One of the most common definitions of Information Architecture is that it's the "structural design of shared information environments." It defines information structures to answer the question "how does a user find the information they want?"
Today, the Web is certainly not just a hypertext system of pages and pages of information linked to each other, but a complex software interface for online social interactions, interactive animations, processes, applications and much more. While most Web IAs still call themselves Information Architects, and while IA is still an important part of what they do, it's really only a part of it. Some IA professionals now specialize in social media, some in interaction/experience design.
Creating exceptional experiences online, and developing efficient interactive marketing, is much about storytelling. We develop stories that excite and motivate people, and platforms where people can come create and edit their own stories. Interactive storytelling is in many ways more complex than traditional movies or theatre, but IAs can still learn a lot from scriptwriting techniques.
Chicago-based theatre producer Greg Allen's "25 Rules for Creating Good Theatre" make a good, basic guide to designing customer experience, services, and presentation technique as well. Some are basic rules that we all know and recognize, like these for example:
Rule #4: Know why you are creating this show.
Rule #5: Make form fit function.
Rule #15: Include a surprise.
Some others are more thought-provoking ideas. Try applying these to social media:
Rule #22: Get non-verbal.
Rule #23: Establish ritual through repetition.
Check out Greg's full list here: http://tinyurl.com/28mbqq
Karri Ojanen
Strategists & Planners
Comments (2)
I detect a note or two of surprise in the part where you note that the people who design the structures for online user experience "still call themselves Information Architects". Why wouldn't we call ourselves IAs? If doing the structure-designing part is indeed "only a part of" what you're doing then yes, maybe you should call yourself something else...
Regardless of what you might be intimating about information architecture as a job title, I think it's helpful and appropriate to point to the ways that IA can be informed and inspired by other creative disciplines such as the theater arts.
George Olsen modded Jesse James Garrett's The Elements Of User Experience digaram to incorporate a third dimension of "immersion oriented" approaches to user experience design, including theater-derived notions like choreorgraphy and mise-en-scene ... you and Olsen are on the same page:
http://interactionbydesign.com/models
(there's a pdf in that directory containing a rendering of Olsen's update to JJG's model)
Posted on November 12, 2008 07:09
Dan, thanks for the comment! The reason why I think IAs could consider using other titles - which is what some IA-types certainly do - is in the post: if the definition of information architecture is "the structural design of shared information environments," and IA defines information structures to answer the question "how does a user find the information they want," the web requires more. It, as we know, requires answers to questions like what are the actions that the user needs/wants to take, what are the connections that the user is making to other users, etc. I'm not particularly concerned about titles - after all, they're just titles - but think that "information architect" is a bit narrow. Recently, someone on the IAI mailing list suggested that "IA is not a profession, but a skill that should be part of the skill set of all members of the team". I don't think I fully agree with that, but think that "user experience designer", or "concept designer" can work as titles instead of "information architect". The structure-designing part is definitely only a part of what I do.
I really like Olsen's version of Garrett, thank you for the link! It aligns extremely well with my thinking. Good stuff.
Posted on November 14, 2008 08:10