Before I can begin “The Great ClickOnDetroit Navigation Redesign of 2017,” I must first complete “The Great ClickOnDetroit Content Audit of 2017.” This begins with none other than spreadsheets and sitemaps. As an information architect, this excites me in the nerdiest way possible. Here’s the plan: Collect all pages (static, not article pages) and record the URLs,
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Redesigning a community library website
Have you ever tried to use your local community library website? What did you visit the site for? What did you find when you got there? Was it anything useful? Research revealed it likely wasn’t a pleasant experience, and you probably picked up the phone and called the librarian for help finding the information you
Read on »Arduino.cc IA blueprinting
I recently whipped together some blueprinting for arduino.cc. Here is my short critique, followed by the blueprints (download PDF here): The primary problem with Arduino.cc is different sections of the site living at different sub domains with different global navigation systems. This makes it difficult for users to understand where he or she is at
Read on »Reorganization Information Architecture
Here’s a quick reorganization of an information architecture — view PDF here.
Read on »Critiquing Information Architecture
Here is a quick critique of some of the organization schemes and navigation structures found on two websites — download PDF here.
Read on »Examining Information Architecture (two website reviews)
This is a brief assignment in which I was asked to identify information architecture elements of two websites (download PDF here):
Read on »Discussion: All sites need robust search
Websites with a lot of content and various types of content need a search system. In fact, I argue many content-heavy websites are sometimes better off with a more prominent search system than the navigation itself. That may sound radical to some, but it’s quite necessary on many sites that have a continuous flow of content,
Read on »Labeling: Redundancy can be very helpful to the user
Moosejaw is one of my favorite clothing stores, and it’s not even because I love all of their clothes so much — I don’t. I admire the company’s overall marketing and customer service approach. Perhaps more importantly, I like their digital platforms. Moosejaw is known for its online catalog and store. Here’s a screenshot of the Moosejaw.com
Read on »Discussion: Information Architecture happens, no matter who does it
I find myself getting lost in sites with confusing navigation structures and poorly organized content. I define confusing as any time I have to look twice for the main navigation or when pages within the site have extremely differing structures and layout from the home page for no apparent reason. As for the content: Anything
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