable as information architecture, the authors (2007) have stated that, “it can be structure in some basic ways such as organization systems that present the site’s information in a variety of ways such as content categories, navigation systems that help users move through the content like an A-Z directory, search systems that allow users to search the content, and labeling systems that describe categories, options and links in language that is meaningful to users” (p. 43). By using these systems, the information architect can help searchers to know where they are, find pages with similar subject matter, control the content, and tell the users how to operate the provided services. An interesting comparison for how information architecture should be invisible to users is the expectation of the behavior of servants in a manor house in as late as the early 1900’s. In large houses from that time and before, servants were expected to do their jobs as unobtrusively as possible and anticipate the needs of the residents before they even knew they needed something. They were literally expected to get their jobs done without the residents knowing they were there. I really enjoyed reading both chapters, but chapter four was particularly illuminating to me as I had never given much thought to the components of information architecture and its relevance and importance to the Internet. However, after finishing the readings, I feel I have a better understanding of how it is designed as well as an appreciation for the architects and what they do to make the users searches and use of the Internet a much more pleasant and easy experience. References This week I read the first two chapters of the book titled Information Architecture for the World Wide Web by authors Peter Morville and Louis Rosenfeld. The first chapter of the book deals with defining Information Architecture and its purpose in the world as well as explaining the basic concepts behind it. The authors of the book explain that there is no single definition for Information Architecture. They do list four definitions that have been applied to the subject. According to Moreville and Rosenfeld (2007) they are “1.The structual design of shared information invironments, 2. The combination of organization, labeling, search and navigation systems within web sites and intranet, 3. The art and science of shaping information products and experiences to support usabillity and findability, 4. An emerging disapline and community of pratice focused on bringing principals of design and architecture to the digital landscape” (p. 4). They also discuss the history of Information Architecture and its importance in terms of structure and organization of information as well as accessability to users. In chapter 2, the authors stress the nescessity of information architects and their many different job titles such as knowledge managers and findability engineers. They can serve both big and small businesses and while there is not currently an official certification process, people with backgrounds in careers as graphic design, information & library science, journalism, marketing, computer science and architecture would do very well in the field of information architecture. They also discuss how it can be practiced in the real world, the three circles on content, context and users that make up information technology and what those in the field will haqve to face in the future. On the whole I found both of these chapters to be very illuminating and came away from the readings with a clearer picture of what exactly information architecture is and its function in the world. The authors explained it all very succiently and made the concepts and processes very easy to understand. I am very excited to learn more about this subject and being applying it in real life. References Morville, Peter & Rosenfeld, Louis. (2007). Information Architecture for the World Wide Web. |
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