Information architecture
Information architecture is a relative old term comparing to User experience. The concern of information architecture is the effective way to display information to user. Because of information explosion, how to create usable structure of information is becoming more and more important. There are two good points on designing information architecture.
Simplicity
Presenting information in a simple and intuitive way is always crucial. Replacing long text to simple images can instantly improve user experience. A bad example is the parking signs in Los Angeles. A small parking sign contains too much information which makes driver hard to understand.
Information overloaded parking signs vs. simplified parking sign
The simplified parking sign in picture replaces long and tedious text to intuitive charts and tables. This greatly improves the readability of parking signs.
Logic behind structure of information
Logic behind structure of information
Designers should organize the content with logic. For example, news websites can use categories to organize content. This makes readers easier to find the news they are interested with. Online shopping website can use a tree view to classify their products.
