The Information Architecture of Everyday Things Jesse James

The Information Architecture of Everyday Things Jesse James Garrett 17 March 2002 jjg@adaptivepath. com · The IA of Everyday Things · http: //www. jjg. net/ia/ 1

Credit where due Required reading, even though it has nothing to do with this talk 17 March 2002 jjg@adaptivepath. com · The IA of Everyday Things · http: //www. jjg. net/ia/ 2

Kirk’s question “How can I develop my skills when I don’t have a project to work on? ” I didn’t have an answer then. This talk represents a first step toward one. 17 March 2002 jjg@adaptivepath. com · The IA of Everyday Things · http: //www. jjg. net/ia/ 3

A quote “The world can be seen as only connections, nothing else… A piece of information is really only defined by what it’s related to, and how it’s related. There really is little else to meaning. The structure is everything. ” — Tim Berners-Lee Weaving the Web 17 March 2002 jjg@adaptivepath. com · The IA of Everyday Things · http: //www. jjg. net/ia/ 4

The secret history of information architecture Information architecture is as old as human communication Where there’s information, there’s architecture 17 March 2002 jjg@adaptivepath. com · The IA of Everyday Things · http: //www. jjg. net/ia/ 5

Spot the IA Where’s the information architecture in this picture? Information Architecture Waldo 17 March 2002 jjg@adaptivepath. com · The IA of Everyday Things · http: //www. jjg. net/ia/ 6

Reverse-engineering Common practice in the technical world: • Take things apart • Put them back together • See what makes them work 17 March 2002 jjg@adaptivepath. com · The IA of Everyday Things · http: //www. jjg. net/ia/ 7

In the beginning… …was the datum. 17 March 2002 jjg@adaptivepath. com · The IA of Everyday Things · http: //www. jjg. net/ia/ 8

And then there were two Now known as data. 17 March 2002 jjg@adaptivepath. com · The IA of Everyday Things · http: //www. jjg. net/ia/ 9

Possibilities emerge 17 March 2002 jjg@adaptivepath. com · The IA of Everyday Things · http: //www. jjg. net/ia/ 10

Added information, added complexity 17 March 2002 jjg@adaptivepath. com · The IA of Everyday Things · http: //www. jjg. net/ia/ 11

Humans are pattern-makers 17 March 2002 jjg@adaptivepath. com · The IA of Everyday Things · http: //www. jjg. net/ia/ 12

Yet another definition Information architecture is the juxtaposition of individual pieces of information in order to convey meaning. 17 March 2002 jjg@adaptivepath. com · The IA of Everyday Things · http: //www. jjg. net/ia/ 13

Harper’s Index 17 March 2002 jjg@adaptivepath. com · The IA of Everyday Things · http: //www. jjg. net/ia/ 14

Harper’s Index Examples Prison sentence, in years, received in June by an Oregon activist for setting fire to a car dealership : 23 Number ofyears cars since destroyed inwhich the fire : 3 Number of 1776 in no nation was at war : 0 Percentage of U. S. college students who say they intend to pursue a foreign language : 57 Age, in months, at are which an infant can distinguish between a bird Percentage who actually enrolled in a foreign-language and an airplane : 9 course : 8 Chances that a U. S. soldier in the Vietnam War volunteered : 4 in 5 Estimated number of soldier times aninadult must taste a disliked Chance that a U. S. World War II did so : 1 food in 3 before learning to like it : 10 17 March 2002 jjg@adaptivepath. com · The IA of Everyday Things · http: //www. jjg. net/ia/ 15

Harper’s Index Percentage of U. S. college students who say they intend to pursue a foreign language : 57 Percentage of U. S. college students who are enrolled in a foreign-language course : 8 17 March 2002 jjg@adaptivepath. com · The IA of Everyday Things · http: //www. jjg. net/ia/ 16

Juxtaposition Placing pieces of information near each other implies a relationship If no relationship is explicitly stated, the user will infer one Inference relies upon familiarity Overrated Great Composers Svetlana Wolfgang. Petrova Amadeus Mozart Kevin George Spencer Gershwin Jacqueline Ludwig van. Mc. Kenzie Beethoven Wilhelm Paul Mc. Cartney Bruner 17 March 2002 jjg@adaptivepath. com · The IA of Everyday Things · http: //www. jjg. net/ia/ 17

Implicit architecture Architecture that is inferred or deduced by the user Most common form of architecture Not necessarily intentional 17 March 2002 jjg@adaptivepath. com · The IA of Everyday Things · http: //www. jjg. net/ia/ 18

Explicit architecture Architecture that is made apparent to the user Very common for information retrieval tasks Labels can serve to make architecture explicit But explicitness doesn’t ensure clarity Example: home 17 March 2002 solutions resources channels jjg@adaptivepath. com · The IA of Everyday Things · http: //www. jjg. net/ia/ 19

Restaurant menu special combo cheesesteaks logo sides everything else cheesesteak toppings cheesesteak sauces 17 March 2002 drinks kids menu chips jjg@adaptivepath. com · The IA of Everyday Things · http: //www. jjg. net/ia/ 20

Random access Every user can jump in at any point in the information space Examples: • Reference materials • Magazines • DVDs 17 March 2002 jjg@adaptivepath. com · The IA of Everyday Things · http: //www. jjg. net/ia/ 21

Linear access Every user follows the same path through the information space Examples: • Most traditional narrative forms (movies, novels, plays) • Magazine articles • Tutorial or instructional materials 17 March 2002 jjg@adaptivepath. com · The IA of Everyday Things · http: //www. jjg. net/ia/ 22

Nonlinear access Each user may follow a different path through the information space Not necessarily hierarchical Examples: • Web sites • Interactive fiction 17 March 2002 jjg@adaptivepath. com · The IA of Everyday Things · http: //www. jjg. net/ia/ 23

All Things Considered Two-hour program Precision timing required “The roadmap” 17 March 2002 jjg@adaptivepath. com · The IA of Everyday Things · http: //www. jjg. net/ia/ 24

All Things Considered 17 March 2002 jjg@adaptivepath. com · The IA of Everyday Things · http: //www. jjg. net/ia/ 25

All Things Considered news perspective features 17 March 2002 jjg@adaptivepath. com · The IA of Everyday Things · http: //www. jjg. net/ia/ 26

All Things Considered news perspective features 17 March 2002 jjg@adaptivepath. com · The IA of Everyday Things · http: //www. jjg. net/ia/ 27

Lands’ End Catalog 64 pages 17 March 2002 jjg@adaptivepath. com · The IA of Everyday Things · http: //www. jjg. net/ia/ 28

Lands’ End Catalog An implicit architecture 1 2 showcase 3 4 5 18 6 7 8 24 11 12 women 13 14 15 16 17 30 31 32 33 48 49 27 28 29 41 42 43 44 45 56 women 57 58 59 60 61 20 21 22 23 34 35 kids 36 37 38 39 men 40 50 52 53 54 55 17 March 2002 10 25 26 unisex 19 51 9 46 47 women jjg@adaptivepath. com · The IA of Everyday Things · http: //www. jjg. net/ia/ 62 63 64 29

Lands’ End Catalog An alternate view 1 2 7 18 19 casual 20 21 spring 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 cool-weather 34 35 kids 38 39 40 41 55 56 17 March 2002 4 36 5 8 9 10 11 spring casual 6 50 3 37 51 52 53 54 summer casual 42 43 dressy 12 13 14 15 16 17 29 30 casual 31 32 33 47 48 49 44 57 58 purpose 59 60 special 45 46 61 62 shoes 63 64 jjg@adaptivepath. com · The IA of Everyday Things · http: //www. jjg. net/ia/ 30

Lands’ End Catalog Repetition page 15 page 4 page 51 17 March 2002 jjg@adaptivepath. com · The IA of Everyday Things · http: //www. jjg. net/ia/ 31

Lands’ End Catalog Repetition 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 51 52 53 54 55 56 57 58 59 60 61 62 63 64 17 March 2002 jjg@adaptivepath. com · The IA of Everyday Things · http: //www. jjg. net/ia/ 32

Lands’ End Catalog Reference and redirection 17 March 2002 jjg@adaptivepath. com · The IA of Everyday Things · http: //www. jjg. net/ia/ 33

Lands’ End Catalog Reference and redirection 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 51 52 53 54 55 56 57 58 59 60 61 62 63 64 17 March 2002 jjg@adaptivepath. com · The IA of Everyday Things · http: //www. jjg. net/ia/ 34

Ideal sources The most interesting architectures spring from problems of diversity: • Diversity of information • Diversity of audience • Diversity of modes of access • Diversity of use But don’t overlook simple problems that have simple solutions 17 March 2002 jjg@adaptivepath. com · The IA of Everyday Things · http: //www. jjg. net/ia/ 35

Questions to ask What problem did they set out to solve? What constraints were they facing? What could they have done differently? 17 March 2002 jjg@adaptivepath. com · The IA of Everyday Things · http: //www. jjg. net/ia/ 36

Translating ideas to the Web Extrapolate general principles Look for patterns that work independent of subject matter Keep user behavior in mind 17 March 2002 jjg@adaptivepath. com · The IA of Everyday Things · http: //www. jjg. net/ia/ 37

Pitfalls to avoid Medium-specific constraints Conventions aren’t necessarily best practices The letter of the law vs. the spirit of the law 17 March 2002 jjg@adaptivepath. com · The IA of Everyday Things · http: //www. jjg. net/ia/ 38

Other examples Phone bill In-flight magazine Junk mail Consumer product instructions Television news programs “Citizen Kane” 17 March 2002 jjg@adaptivepath. com · The IA of Everyday Things · http: //www. jjg. net/ia/ 39

Book recommendations from the audience Film Form by Sergei Eisenstein Understanding Comics and Reinventing Comics by Scott Mc. Cloud Sources of Power by Gary Klein Visual Thinking by Rudolf Arnheim The Language of Vision by Gyorgy Kepes Information Design: The Knowledge Architect’s Toolkit by Graziella Tonfoni 17 March 2002 jjg@adaptivepath. com · The IA of Everyday Things · http: //www. jjg. net/ia/ 40

Thanks! Jesse James Garrett jjg@adaptivepath. com http: //www. jjg. net/ia/ 17 March 2002 jjg@adaptivepath. com · The IA of Everyday Things · http: //www. jjg. net/ia/ 41