Designing Information Architecture: A practical guide to structuring digital content for findability and easy navigability

"A fresh, updated perspective on Information Architecture (IA), blending foundational principles with modern insights to help you design intuitive, structured, and human-centered digital experiences."

- Jim Kalbach, Chief Evangelist at Mural

Get your hands on a well-structured, easy-reference handbook filled with IA best practices for organizing digital information spaces
Key Features

Learn IA from Pabini Gabriel-Petit, UX expert and founder of UXmatters
Get a practical introduction to IA in the broader context of UX research and design
Gain expert insights from industry leaders on IA’s evolution, techniques, and applications
Purchase of the print or Kindle book includes a free PDF eBook

Book Description

In a world that suffers from information overload, how can information architects help people quickly find the exact digital content they need? This is where Designing Information Architecture comes in as your practical guide to creating easy-to-use experiences for digital information spaces—be it websites, applications, or intranets—by creating well-structured information architectures (IAs) and effective navigation and search systems. It shows you how to improve the organization, findability, and usability of digital content using proven IA design methods and strategies.

Designing Information Architecture is an up-to-date resource on IA. Written by Pabini Gabriel-Petit, a recognized expert in user experience (UX) and IA with decades of industry experience, this book offers both expert insights and practical design guidance. It also explores modern, AI-driven approaches to implementing search systems that can help users overcome the challenges of information overload.

Throughout the book, you’ll learn why a well-structured information architecture remains more critical than ever in delivering effective digital information spaces.
What you will learn

Information-seeking models, strategies, tactics, and behaviors
Principles for designing IAs that support human cognitive and visual capabilities
Wayfinding principles for placemaking, orientation, navigation, labeling, and search
Useful structural patterns and information-organization schemes
UX research methods and analytics for information architecture
Content analysis, modeling, and mapping methods
Categorizing content and creating controlled vocabularies
Designing and mapping information architectures
Leveraging artificial intelligence (AI) to deliver optimal search results

Who this book is for

This complete reference is for both experienced and aspiring information architects and UX design professionals who are looking to create effective information architectures for digital information spaces, including Web sites, applications, and intranets. It is also a valuable resource for members of product teams—especially developers, product managers, and other UX professionals who collaborate closely with information architects—and other stakeholders who want to understand and support the information-architecture workflow.
Table of Contents

What Is Information Architecture?
How People Seek Information
Design Principles
Structural Patterns and Organization Schemes
UX Research Methods for Information Architecture
Understanding and Structuring Content
Classifying Information
Defining an Information-Architecture Strategy
Labeling Information
Designing and Mapping an Information Architecture
Foundations of Navigation Design
Designing Navigation
Designing Search