Journal of Information Architecture

SPRING 2011, VOL 3 ISS 1 — Miscellanea

Information Architecture is a Way of Seeing

Editorial

In the Midwest of the USA where I live, there is a thinly-veiled disdain among Medical Doctors for “Doctors” of Chiropractic. Depending on which generation of MD or DC you consult with, you’ll hear different arguments for why one or the other approach is better. In my personal experience with lower back pain this past Spring, the severity of the malady — and not the weight of the opposing arguments — dictated my immediate course of action: I was unable to walk, weeping from pain and in need of narcotic pain killers. Immediately. And they don’t give prescription pads to DC’s

Pp. 1–4 — doi:10.55135/1015060901/111.005/1.018

Download “Information Architecture is a Way of Seeing” in PDF format

SnowSense

A Case Study of User-centered Location-based Services

SnowSense is one of the projects at the core of the research in Information Design at the IUAV University of Venice, especially dealing with the development of Location Based Services. This article reports on a case study conducted in cooperation with the WSL Institute for Snow and Avalanche Research SLF in Davos, Switzerland. The project sets out to open up new ways for preventing avalanche-related accidents by applying a user-centered design approach and new technologies. The embracing research framework addresses the evolution of LBS and how their adoption changes the way people interact with the places they live, work or act in

Pp. 5–20 — doi:10.55135/1015060901/111.005/2.019

Download “SnowSense” in PDF format

Web Information Architecture

A Very Inclusive Practice

Information architecture is a critical aspect of the organizational use of the Web to deliver information and to communicate with clients. It is a relatively new instance of information organization and, although it draws from traditional practices such as library and information science, Web information architecture has its own characteristics and unique contexts. The practice of Web information architecture must forge its own identity. This research paper contributes to a greater understanding of Web information architecture as a practice that requires myriad conversations, negotiations and collaborations as it is carried out in large organizations. It is also a practice that is undertaken by multiple and diverse people who all make a contribution to the information structures of the enterprise website

Pp. 21–44 — doi:10.55135/1015060901/111.005/3.020

Download “Web Information Architecture” in PDF format

Architectures

The end product of information architecture can be many different things: a website, a movie, a book, a game such as chess, the location of products in supermarkets. Indeed, as more of these cultural artifacts become digital, their purely informational nature is becoming more prominent

Pp. 45–53 — doi:10.55135/1015060901/111.005/4.021

Download “Architectures” in PDF format