what is information architecture?

explaining information architecture from Dan Klyn on Vimeo.

goals

Upon completion of this course, students will be able
to:

• Locate today's IA within the broader context of
  librarianship, architecture and user experience.


• Employ heuristics and apply core principles of IA in critiques and redesigns of websites.


• Understand issues and disciplines adjacent to or intertwingled with IA such as usability,
  user experience (UX), interaction design (IxD), search engine/web site optimization (SEO/WSO)


• Craft and deliver a compelling 10-minute presentation on a variety of IA-related and adjacent topics


• Create a report describing IA strategy and recommendations for web
  site design, accompanied by standard IA deliverables such as of wireframes, blueprints and analytics findings.

content

The following topics will be covered in this course:

• History of Information Architecture


• Affinities between IA and "regular old architecture"


• Core "Polar Bear IA" stuff: content, context, and users


• Contextual inquiry, discovery, research


• Organization structures, labeling and taxonomies


• Interaction and Interface design


• Architecting credibility


• Deliverables (blueprints, wireframes, task-flows)


• Careers in IA

note to self: write the IA version of this