Understanding information architecture:

Arguably the easiest thing to do online is design a good-looking website: looking around the web shows almost infinite variety, and numerous examples of beautifully styled websites.

The internet has come of age as a creative medium: it is now possible to create websites that look as good as any printed materials, with the added benefits of motion and interactivity. Good-looking websites have become the norm.

Unfortunately, that's all that many websites are: good-looking. Given that digital channels have become primary (and sometimes solitary) communications channels, styling is simply not enough. Design has to be approached in a more objective way, using every technique available to ensure that the environment that each site user interacts with is as appropriate to its purpose as possible. One of the most useful design techniques is 'information architecture': designing the structure and hierarchy of every aspect of any interactive environment.

It is not by chance that this is called 'architecture': the interactive nature of most digital channels demands that we approach the design of projects in a three-dimensional way. We need to understand how the site will be structured, the paths that site users will take around the various 'spaces' that a site provides, how we help them find their way, and how we organise content within each of the areas they reach.

One of the major challenges faced by any online environment for stakeholders is the need to balance an effective 'outside-in' structure that audiences expect with the ambition for the organisation and/or brand behind the service: the 'inside-out' messaging that tells your audiences what you want them to know.

An effective information architecture scheme will make this a reality: matching the expectations users will have (based on both logic and market experience) with the desire of the brand owner to direct them in a particular way.

In particular, information architecture underpins a creative process with an objective discipline and enhances the creative result: it does not hinder creativity or restrict the creative process in any way.

Approaching design in this way brings numerous advantages:

• The organisation and weighting of content is considered at every level of a site's design and is always constructed from the perspective of the external audience. Site organisation and content layout on each 'page' is therefore carefully targeted to the needs and expectations of those it is aimed at.
• Simplicity is a key focus of an information-architecture based approach, leading to designs that are more coherent and consistent. The key benefit is that site users naturally understand where to look and what to expect from each area of every page of the site.

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