Information architecture
Information architecture, or IA, is more than just creating a sitemap for your website. It's about making responsible decisions around organising, structuring, labelling, and connecting information.
When people use any digital product, they have enough problems. Navigating a hostile Internet with poor connectivity, disabilities, high stress, and a lack of time leads to harmful experiences that can disenfranchise certain people.
A good IA, or taxonomy, is built on ethical decisions that empower people to complete tasks without confusion or fuss. It can also create moments of joy, surprise and, dare we say it, delight.
Closing the findability gap
The easier your product is to navigate, the more likely people will transact, convert and return. You won't get the returns your investment deserves if you have great content or journeys nobody can find.
Discoverability and closing the findability gap are at the core of our IA services. This connects customer needs and top tasks to business goals and takes an evidence-driven approach to content strategy and IA creation.
A new or improved IA is developed, refined and tested using IA audits, competitor analysis, analytics reviews, top task surveys, user testing, tree tests, card sorts, and in-person interviews. Not all problems are equal, and the techniques and activities required to get the best outcomes must often be tailored to the challenge.
In all scenarios, we ask fundamental questions: Who are our content's primary audiences? Do we satisfy those tasks and needs? How do we measure success?
A balanced, research-based approach invariably leads to genuine insight and the best outcomes so customers can find what they're looking for quickly and with no fuss.
Good user experience (UX) and visual design are critical to excellent content design. How your content interacts with navigation, menus, components, and templates is vital, with more testing, iteration and validation to ensure people can efficiently find what they need.
Talk to us today if you want to audit, improve or redesign your IA.
