1 00:00:00,290 --> 00:00:04,800 In order to fully understand information architecture, we should discuss how it 2 00:00:04,800 --> 00:00:10,090 relates to other important concepts related to web design and development. 3 00:00:10,090 --> 00:00:13,530 I'm gonna name a few here, and maybe you've heard of them. 4 00:00:13,530 --> 00:00:21,020 Besides IA, we've got UX, UI and usability. 5 00:00:21,020 --> 00:00:24,870 Now, if we're talking about building websites and organizing content and 6 00:00:24,870 --> 00:00:30,080 menus and categories, and all of that, these terms are going to come into play. 7 00:00:30,080 --> 00:00:33,333 There is some overlap, but I wanna draw a few boundaries here. 8 00:00:33,333 --> 00:00:37,930 Because it will help us focus on the right IA concepts in this course. 9 00:00:37,930 --> 00:00:42,440 In the end, you'll see how they all work together for creating a usable website and 10 00:00:42,440 --> 00:00:44,660 positive user experience. 11 00:00:44,660 --> 00:00:50,444 So let's start with information architecture, or IA. 12 00:00:50,444 --> 00:00:54,950 Here's the straight scoop from Peter Morville and Louis Rosenfeld's influential 13 00:00:54,950 --> 00:00:57,880 book Information Architecture on that very subject. 14 00:00:58,900 --> 00:01:02,000 Information Architecture is a design discipline 15 00:01:02,000 --> 00:01:07,510 that is focused on making information findable and understandable. 16 00:01:07,510 --> 00:01:12,470 It goes on to say that information is perceived by people as places made 17 00:01:12,470 --> 00:01:17,570 of information, and that these information environments can organized for 18 00:01:17,570 --> 00:01:20,680 optimum findability and understandability. 19 00:01:22,570 --> 00:01:27,920 IA is about making collections of information easy to locate and 20 00:01:27,920 --> 00:01:29,570 easy to understand. 21 00:01:29,570 --> 00:01:34,140 That all happens through proper naming, linking, connecting, and 22 00:01:34,140 --> 00:01:38,830 by understanding the audience, their needs, and their language. 23 00:01:38,830 --> 00:01:43,190 If you can make your users happy, you're probably doing a good job with your IA, 24 00:01:44,240 --> 00:01:48,810 which leads us to UX, or user experience. 25 00:01:48,810 --> 00:01:53,720 UX is a concept that refers to the group of interactions that a user has with 26 00:01:53,720 --> 00:01:59,780 a company or entity through its websites, apps, email, and everything else. 27 00:01:59,780 --> 00:02:03,380 UX is a tough thing to measure because it's all about people's feelings, 28 00:02:03,380 --> 00:02:06,460 reactions, and their perception of things. 29 00:02:06,460 --> 00:02:09,830 But obviously, you wanna create an experience that's positive, 30 00:02:09,830 --> 00:02:15,160 something that leads to more interactions, more engagement, and more business. 31 00:02:15,160 --> 00:02:18,802 UX is about the experience you hope to create, but 32 00:02:18,802 --> 00:02:22,455 also about the expectations of those customers. 33 00:02:22,455 --> 00:02:26,393 Meeting those needs, and expectations with satisfactory, 34 00:02:26,393 --> 00:02:28,900 positive features and interactions. 35 00:02:29,970 --> 00:02:34,730 For example, let's look at two websites focused on selling footwear. 36 00:02:34,730 --> 00:02:37,820 Take a look at Red Wing Boots. 37 00:02:37,820 --> 00:02:41,830 When you arrive, you can see this site is all about work boots and 38 00:02:41,830 --> 00:02:44,570 getting work done with those boots. 39 00:02:44,570 --> 00:02:47,560 The lines are sharp, space is used efficiently, and 40 00:02:47,560 --> 00:02:49,640 there's plenty of information. 41 00:02:49,640 --> 00:02:53,660 If you're the target customer, you should feel, important word there, 42 00:02:53,660 --> 00:02:57,480 like you can find your way around easily and get things done. 43 00:02:58,560 --> 00:03:02,770 Now, compare that experience to the site for Manolo Blahnik. 44 00:03:02,770 --> 00:03:06,310 This is one of the top designer shoe companies in the world, and 45 00:03:06,310 --> 00:03:07,900 their site reflects that. 46 00:03:07,900 --> 00:03:09,362 It's about style. 47 00:03:09,362 --> 00:03:13,705 And it's design uses lots of white space to emphasize the products and 48 00:03:13,705 --> 00:03:15,290 their design. 49 00:03:15,290 --> 00:03:19,590 The feeling here is about quality and exclusivity. 50 00:03:19,590 --> 00:03:24,110 Different audience, different products, different purpose, and 51 00:03:24,110 --> 00:03:26,770 yet, they're both about selling footwear. 52 00:03:26,770 --> 00:03:29,220 Well, the difference is in the experience. 53 00:03:30,500 --> 00:03:34,260 Design is a big part of creating an experience. 54 00:03:34,260 --> 00:03:41,070 And one of the concepts directly related to design and UX is UI, or user interface. 55 00:03:41,070 --> 00:03:45,920 The user interface of a website or app refers to the controls, sequences and 56 00:03:45,920 --> 00:03:48,030 other functionality you provide so 57 00:03:48,030 --> 00:03:51,670 people can do what they want and get what they need. 58 00:03:51,670 --> 00:03:55,270 So if user experience refers to people's feelings and 59 00:03:55,270 --> 00:03:59,090 general satisfaction with using a website, the UI will 60 00:03:59,090 --> 00:04:02,970 be one of those factors that affects their experience and how they feel. 61 00:04:04,010 --> 00:04:08,340 For example, the type of menu system you use within your app will affect how 62 00:04:08,340 --> 00:04:11,340 successful and happy users are. 63 00:04:11,340 --> 00:04:14,600 If you look at Aldo's website, the menu and 64 00:04:14,600 --> 00:04:20,460 filtering system they offer allows women to set specific selections on the style, 65 00:04:20,460 --> 00:04:24,250 size, color, even price of shoes they're shopping for. 66 00:04:24,250 --> 00:04:29,090 But, if you go to to say ,Stride Rite's website, a shoe website for kids, 67 00:04:29,090 --> 00:04:34,010 the menu and interface puts more focus on the function and purpose of the shoes. 68 00:04:34,010 --> 00:04:36,560 Like ones your kid could wear to the beach 69 00:04:36,560 --> 00:04:39,430 versus those crazy ones that light up every time they take a step. 70 00:04:40,550 --> 00:04:44,540 The interface you provide will depend on the customer's needs. 71 00:04:44,540 --> 00:04:47,300 Sure, they might eventually be able to figure out whatever 72 00:04:47,300 --> 00:04:52,040 user interface you provide, but when it comes to creating a positive experience, 73 00:04:52,040 --> 00:04:56,560 you wanna design something with the best UI for them. 74 00:04:56,560 --> 00:04:59,970 This means you need to understand who you're targeting and 75 00:04:59,970 --> 00:05:02,170 focus on their needs, not your own. 76 00:05:03,340 --> 00:05:07,570 Now directly related to all these things is the concept of usability. 77 00:05:07,570 --> 00:05:11,720 Steve Krug wrote a great book called Don't Make Me Think 78 00:05:11,720 --> 00:05:14,400 in which he defined usability. 79 00:05:14,400 --> 00:05:17,634 He says making sure that something works well. 80 00:05:17,634 --> 00:05:21,415 That a person of average or even below average ability and 81 00:05:21,415 --> 00:05:23,470 experience can use the thing. 82 00:05:23,470 --> 00:05:27,556 Whether it's a website, a fighter jet, or a revolving door for 83 00:05:27,556 --> 00:05:31,660 its intended purpose without getting hopelessly frustrated. 84 00:05:32,780 --> 00:05:36,810 Specifically, we could be talking about a user's ability to use 85 00:05:36,810 --> 00:05:42,090 a complex drop down menu, to submit an order for a product they need, 86 00:05:42,090 --> 00:05:49,110 to create a new account or how to turn on a feature using a seemingly simple button. 87 00:05:49,110 --> 00:05:52,900 Usability is something you can validate through testing and, 88 00:05:52,900 --> 00:05:55,420 again, by understanding your users. 89 00:05:55,420 --> 00:05:58,870 If you know who they are, what they want, what they like, 90 00:05:58,870 --> 00:06:04,490 and what will make them happy, then your job becomes much easier. 91 00:06:04,490 --> 00:06:07,394 So consider these concepts one more time. 92 00:06:07,394 --> 00:06:14,690 Information architecture, user interface, usability, and user experience. 93 00:06:14,690 --> 00:06:18,858 We need to organize information, name it logically, and 94 00:06:18,858 --> 00:06:22,183 provide access that's clear and easy to use. 95 00:06:22,183 --> 00:06:26,639 And we'll use multiple types of functionality with our design, text links, 96 00:06:26,639 --> 00:06:31,270 menu systems, buttons, things you can click or tap on your phone. 97 00:06:31,270 --> 00:06:36,700 We'll design all this in a way that's easy to use, logical, clear, and intuitive. 98 00:06:36,700 --> 00:06:43,200 And if we can do all that, we'll provide an experience that's positive, effective, 99 00:06:43,200 --> 00:06:47,640 and one that our users will repeat over and over and recommend to others. 100 00:06:48,660 --> 00:06:51,960 These concepts rely on each other and support each other. 101 00:06:51,960 --> 00:06:54,460 So I hope this has been helpful. 102 00:06:54,460 --> 00:06:59,280 As we move forward, our focus will be on the IA part of the equation. 103 00:06:59,280 --> 00:07:03,770 But as you can see, don't be surprised if these other concepts sneak in, 104 00:07:03,770 --> 00:07:05,420 because they naturally work together