Christina Wodtke’s Information Architecture: Blueprints for the Web, was first published in 2003. The 2nd edition of the book has just been released, with changes and additions. A notable addtion is the chapter on architecting social spaces, an excerpt of which is available on A List Apart. The style is short and to the point, perhaps not as much depth as some would like, but useful, commonsense patterns. She covers areas of identity (who can you trust online), relationships (how can you keep track of people?) and activity (what can you do on a site?). For instance if there is nothing to do on a site (activity), people won’t come back. Provide opportunities for sharing, conversation and collaboration. Or give people an identity, but allow them to alter it as they see fit — let the community award and police appropriate action. Sounds simple, but it is ironic how often points like these get missed.
A List Apart: Articles: The Elements of Social Architecture
Every pattern explores ways of designing space to meet human needs and promote happiness. It doesn’t take great imagination to apply these architectural principles to information architecture—taking them out of the real world and into the digital world.
Peachpit: Information Architecture: Blueprints for the Web, Adobe Reader, 2nd Edition – $28.80
Table of Contents1. First Principles
2. Balancing Acts–Users, Technology, and Business
3. Sock Drawers and CD Racks–Everything Must Be Organized
4. A Bricklayer’s View of Information Architecture
5. Search and Ye Shall Find
6. From A to C by Way of B
7. From Box to Page
8. The Tao of Navigation
9. Architecting Social Spaces
10. All Together Now
11. And in the End
ADD YOUR COMMENT
Comments are moderated.
Randall Rode's online home for thoughts, notes, and experiments with a wide range of technology topics. Visit the about page for info on my recent projects and professional background. I welcome your comments!
Past listings from 2004 to the present
Need a home (or better home) for your website? I highly recommend HostRocket -- they are the best!
