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Information Architecture: Is a New Discipline Emerging? Andy Breeding, Manager, Web Development, Compaq Computer Corp. Part I: What Is IA?
Equal parts collision and collaboration, this meeting brought together a diverse collection of people—ranging from Web designers, librarians, and information scientists to information designers and even a traditional architect or two. Tweedy academic researchers sat alongside graphic design hipsters. All of them are grappling with the problems of organizing and presenting information using the Web. They want to know how others are doing it, and how they present that work—in terms of labels, job responsibilities, or even the “desired attributes” of a practitioner. Lou Rosenfeld, president of Argus Associates [http://argus-inc.com] and co-author of the award-winning Information Architecture for the World Wide Web (O’Reilly, 1998), kicked things off by declaring that “more complex challenges require more complex solutions.” According to Rosenfeld, this increasing complexity of Web information spaces is driving people to look for answers in disciplines other than their own. Other disciplines that are relevant to this area include human computer interaction (HCI) and interface design, usability engineering, ethnography, technical communications, and industrial/ product design. Rosenfeld’s definition of information architecture (IA) is as follows: “Information architecture involves the design of organization, labeling, navigation, and search systems to help people find and manage information more successfully.”Some speakers defined IA differently, while others argued for another term: “experience architecture.” Jennifer Fleming, an experience architect at SquareCircle Solutions [www.squarecircle.com], and Mark Hurst, founder and president, Creative Good [www.creativegood.com], prefer this term because it places the focus on the user experience rather than on the information. In their view, experience architecture encompasses and goes beyond information architecture. Overall though, the term “information architecture” predominated discussions. Some of the most interesting exchanges came when dot-com designers questioned the use of library-style organizational thinking. Seth Gordon, principal of Experience Design at ZEFER [www.zefer.com], posed this question: “Can a site be too organized?“ His answer: “Yes—there are some sites, like entertainment sites, that benefit from a less organized approach.” In a similar vein, Peter Merholtz, creative director of Epinions.com, expressed his desire to free users from the “tyranny” of large site hierarchies. In their turn, librarians including Roy Tennant responded by showing that librarians have thoughtfully dealt with these issues for years. Likewise, Patrick Lynch, design director of Yale University School of Medicine’s Web Design & Development [http://info.med.yale.edu/caim/lynch/slides], implored the audience to “not reinvent the last 1,000 years of communication and knowledge management.” It became clear very quickly that these different groups have a lot to offer one another. Coming in the September/October
issue: Part II—Taking a Closer Look
at IA: what does it entail, what are the tools, and how “real” is it?
Andy can be reached via e-mail at andy.breeding@compaq.com.
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