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A Practical Guide to Information Architecture
If you're a website designer, intranet manager or someone without much Information Architecture experience, this book answers all those questions you were afraid to ask.
Drawing on her many years experience of practising and teaching Information Architecture, Donna Spencer guides you through some simple steps to better IA and leaves you feeling empowered and able to run your own IA projects. Whether it's organising content, providing clear descriptions or ways for people to get to them, this book is armed with practical advice and examples.
A Practical Guide to Information Architecture was originally published in 2010 by Five Simple Steps. This edition has been re-formatted with new illustrations and some minor updates and is now distributed by UX Mastery.
Drawing on her many years experience of practising and teaching Information Architecture, Donna Spencer guides you through some simple steps to better IA and leaves you feeling empowered and able to run your own IA projects. Whether it's organising content, providing clear descriptions or ways for people to get to them, this book is armed with practical advice and examples.
A Practical Guide to Information Architecture was originally published in 2010 by Five Simple Steps. This edition has been re-formatted with new illustrations and some minor updates and is now distributed by UX Mastery.
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First published January 1, 2010
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Displaying 1 - 24 of 24 reviews
June 5, 2012
While there are and will be IA experts who are available to tackle the really wicked challenges, this book is like putting Industrial Strength Information Architecture in the hands of everyday practitioners. While I feel this book is valuable for any business professional working on a redesign. I think individuals that are already familiar with user-centered design will find the most value.
I rated this book four stars but five stars is unatainable for this subject area. Any further in scope or depth and this book would not have been accessible to newcomers to IA or it would have become a textbook vs. a practical guide. The author wisely ends the book without going into too much depth regarding the design. Ultimately the further intricacies of site design are better covered elsewhere.
Donna structure's the book through the complete lifecycle of the IA process. I was in the middle of an IA project when I picked up this book. It was incredibly useful and a few of the myths this book dispelled (myth: people either search or browse they don't do both) in addition to its message that the best topic labels are those that are clear (even if somewhat lengthy or boring); came very much in handy.
The short chapters are easy to peruse or keep you focused if you're reading linearly. I completed this book within a week during an IA project. And the clarity it provided me probably saved my working group two weeks of progress (with a more satisfactory outcome).
Another great book by the publisher Rosenfeld Media. I highly recommend this book for any project managers on web redesign (or intranet redesign projects) as well as any newcomer or intermediate design professionals.
After reading this book I feel I have a good foundation of the methodologies and thinking of IA; and it sparked my apetite to find out more.
The one draw back of this book is it is entirely anecdotal and based on Donna's rules of thumb from over a decade of expertise. I would have appreciated if it cited peer reviewed research vs. the author's personal experience regard some of the rules of thumbs. Specifically when talking about what navigational elements are most usable.
I rated this book four stars but five stars is unatainable for this subject area. Any further in scope or depth and this book would not have been accessible to newcomers to IA or it would have become a textbook vs. a practical guide. The author wisely ends the book without going into too much depth regarding the design. Ultimately the further intricacies of site design are better covered elsewhere.
Donna structure's the book through the complete lifecycle of the IA process. I was in the middle of an IA project when I picked up this book. It was incredibly useful and a few of the myths this book dispelled (myth: people either search or browse they don't do both) in addition to its message that the best topic labels are those that are clear (even if somewhat lengthy or boring); came very much in handy.
The short chapters are easy to peruse or keep you focused if you're reading linearly. I completed this book within a week during an IA project. And the clarity it provided me probably saved my working group two weeks of progress (with a more satisfactory outcome).
Another great book by the publisher Rosenfeld Media. I highly recommend this book for any project managers on web redesign (or intranet redesign projects) as well as any newcomer or intermediate design professionals.
After reading this book I feel I have a good foundation of the methodologies and thinking of IA; and it sparked my apetite to find out more.
The one draw back of this book is it is entirely anecdotal and based on Donna's rules of thumb from over a decade of expertise. I would have appreciated if it cited peer reviewed research vs. the author's personal experience regard some of the rules of thumbs. Specifically when talking about what navigational elements are most usable.
October 4, 2018
Self promoting, too general book
I read 14% of the book and then randomly jumped to what I thought would be more relevant parts. Everything is way too generaly exposed, no real methodology, patterns or eye-openung case studies. This is just writing for the sake of being called an author, unfortunatelly. Obviously, I don't recommend this book.
I read 14% of the book and then randomly jumped to what I thought would be more relevant parts. Everything is way too generaly exposed, no real methodology, patterns or eye-openung case studies. This is just writing for the sake of being called an author, unfortunatelly. Obviously, I don't recommend this book.
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December 6, 2023my ex employer posted this on slack once and was like if anyone's interested in some light reading hehe and I was like no one in the world is going to read this and then I read it because I had nothing to do and then I stopped because I became busy and now I finished it to close things off and embrace being unemployed
December 1, 2018
Complete
If you're interested in information architecture, and I mean seriously interested in it, this book is well worth reading. It's a comprehensive and practical reference that could sit on your desk as you work through your first client briefs or coursework projects. It's a little dry in places and could be brought up to date for the responsive design and app era, which is why it's three stars. But the fundamentals are strong - it's all about the user and the research, remember?
It also benefits from Donna Spencer's extensive commercial experience - this is not an academic book, and arguably, is all the better for it.
Highly recommended.
If you're interested in information architecture, and I mean seriously interested in it, this book is well worth reading. It's a comprehensive and practical reference that could sit on your desk as you work through your first client briefs or coursework projects. It's a little dry in places and could be brought up to date for the responsive design and app era, which is why it's three stars. But the fundamentals are strong - it's all about the user and the research, remember?
It also benefits from Donna Spencer's extensive commercial experience - this is not an academic book, and arguably, is all the better for it.
Highly recommended.
September 26, 2010
well done Donna, this is a brilliant introduction to Information Architecture. Even as someone with years of experience I picked up a few new tips and tricks from this book. Well worth my time and a beautifully written and designed book.
November 27, 2016
Helpful!
August 10, 2017
This book was an excellent primer into developing an information architecture, though I wish it would have focused more on the actual creation of the IA, understanding categories and how to incorporate all the information you get from the design research.
December 4, 2017
This was a decent introduction to IA and website design that I’d recommend to someone new to the subject. (Unfortunately for me it covered a lot of concepts and strategies I was already familiar with.)
January 17, 2018
A good basic introduction to organising information.
August 23, 2019
Such an easy read but it took me soooo long. Pretty straightforward book, but more for website designers.
April 27, 2021
Skim read. Highly recommend it only for beginners.
April 30, 2021
Great ideas and structure but needs updating.
August 31, 2010
This was a great primer on the practice of information architecture. As a young IA, I found a lot of the information refreshed things I already knew, but there was also some new information as well. I think more experienced IAs would find this quite basic, so it might not be the best book for all you seasoned pros.
Of the 'new' stuff that I learned from this book, probably the most helpful was the section on IA testing. Now, I've done usability testing, and card sorting before, but I hadn't yet read a detailed methodology for testing a site architecture after it was reasonably established, but before any of the wireframing or design work had started (skip to chapter 19 for this). I'm going to try to implement at least some level of this testing into my projects from now on.
Also, this was the first book I read on the iPad, and I wrote up some thoughts on that experience on my blog.
Of the 'new' stuff that I learned from this book, probably the most helpful was the section on IA testing. Now, I've done usability testing, and card sorting before, but I hadn't yet read a detailed methodology for testing a site architecture after it was reasonably established, but before any of the wireframing or design work had started (skip to chapter 19 for this). I'm going to try to implement at least some level of this testing into my projects from now on.
Also, this was the first book I read on the iPad, and I wrote up some thoughts on that experience on my blog.
April 25, 2012
Another great book from Five Simple Steps. I'd never attempted to think or speak about IA in the scientific way that has become ubiquitous in the industry. This book is a great dive into the theory and vernacular of IA, and has allowed me to more accurately communicate ideas that I've been thinking for over 10 years.
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December 10, 2010Packed with great detail on the broad subject of Information Architecture. Starts with the basics (what *is* IA anyway?) and delves into who uses IA, and finally the process of applying it.
February 26, 2011
Good introduction
September 2, 2011
This book was a fast read, but I found a lot of helpful advice for designing an IA, including considerations for designing the navigation.
February 7, 2013
An ok introduction to IA. A good book to get the lay of the land in practical terms. A bit repetitive in concepts and to be honest I rushed to finish it out of shear boredom.
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May 2, 2016I would have really appreciated reading this a couple of years ago. A good overview with some pointers for further reading.
March 29, 2013
Fabulous. If you are involved with building IAs at all, read it.
July 12, 2014
like most books in this field I have encountered it's interesting, but it tends to fall down and get very vague when addressing practical matters like deliverables.
March 22, 2016
Interesting read with lots of helpful suggestions and tips for anyone in IA or even UX. Covers everything from the initial user research right through to usability testing of the 'final' product.
June 26, 2024
Comprehensive superb intro to IA.
December 15, 2012
Very entertaining and easy going from start to finish. A refreshing take in IA for "common people"
Displaying 1 - 24 of 24 reviews