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what
is information design?
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what is information design?
 Information
design is the intentional process in which information related to
a domain is transformed in order to obtain an understandable representation
of that domain.
(Peter J. Bogaards, 1994) |
Information
design is concerned with making information accessible and usable
to people.
(David Sless, 1990) |
 Information
design is the defining, planning, and shaping of the contents of a
message and the environments it is presented in with the intention
of achieving particular objectives in relation to the needs of users.
(ID News, 1999) |
| [Information
architecture is] ...the
creating of systematic, structural and orderly principles in order
to make things work -- the thoughtful making of either artifact, or
idea, or policy that informs because it is clear. (Richard Saul Wurman) |
Information
design helps explain things and uses language, typography, graphic
design, systems and business process improvement as its key tools.
Information design is focused on users and is committed to using usability
and other research and testing to find out whether its products actually
achieve their objectives.
(Text Matters, 1996) |
Information
design is the art and science of preparing information so that it
can be used by human beings with efficiency and effectiveness. Information
design is the defining, planning, and shaping of the contents of a
message and the environments it is presented in with the intention
of achieving particular objectives in relation to the needs of users.
|
| ...most
people who do IA will never be able to focus on it exclusively. Most
organizations will never have the volume of work to justify hiring
a dedicated in-house IA. For the vast majority of organizations, Web
work will always be a cost center, not a profit center. As a result,
most teams will always be undertrained, understaffed, and constrained
by budgets. ...These people may have titles like 'Web designer' or
'content editor' or 'project manager'. For all of them, the user experience
is just one of a number of issues they must address. (Jesse James Garret, 'ia/recon') |
An
information designer bridges the gap between a user's cognitive model
and an engineers database structures by creating an interface that
deploys familiar organisational models, corralling data into groups
and perceptible hierarchies.
(Clement Mok) |
Information
architecture is the science of figuring out what you want your site
to do and then constructing a blueprint before you dive in and put
the thing together. (Squishy) |
|
...
In technical writing in general and in Web site design in particular,
information architecture is related to and generally supports the
overlapping areas of content management, content distribution or
syndication, and electronic publishing. |
Information
architecture provides a blueprint for the virtual organization of
information," the three key elements of which are navigation, access,
and information design. (Definitions of IA) |
Information
Architecture (IA) is the process of organizing and presenting data
to the user in a meaningful, clear and intuitive manner. IA is the
foundation of all great websites. All other design aspects - form,
function, metaphor, navigation, interface, interaction, visual, and
information systems - build upon the groundwork of information architecture.
Initiating the IA process is the first thing you should do when designing
a website. (Addwise) |
| The
job of the information architect/designer is not to IMPOSE a navigational
structure -- no matter how many individualised options there are to
articulate it -- but to solve the problem of ensuring users have access
to the bits of the site they want. |
Information
Architecture is the practice of designing the infrastructure of a
Web site, specifically the navigation. ...If you can find out what
you, the architect, desires to achieve, you've fought half the battle.
...These goals should be considered during every decision throughout
the process. Make a list of what you would like your visitors to take
with them when they leave your site. If you are preparing an informative
content Web site you would want the visitor to leave knowing the information
you conveyed. You might also want them to enjoy themselves while they
are there. (Aaron West) |
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hybrid structures