Information Architecture: Definitions and Scopes

Abstract

Information architecture is an exciting area of study that is growing in importance in academics, industry, as well as everyday life. As we all interact with technology everyday— websites, search engines, mobile apps, smart car apps, or smart home devices, why do we have a good experience with some of them but not others? Who creates and designs these things that make our life pleasant (or miserable)? How can we structure information in a usable way so that we can all find it when we need it? Clearly, it is valuable to study the “space” between technologies, human cognitive abilities, information content, and the context of use. Enter Information Architecture (IA), which now is becoming an emerging interdisciplinary field that is rooted in website design, information design, user experience design, information organization, information access, and information use.