Information Architecture Course (How To)

In this age of information, it’s not always easy to know how content should be structured - everyone has a different perspective. In this course, you’ll learn about information architecture: what it is, and how it relates to web design and user experience. We’ll learn about the fundamentals of IA components like navigation, labeling, and content organization, as well as techniques to test and evaluate existing website structures. By the end, you’ll know how to organize website content and provide a clear, logical experience for any user.

What you'll learn

• Understand the concept of information architecture and its relevance to website design and user experience
• Evaluate a website’s content hierarchy to improve its organization and structure to benefit user needs
• Recognize the standards utilized in Information Architecture and how to apply them

What is Information Architecture?

In this stage, you will learn about the concept of information architecture, how IA relates to similar concepts like UX, UI, and usability, and how IA impacts design and development tasks.

Chevron 4 steps

• Defining Information Architecture

  3:13

• IA and Related Design Concepts

  7:06

• The Role of IA in Web Design and Development

  5:24

• Review: What is Information Architecture?

  8 questions

Main Principles of IA

Now that we understand the concept of information architecture, let’s explore the principles behind it. IA isn’t just the way you present information. It’s how you organize it, name it, and provide access to it. So, we will discuss information organization, labelling, navigation, and search. By understanding these principles, you will know how to create and evaluate the IA of any website.

Chevron 8 steps

• The Morville/Rosenfield Approach

  4:56

• Organizing Content

  5:35

• Labeling Content

  5:32

• Review: Organization and Labeling Systems

  8 questions

• Navigation Systems

  4:27

• Search Systems

  4:23

• Review: Navigation and Search Systems

  7 questions

• Video Study Cases

  5 questions

Evaluating IA

Information architecture has as much to do with the users of your website or app as it does the organization and presentation of content. The ways in which you categorize, name, and provide access to everything needs to match the expectations of your users - if they can’t find what they need, you have failed. So let’s talk about how to evaluate your IA and validate ideas to create a logical and effective information structure.

Chevron 7 steps

• User Research

  5:49

• Card Sorting

  6:27

• Card Sorting Exercise

  1:39

• Card Sorting Exercise Results

  2:44

• Competitor Research

  4:05

• Site Maps

  3:59

• Review: Evaluating IA

  10 questions

Applying IA

Now that you have got foundational knowledge about IA - and maybe even some evaluation or testing data - what do we do with it? How do we apply it all to our website or app? In this stage, we will discuss possible changes to make to our site structure, navigation and menus, and different website functions and processes. Ultimately, we will have a system that reflects the best IA possible for our users.

Chevron 5 steps

• Improving Website Organization

  6:21

• Improving Navigation

  5:41

• Improving Functions and Processes

  5:25

• Going Forward

  3:14

• Review: Applying IA

  7 questions