Information Architecture

"Information Architecture" is a term used to describe the process of engineering the presentation of information toward a specific goal. The idea is that information, in the form of a web page or otherwise, is relatively unformed in the raw state. The features offered by a particular business, for example, might be many and worthwhile, but until this information can be presented in a logical and natural way, and in a way that will encourage the user to "flow" through it with ease it is quite often muddied by disorganization.

At the center of the concept of Information Architecture is the user. The user, or reader, is the target for any web page or other presentation of information. Whatever the goal is for the person(s) designing the way information is presented, it is inextricably tied to the user.

The term "architecture" suggests both the artistic and scientific, and it is this dual quality that many point to as the trademark of good web design. On the one hand, we know what works - it is more measurable now than ever before (with software options that provide incredibly in-depth measurement of user interaction with a given website). Measurability can lead to predictability. Predictability is science. On the other hand, there is still a very artistic quality to web and other information media design. Good designs still start with creative inspiration. Successful web designers not only have to consider the measurable and scientific but the aesthetic as well.