IA, Information architecture. It’s in the middle of **CONTENT, CONTEXT, USERS**. It has 4 components: 1. **Organization**: Scheme + structure 2. **Labeling**: textual & iconic 3. **Navigation**: global + local + contextual + suplemental 4. **Search**: Know-item, exploratory, exhaustive, refinding. It’s done for **2 primary human needs:** 1. **Finding:** we search, we navigate, or we ask. 2. **Understanding:** structure, rythym and typology. The most **popular types of IA:** - **Top–down:** Questions → Meet needs - **Bottom–up:** Help recognize content → Find themselves and jump to the content - Where am I? - What is here? - Where can I go from here? ## Organization 1. **Scheme** - Exact - Ambiguous 2. **Structure** - Hierarchy - Data base - Hypertext ## Labeling 1. **Textual** - Contextual links - Headings - Nav. systems - Index terms 2. **Iconic** - Visually Labels have to design according to: - Audience - Comprehensiveness - Granularity - Syntax - Presentation - Style ## Navigation Chart **our course**, determine **our position**, and find **our way back**. This provides a **sense of context and confort** as we **explore**. 1. **Global** - Nav. bar - Mega menu - Footer 2. **Local** - Left nav. bar - Sub menu 3. **Contextual** - In-line links 4. **Suplemental** - Sitemaps - Index - Guides ---