For over a decade, we’ve defined Information Architecture (IA) in part as “the structural design of shared information environments,” yet we still lack a consensus for what we mean by that phrase. Meanwhile, mobile & cross-channel complexities are only getting more complex, and context is more ambiguous than ever.
This talk suggests that we not start from the perspective of the device, the content or the software; rather we should start with understanding how people perceive their whole environment.
- A model for three key modes in which people experience information (ecological, semantic, and digital).
- A framework for analyzing how people perceive their environment (based on seminal work from ecological perception science).
- How these elements help us untangle some knotty real-world examples and explain some typical yet puzzling user behaviors.
- A fresh take on the value and scope of information architecture.
Andrew Hinton is an Information Architect at The Understanding Group (aka TUG). Since the early ’90s, he’s been helping clients and employers of all shapes and sizes make better information environments. He is also the author of Designing Context for User Experiences: Building User Experiences.
via The World Is The Screen: Elements of Information Environments | IAS 2013.
