Hands-on workshop exploring information architecture principles through the unexpected lens of organizing a spice drawer. Covers the art and science of organizing and labeling websites to support task completion and intuitive access to content. Demonstrates IA fundamentals and skills needed to be a successful information architect through practical exercises with a tricky information space.
People
Chris How
Methods
Card SortingAsking participants to group and label content items to reveal mental models. Open, closed or hybrid sorts inform information architecture, navigation labels and content groupings before detailed UI design.
Tree TestingValidating findability of content in a text-only hierarchy without visual design. Participants try to locate items in the proposed IA so teams can fix structure and labels before investing in full UI.
Content StrategyContent strategy sets the direction for content and the system needed to keep it useful. Identify audience needs and organisational goals, decide what content belongs at each point in the user journey, and plan how it will be structured and found. Define responsibilities, publishing workflows, maintenance rules and measures of quality. Use it when content spans teams, channels or stages of a service, especially where ownership is unclear or material becomes inconsistent. Review existing content and the processes supporting it as needs change.