I've decided to start collecting definations of IA. Feel free to add any you come across or heck, make one up!

From Addwise

"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."

webworld's interview with lou

"Information architecture involves the design of organization and navigation systems to help people find and manage information more successfully." "

Lou again, on O'reilly

Information architecture involves the design of organization, labeling, navigation, and searching systems to help people find and manage information more successfully.

Organization systems are the ways content can be grouped. Labeling systems are essentially what you call those content groups. Navigation systems, like navigation bars and site maps, help you move around and browse through the content. Searching systems help you formulate queries that can be matched with relevant documents.

Jesse James Garrett in his "Elements of user Experience" says

Information Architecture: Stuctural design of the informaiton space to facilitate intuive access to content.

Stephen Downes gives a philosophical definition

Well - what is an information architect?

From my own experience, I would say that the practitioners are professionals, versed in every aspect of web design, adept communicators, and gifted visualizers - they are people who eat, sleep and dream web design and structure. But you can't put that on the job description.

Or - as I Sing the Body Electronic author Fred Moody observes: information architects are the sort of people who understand that the instructions on the shampoo bottle are just wrong: "Lather. Rinse. Repeat."

Squishy says

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.

Shel Kimen says

"What is information architecture?

At its most basic, information architecture is the construction of a structure or the organization of information. In a library, for example, information architecture is a combination of the catalog system and the physical design of the building that holds the books. On the Web, information architecture is a combination of organizing a site's content into categories and creating an interface to support those categories. It stems from traditional architecture, which is made up of architectural programming and architectural planning. "

Somebody explained what an IA does to her mom like this

"You know when you're on a website and you see a bunch of navigation choices to click on? I'm the one who decided what the choices are, what they are called and where they take you when you click"

Much like our real world namesakes, we design spaces for human beings to live work and play in. The big difference is the materials we work with: cement is replaced with thesauri, timber with hierarchies and steel with interaction flows.

information architecture - a whatis definition is based on technical writing....

"information architecture is the set of ideas about how all information in a given context should be treated philosophically and, in a general way, how it should be organized."

and finally (because I have got to get some work done today)

Mattie Langenberg

Information architecture, as the name implies, is basically about taking content and a structure to present that content to an audience. Whether the content is intended for a private audience on an intranet or for the public, it is the information architect's job to ensure that information is well-organized and presented in an easily accessible interface.

[continued]

Busy, busy, busy.

When I joined Carbon IQ I had certain ideas about what I would do: I would do things my way. I would create schedules that made sense. I would do unstintingly quality work. I would speak honestly and openly with my coworkers, and politics and game-playing would not exist and above all I would remember that we are all human begins, and a business is there to support the humans who work for it, not the other way around.

Everything I thought about owning your own business is true-- you get to do the quality of work you want to do, you can take off at 2 p.m. on a Wednesday to catch a matinee and finish the work on a Sunday without people looking at your strangely for either, and you learn all the time. What I didn't know I'd do was all the support jobs, from office manager to bill collector. You pick up envelopes, you call a client to inform them they are three weeks late in payment, you scan news groups trying to figure out why they heck PDF's won't print.... The big advantage however, of a small business over freelancing is you aren't completely alone. I called the client because Noel didn't want to deal with it anymore, and Noel edited a proposal I was writing when I couldn't see straight anymore. Gabe coaxes the printer to print just when I'm willing to pour coke on it, and I tweak the JavaScript rollovers that are trying to make Gabe insane. We are all there for each other, in a pragmatic unsentimental and immensely comforting way. There are no politics, there are no games and the business is the human beings who work there. period.

A small company is the hardest work I have ever done in my life, and I have never learned so much either-- I have no question I'm a better IA for it, as I understand business issues viscerally. My empathy for a businesses need to survive is at an all time high...

I wouldn't trade this opportunity for anything in the world. It's been scary, frustrating and awakening. These have the best six months of my professional life. I look forward to the future. Thanks, Noel and Gabe!

"Why having access to a usability lab can be a hindrance. " (via

webword.com)

Interesting blog entry on a usability practioner's experience being forced

out of the lab and into the field, and what he learned there.

Kerning: The importance of space between letter pairs (via xblog.com)

http://www.coolhomepages.com/cda/kerning/

Starved for eyecandy? Lots of pretty links at designiskinky

http://www.designiskinky.net

Scott McCloud talks-- err-- illustrates aout micropayments

talk about it here

New feature suggested by Bill... we'll see how it goes. feedback welcome!

In my opinion, if you click on one blog this week, it's gotta be peter. He is the only one who doesn't seem to be suffering summer doldrums.

Victor redesigns! And it is nice...

http://www.noisebetweenstations.com/personal/weblogs/

Peterme is talking about comics again, and offers a funny quote from the new Yorker on yidishisms

http://www.peterme.com/

Taylor is also talking about Scott McCloud's current "Don't make me think"

http://www.captaincursor.com/

george is thinking about brand and UX

http://interactionbydesign.com/thoughts/thumbnails/index.html

whole lotta nothing has an analysis of trillian, an IM client

http://a.wholelottanothing.org/

Zeldman says teal gradient is the new gray

http://www.zeldman.com/coming.html

Storm pics on davezilla. I miss summer storms (SF doesn't have them)

http://www.davezilla.com/

Biggerhand continues to be 50% basketball, 50% funnny as hell... when is the season over?

http://www.biggerhand.com/

LittleYellowDifferent bitch-slaps the webbys

http://www.littleyellowdifferent.com/

Brad curses in front of his mother (cracked me up)

http://www.bradlands.com/dailybrad/index.shtml

more and more I think drug companies are evil as tobacco, and rebecca's pocket isn't dissuading me

http://www.rebeccablood.net/index.html

Best news on the web, metablog du jour "plastic"

http://www.plastic.com/

Thursday, June 21, 2001

7:00 PM

Informal Tools for Designing Anywhere,

Anytime, Anydevice User Interfaces

by James Landay

230 Bechtel, Sibley Auditorium

University of California, Berkeley

http://www.baychi.org/bof/events/east/e200106.html

For the easily amused

http://www.dancingpaul.com/

pirated sites revealed! Steal this design...

http://www.pirated-sites.com/index1.shtml

Pork, a love story

http://www.storyfuck.com/

I've gotten really into a type of music made in the south of france and I made a radio station out of it to share. I may add some of the other cool french stuff I've found. What's playign there is a very cool synthesis of flamenco, accordian, rock, rap and I dont' know what... it's hard to describe. But I heart it.

http://www.live365.com/cgi-bin/directory.cgi?autostart=calientechao