OVERVIEW
- Information Architecture is defined as:
1. The structural design of shared information environments.
2. The art and science of organizing and labeling web sites, intranets, online communities and software to support usability and findability.
3. An emerging community of practice focused on bringing principles of design and architecture to the digital landscape. (Information Architecture Institute)
- Information Architecture covers a broad array of technological issues explored in Human-Computer Interaction, such as design and usabillity. As a result, some of the journals and resources listed here overlap with content provided on the Human-Computer Interaction page.
ACADEMIC PROGRAMS
University of Baltimore
MS in Interaction Design and Information Architecture.
Carnegie Mellon University
Master of Design (MDes) in Communication Planning and Information Design.
Carnegie Mellon University
Ph.D in Interaction Design.
Georgia Institute of Technology, School of Literature, Communiation & Culture
MS in Information Design and Technology.
Illinois Institute of Technology
MS in Information Architecture.
Indiana University, School of Informatics
MS in Media Arts and Science.
Kent State University
MS in Information Architecture and Knowledge Management.
North Carolina State University
Ph.D in Information Design.
University of Texas at Austin, School of Information
MLIS program with a specialization in IA.
University of Washington Extension
Information Architecture Summer Institute (1 week program offered annually in September).
ORGANIZATIONS
AIGA
The website for the American Instiute of Graphics Arts (AIGA) publishes three great resources for those interested in information archticture and web design. It has a job board and online conference calendar.
Adaptive Path
User experience consulting firm.
Creative Good
This customer experience firm publishes a widely-read newsletter by Mike Hurst.
Information Architecture Institute
A non-profit, volunteer organization dedicated to advancing and promoting information architecture. The IA Institute is responsible for annual IA Summit conference.
Interaction Design Association (IXDA)
A non-profit committed to serving the needs of the international interaction design community by disseminating information about interaction design standards, guidelines, patterns, and best practices. Its website has a job board and cunsultants directory as well.
User Experience Network (UXnet)
UXnet was formed to make connections between people, resources and organizations that represent user experience. Its online calendar provides lists to user experience events and its UX Manager Network creates creates connections between user experience managers in order to share knowledge, methods, and approaches to successfully managing user experience organizations within companies.
JOURNALS
Boxes and Arrows
Peer-written online publication that discusses practice, innovation, and discussion of design, including graphic design, interaction design, information architecture and the design of business.
Digital Web Magazine
An online magazine intended for professional web designers, web developers and information architects. The magazine consists primarily of work contributed by web authors, as well as by others who occasionally delve into the web realm.
Clear: AIGA Journal of Information Design
Clear is dedicated to informing, inspiring, and defining the rapidly growing discipline of information design and its participants. It aims to stimulate thinking about information design through timely and thoughtful essays and articles from leaders in the field.
Gain: AIGA Journal of Business and Design
Gain is dedicated to stimulating thinking at the intersection of design and business. The journal chronicles how the process of design can be used to solve business problems, foster innovation, build meaningful customer relationships, and differentiate products from competitors.
Loop: AIGA Journal of Interactive Design Education
Loop provides a forum for research that advances understanding of the relationship between pedagogy and practice in the emerging discipline of interaction and visual interface design. It serves those investigating new methods of constructing meaningful and effective communication in the digital environment.
Voice: AIGA Journal of Design
Voice is a publication for art and design professionals, but it's also a worthy resource for information architects and web developers looking to explore design concepts and innovations.
TOOLS & RESOURCES
Information Architecture for the World Wide Web: 3rd Edition
A classic (and updated) primer on Information Architecture by Louis Rosenfeld and Peter Morville.
IA Wiki
A collaborative knowledge base for Information Architecture.
Elegant Hack
Christina Wodtke hosts this website, which is devoted to exploring and furthering the emerging art of user experience design and information architecture on the web.
User Experience
Keith Instone, an IA for IBM, is gradually moving content to his new website, but his old site, User Experience, still has some helpful content which disusses breadcrubming, practicing IA, deliverables and faceted browsing.
Usability First
Foraker Design runs this site providing online classes and instruction on prototyping, focus groups, accessability, usability inspection and user testing.
Useit.com
Learn more about usabilty, design and information architecture principles and from web guru Jacob Nielsen.
User Experience
Keith Instone, an IA for IBM, is gradually moving content to his new website, but his old site, User Experience, still has some helpful content which disusses breadcrubming, practicing IA, deliverables and faceted browsing.
User Interface Engineering
The website for this research and consultingn firm provides usability studies, articles and online seminars.
Web Design Library
Information on web design and usability can be found here, including articles and tutorials on HTML, CSS, graphics, Flash, Illustrator, Corel Draw, Photoshop, color theory and design principles.
Web Pages that Suck
Tech writer, Vicent Sanders, provides plenty examples of horrible web sites and tips on how to avoid creating one.
APPLICATIONS
Listed below are some applications commonly used by IAs to create flowcharts, diagrams, and other website blueprints.
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