Prognostication Digitalis

We stand poised to dive into the new year. What will 2003 hold for the profession known as 'what we do' and its children, information architecture, usability, interaction design, interface design, and graphic design? We asked our authors to hazard a guess.

Wodtke, Christina. Boxes and Arrows (2003). Design>Web Design>Information Design>Interaction Design

The Psychology of Navigation

Explores the psychology behind how users make navigational choices as they navigate through 'information spaces' and how information architects can use this information when crafting the navigational experience.

Garrett, Jesse James. Digital Web Magazine (2002). Design>Web Design>Information Design>Cognitive Psychology

Push and Pop on the Web

One of the needs that HyperCard's designers envisioned was one of remembering where a user had been in a document, and returning the user to that location after he had interrupted their flow for some other purpose. The mechanism to fulfill this need was called 'push and pop.' The document designer could easily implement push and pop, so that if a user left a certain location in the document to do some other task, he could be returned to that location when the other task was finished. Thus, a user could interrupt his browsing to fill out a form, or do something else, but could easily get back to browsing.

Baker, Adam. Merges.net (2001). Design>Web Design>Information Design

Quack IA Weblog

A weblog about the Web, computer vision and life.

Quack, Till. Resources>Information Design>Web Design>Blogs

Quality Criteria for Indexes, Website Navigation and Search    

When users find the answers they are looking for, the investment in technical documentation gets a chance to pay off. In large volumes of technical information, just finding the answer can be half the battle. Microsoft found that users of its intranet were spending an average of 2.5 hours per day online - 50% of that being searching. This article was written as part of an experimental online workshop with the MITWA (Mentors, Indexers, Technical Writers & Associates) discussion group(http://groups.yahoo.com/group/MITWA/). The article retains the workshop format including learning assignments.

Brown, Fred. International Journal for Technical Communication (2006). Articles>Information Design>Web Design>Technical Writing

Reader Roles: Building a Bridge Between Content and Navigation

Will the generation of readers that grow in the age of the Internet respond to text differently than earlier generations? What if in the year 2015 a teenager chooses an online version of Harry Potter where they can actually influence the text to determine an adventure that no one else has ever encountered? It is entirely possible that the Internet could potentially affect how future readers respond to text based on their online experiences. Perhaps these future readers will no longer respond to the passive roles that static text can sometimes place them in. They may seek instead, an active role in both the text and the options they have in the online world. How can text support this role? What kinds of rhetorical reading strategies brought fourth by Technical Communication (TC) could support new adaptations to text that allow the reader to actively engage in both content and navigation online to capture a richer, more rewarding experience?

Michael, John W. Orange Journal, The (2001). Design>Information Design>Web Design

Redesigning an STC Chapter Web Site: Creating a Navigation Structure  

The Chicago Chapter of STC undertook to redesign its web site in 1999. The existing web site structure did not allow growth. It was difficult to add new categories of information without creating long, scrolling pages containing embedded hyperlinks. Users expressed frustration when they were unable to find specific information within the site. A solution was required that would make information more accessible to casual users and enable the site to grow without major reconfiguration. A committee was formed to study the problem and come up with a flexible navigation structure that could grow along with the web site.

Gannon, Joseph P. and Suzanne D. Williams. STC Proceedings (2001). Presentations>Web Design>Information Design

Retrofitting Paper-Based Documentation for Hypermedia Delivery  

The trend to online delivery of information means new challenges for developers. New skills must be learned. Large-scale conversion projects must be completed while new materials are developed. Though conversion can be a monumental task, research and planning are the keys to a smooth transition. Five steps are critical to the conversion process: (1) Analyze the needs for developers ard end-users. (2) Develop a design document to outline how the hypermedia system should work. (3) Develop a transition plan. (4) Implement the Plan. (5) Update and maintain the system.

Hatley, Stacey D. and Travis Williams. STC Proceedings (1997). Presentations>Web Design>Information Design

The Role of an Intranet Information Architect  

A web site’s information architecture is a model of the relationship between information objects in the site; it is the aspect of web design that makes information retrieval more effective and easier to do. The Information Architect (IA) on a web development team focuses on developing the information architecture but also performs a number of related tasks such as gathering and analyzing requirements, performing usability tests, creating production templates, and creating the business strategy of the web site. This paper provides information about these tasks from a case study of the intranet development at Guidant Corporation.

Vaughn, Joan E. and Deidre Hayes. STC Proceedings (1999). Design>Information Design>Intranets>Web Design

Rotate Regular HTML Content Via DHTML

One of the great pitfalls of using client side techniques, such as JavaScript, to display content on demand is the prerequisite that everything be contained in variables. This makes adding and updating the content very cumbersome.

Chiang, George. SitePoint (2004). Articles>Web Design>Information Design>DHTML

RSS Instead of Newsletters? At Your Peril

I have been reading a lot about how companies are enthusiastically embracing RSS as a wonderful alternative to email newsletters. I can understand their enthusiasm, in part. After all, legitimate commercial email and newsletters are being decimated by spam filters. In addition to which, consumers are growing weary of having to distinguish between what is spam and what is not. There are additional benefits to making newsletters available by RSS. RSS means your subject line never disappears below the fold of an email window. With RSS the newsletter is always there, ready and waiting for when your reader is ready to take a look. With RSS your archives can be just a click away...providing easy and immediate access to previous issues.

Usborne, Nick. Excess Voice (2005). Design>Information Design>Web Design>RSS

Scrolling and Paging  

Designers must decide, early in the design process, whether to create long pages that require extensive scrolling or shorter pages that will require users to move frequently from page to page (an activity referred to as paging). This decision will be based on considerations of the primary users and the type of tasks being performed. For example, older users tend to scroll more slowly than younger users; therefore, long scrolling pages may slow them down considerably. As another example, some tasks that require users to remember where information is located on a page may benefit from paging, while many reading tasks benefit from scrolling.

Usability.gov (2006). Design>Web Design>Information Design

Search Engine Optimization: Getting Started

Explain some of the first steps to get your website not only optimized for the search engines, but to push your website up in the rankings war.

Garite, Joe. stevenforsyth.com (2006). Articles>Web Design>Information Design>Search Engine Optimization

Semantic Web Hints And Tips

It is important that on the Semantic Web, people produce data that is clean and interoperable. Some RDF techniques can currently only be learned through the RDF community, through hours of research, or through implementation experience, so this is an attempt to gather some useful but quick hints and tips into one place.

Palmer, Sean B. InfoMesh (2001). Design>Web Design>Information Design>Metadata

The Semantic Web, Taking Form

The Semantic Web is a conceptual information space in which the resources identified by URIs can be processed by machines. It operates on the principles of 'partial understanding' and 'inference' (being able to infer new knowledge of terms from data that you already understand), and hence evolution and transformation. Because the URIs are being used to represent the resources, systems can grow on a globally decentralized basis, similar to hypertext documentation systems on the early WWW.

Palmer, Sean B. InfoMesh (2001). Articles>Web Design>Information Design>Metadata

SEO Outbound Link Relevance

Outbound links' anchor text affects a page's search engine ranking in much the same way that inbound links' anchor text affects search engine ranking.

Walsh, Joel. stevenforsyth.com (2006). Articles>Web Design>Information Design>Search Engine Optimization

Seven Deadly Sins of Information Design

Drue Miller examines what she refers to as the 'Seven Deadly Sins' of information design: Forgetting who your users are, not creating a flowchart, not organizing your content, not using consistent navigation, using unclear link colors, using the TITLE tag incorrectly, and not looking ahead.

Miller, Drue. Netscape (1998). Design>Information Design>Web Design

Site Diagrams: Mapping an Information Space

Site diagrams can be quite helpful in answering all kinds of hard questions. How to create the right diagram became a personal challenge for Jason Withrow. He shares his story through tips and techniques…

Withrow, Jason. Boxes and Arrows (2004). Design>Web Design>Information Design>Sitemaps

Site Navigation with PHP

Put some logic in your pages with PHP. Minimize the hassles for yourself and your users.

Bulger, Brad. Webmonkey (1999). Design>Web Design>Information Design>PHP

A Sitemap on Every Page

About how to use a sitemap on all of one's web pages. Includes some statistics, that you will see below, that encourage rethinking navigation on small web sites. A sitemap on every page is an interesting idea. I've only seen this done in a few cases, and usually it is not done well. However, Peter obviously spent some time working on his and he solicited feedback form users.

Van Dijck, Peter. WebWord (2000). Design>Web Design>Information Design>Sitemaps

Sitemaps and Site Indexes: What They Are and Why You Should Have Them

Sitemaps and site indexes are forms of supplemental navigation. They give users a way to navigate a site without having to use the global navigation. By providing a way to visualize and understand the layout and structure of the site, a sitemap can help a lost or confused user find her way.

Fox, Chiara. Boxes and Arrows (2003). Design>Web Design>Information Design>Sitemaps

Solving Mobile Challenges with Psychology-Driven Information Architecture

As the field of information architecture matures, we are beginning to understand the new challenges it raises for wireless media. This article suggests that some of these challenges can be best addressed through an approach called 'psychology-driven information architecture,' which bases design decisions and solutions on the psychological profile of the end user.

Napchi, Oded. Boxes and Arrows (2003). Design>Information Design>Wireless Web>Web Design

Stealth Soapboxes: Political Information Efficacy, Cynicism and Uses of Celebrity Weblogs Among Readers    

This study tests the effects of personalized and 'stealth' political discourse on weblogs (or blogs) and the repercussions on levels of political trust, information efficacy and political uses/gratifications. By surveying readers of three different blogs (N=1838), this study identified significant effects as a result of exposure to political statements on blogs. Indeed, there were differences in the levels of political cynicism depending on how political statements were communicated. Readers of non-political blogs were more confident in their level of political information and their ability to participate in politics. Finally, political uses/approaches and avoidances were examined, as were differences based on gender and age.

Sweetser, Kaye D. and Lynda Lee Kaid. New Media and Society (2008). Articles>Web Design>Information Design>Blogs

Storing Hierarchical Data in a Database

Whether you want to build your own forum, publish the messages from a mailing list on your Website, or write your own CMS: there will be a moment that you'll want to store hierarchical data in a database. And, unless you're using a XML-like database, tables aren't hierarchical; they're just a flat list. You'll have to find a way to translate the hierarchy in a flat file.

Van Tulder, Gijs. SitePoint (2004). Design>Web Design>Information Design>Databases