lecture six
agenda
- midterm quiz
- site planning overview
- information architecture components
- organization systems
- labeling systems
- navigation systems
- in-class exercise
- readings
site planning overview
- define site objectives - what's the point? business goals? creative goals? (context)
- define audience - who are they and what do they need? do they need to do things? buy things? learn something? all of the above? (users)
- identify content requirements - what kind of "stuff" must be included to meet user needs? (content)
- specify features - what must the site do (i.e., specific functionality) to meet user needs?
- create information architecture - how will you structure the information space to allow quick and easy access to content and features?
information architecture components
- organization systems - how we categorize the content (subject, date), which determines...
- labelling systems - how we represent the information (products, history), which is reflected in...
- navigation systems - how we browse or move through information (site wide, locally, supplemental), which are supported by...
- search systems - how we search for information (execute a query).
organization systems
- schemes:
- exact organizational schemes (well-defined, mutually exclusive):
- alphabetical (white pages)
- chronological
- geographical
- ambiguous organizational schemes (ill-defined, overlapping):
- topical (yellow pages)
- task-oriented (register, buy, edit)
- audience-specific (investors, publishers, employees)
- exact organizational schemes (well-defined, mutually exclusive):
- structures:
- linear - "a" follows "b"
- hypertext - nonlinear, flexible, but potentially confusing
- hierarchy - top down; breadth and depth
labeling systems
- obvious way of showing users your organization and navigation systems
- we have options when choosing our labels for navigation elements:
- main page, home, home page
- search, find, browse
- products, catalogue, shop
- help, frequently asked questions, faq
- news, what's new
- about, about us, who we are
- labels as headings - are actualy a key part of your navigation system (see below)
- ultimately, choosing labels is about helping your user understand what's available and how they can access it
navigation systems
- one of the key factors in website design
- navigation design goals:
- tell people what's on the site and how to get there - use meaningful labels!
- tell people where they are and how the pieces are related
- give people something to hold on to - make it persistent, repetitive
- give people confidence that we know what we’re doing - helping them find stuff leaves a good impression
- tell people what you have on your site and how to find it
- tell people where they are and how to get back
- flavours of navigation:
- global/main navigation
- local navigation
- supplementary navigation - shortcuts
- contextual navigation - inline
- courtesy navigation
- remote navigation - a-z index, sitemap
- the design challenge is to accommodate various levels of navigation without overwhelming the content
in-class exercise
Your instructor will divide you into groups to complete the following tasks:
- Review the client brief for WidgetWerks Inc.
- Work as a group to brainstorm all the content and features you feel would be needed on the new site to meet the business objectives and needs of the user groups (note: don't organize yet!).
- Using your master content/feature list, organize and label the content as you see fit, creating a final sitemap or blueprint
- Based on your sitemap, create a wireframe depicting the new homepage and how it would accommodate the new site features.
- You will be asked to briefly present your organizational structure in class.