Methods
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Natural Selections: Colors Found in Nature and Interface Design
by Luke Wroblewski | [20 comments]
The web is awash with sterile design solutions. IBM, Dell, Microsoft, and countless others are virtually indistinguishable from each other. Though one might say this makes browsing easier by virtue of a standardized interface, in reality such sites create mundane experiences for their users and fail to make a positive connection with their audience. more...
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Card sorting: a definitive guide
by Donna Spencer and Todd Warfel | [41 comments]
Card sorting is a simple user-centered technique for obtaining insight into the structure of a site. But is it really so simple? This definitive guide to card sorting includes detailed instructions on how to execute and analyze a sort, plus helpful hints to improve your sorts. It is the first in a series of articles about card sorting. more...
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Icon Analysis
by Matt Queen | [34 comments]
Icons that are difficult to tell apart can lead to disastrous consequences. Queen shows us how studying the way the human visual system encodes information can lead to more effective icon design. more...
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The Lazy IA's Guide to Making Sitemaps
by Stephen Turbek | [64 comments]
The more automated our lives become, the less time we seem to have. And as an information architect, a lot of time is spent making sitemaps ... by hand. How valuable are sitemaps to a project team and to clients? Would your time be better spent doing other tasks than hand building sitemaps? What if we told you, "now you can." Find out how. more...
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Analyzing Card Sort Results with a Spreadsheet Template
by Joe Lamantia and Joe Lamantia | [20 comments]
This article explains how to quickly derive easily-read, quantitative results from a card-sort activity by entering data into a spreadsheet template that is adaptable to any set of cards and categories. more...
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Dreamweaver Primer
by Julie Stanford | [5 comments]
So, you’ve read the article, “HTML Wireframes and Prototypes: All Gain and No Pain” and now want you want to make an HTML wireframe or prototype. This an easy and pain-free process, using Macromedia Dreamweaver 4.0. Follow this step-by-step guide and you'll be up and prototyping in a jiffy. more...
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Web Traffic Analytics and User Experience
by Fran Diamond | [15 comments]
As a specialist in the user, you gain knowledge through observation and direct questioning of individual users. Now, you can add to that insights gained from data pulled during their actions on the site. By looking at this information, you will get a fuller picture of user behavior, not in a lab, but in the true user environment. more...
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Real Wireframes Get Real Results
by Stephen Turbek | [35 comments]
Information architects, afraid to step on designers' toes, may actually render wireframes unusable. Stephen Turbek talks about Verizon, the similarities between wireframes and iPods, and how to get real. more...
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Visible Narratives: Understanding Visual Organization
by Luke Wroblewski | [13 comments]
Visual designers working on the web need an understanding of the medium in which they work, so many have taken to code. Many have entered the usability lab. But what about the other side? Are developers and human factors professionals immersed in literature on gestalt and color theory? more...
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Creating a Controlled Vocabulary
by Fred Leise and Karl Fast and Mike Steckel | [3 comments]
You have probably heard IAs discussing the benefits of their latest taxonomy project and how you should be implementing one. But how, you might wonder, can you get started? In the next installment about Controlled Vocabularies, our authors go into detail about one methodology. more...
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Interaction Modeling
by Matt Queen | [9 comments]
Interaction modeling makes design decisions explicit. In principle it's simple: record what users "should" do, what they actually do, and then explain the differences between the two. Of course there's more to it than that, and Matt Queen gives us all the details in this story. more...
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Practical Applications: Visio or HTML for Wireframes
by Jeff Gothelf | [21 comments]
Design organizations inevitably run across the debate of Visio versus HTML wireframes. The decision for one over the other is never a clear-cut one since, as with all things IA-related, it depends. This article seeks to sort out the issues by describing the pros and cons of each and identifying situations where one may be more effective than the other. more...
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Developing and Creatively Leveraging Hierarchical Metadata and Taxonomy
by Christian Ricci | [1 comment]
In content metadata and hierarchies, you will often find a goldmine of implicit and explicit data that you can leverage to creatively contextualize content. After a brief introduction on taxonomy and metadata, this article focuses on finding and utilizing such relationships in hierarchies. more...
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Interactive Prototypes with PowerPoint
by Maureen Kelly | [20 comments]
Many designers use MS PowerPoint to conceptualize wireframes and get buy-in on project direction. Maureen Kelly shows us how to bring those same artifacts to life as an interactive prototype that allows you to validate the design at many levels. more...
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Recording Screen Activity During Usability Testing
by Karl Fast | [29 comments]
Recording what users do is a crucial aspect of usability testing. Fortunately, recording screen activity doesn’t necessarily cost much. Three Windows-based software programs range between $30 and $150 and offer excellent performance. more...
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The Challenge of Dashboards and Portals
by Joe Lamantia | [20 comments]
Can components come to the rescue for executive dashboards? Much like IKEA uses interchangeable islands, counters, and cupboards to create a custom kitchen, by Joe Lamantia shows how it's possible to use a modular approach for executive dashboards. more...
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What Is A Controlled Vocabulary?
by Fred Leise and Karl Fast and Mike Steckel | [14 comments]
Finding the right words to communicate the message of your website can be one of the most difficult parts of developing it. Our authors guide you through the concepts behind a well-designed controlled vocabulary and discuss the pros and cons of its development. more...
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Synonym Rings and Authority Files
by Fred Leise and Karl Fast and Mike Steckel | [2 comments]
In part 3 of the continuing series on controlled vocabularies and faceted classification, the authors explain synonym rings and authority files and how their use can bridge the gap between natural language and complex controlled vocabularies (taxonomies and thesauri). more...
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Comics: Not just for laughs!
by Rebekah Sedaca | [23 comments]
Using comics is a novel means of communicating complex design concepts. There is has been a lot of talk about it recently, but it this medium only reserved for artists? Rebekah Sedaca decided to give it a try. It worked and she's outlined her process and tools that you may be able to use. more...
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Better Content Management through Information Architecture
by Masood Nasser | [15 comments]
Part 1 Content Management Systems promise so much: content is easier to publish, easier to update, and easier to find and use. Lots of promises, but do CMSs really deliver? Masood Nasser examines why Content Management Systems often fail and shows how Information Architecture can come to the rescue. more...