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MASC609 - Information Architecture

Course Description

Class Time:  Weekly, Thursday @ 1:30 – 4:30 P.M.
Classroom:  Computer Lab

Information may “want to be free,” but if it’s not presented in useful ways it’s just a bunch of noise. Just as a building constructed without a solid foundation will crumble no matter how pretty the stuff you hang on the walls, messages presented without a solid architecture will crumble. Fluency in Information Architecture will support pretty much everything you do in the Creative Technology track, and is necessary for success in agency or consulting life. This is why it’s part of the core curriculum for the Creative Technology track.

This course will familiarize you with the common elements and theories of information systems, but more importantly will focus on the practical artifacts of IA – the research and deliverables that you and others with whom you work will need to ideate and execute brilliantly.

Although we will be working with Web based projects, this is not a Web design class. To quote one of the class texts, “Graphic design is NOT information architecture. Software development is NOT information architecture. Usability engineering is NOT information architecture. Information architecture [is] the structural design of shared information environments; the combination of organization, labeling, search, and navigation systems within web sites and intranets; the art and science of shaping information products and experiences to support usability and findability” (Morville & Rosenfeld).

We will be focusing on supporting experiences by synthesizing the opportunities, challenges, needs and expectations to be found in the circles of Context, Content, and Users.

 

INFO

Required Texts

  1. Morville, Peter and Rosenfeld, Louis, Information Architecture for the World Wide Web, 3rd Edition (2007), O’Reilly ISBN: 978-0-596-52734-1
  2. Brown, Dan M., Communicating Design – Developing Web Site Documentation for Design and Planning, 2007, New Riders / Peachpit Press ISBN: 978-0-321-39235-0

Recommended Texts (strongly recommended!)

  1. Van Duyne, Douglas K., Landay, James A., Hong, Jason I., The Design of Sites Patterns for Creating Winning Web Sites, 2nd Edition (2007), Prentice Hall ISBN: 0-13-134555-9
  2. Nielsen, Jakob and Loranger, Hoa, Prioritizing Web Usability 2006, New Riders / Peachpit Press ISBN: 0-321-35031-6
  3. Buxton, Bill, Sketching User Experiences – Getting the Design Right and the Right Design, 2007, Morgan Kaufman Publishers / Elsevier ISBN: 978-0-12-374037-3

 

 

 

 

Grading

Reading and Small Assignments

There will be regular readings in the course texts, as well as additional texts to be distributed or found on the Web. There will be a few small papers, and lots of in-class discussion on the readings. Come prepared to participate.

Projects

In the course of the course you’ll tackle four (4) projects, at least one of which will be a group project. These will be based around research and documentation for a marketing microsite, an e-commerce site, a widget of some sort, and a social network site. You will also have a final project. It is possible that this final project may be associated with work that you need to do for another course. Details on the projects and requirements will be distributed in class.

Course Objectives and Outcomes

On the successful completion of this course, students are expected to be able to:

    • Understand principles in user-centered information design and information architecture
    • Apply these principles in ideation and execution, working singly and in teams
    • Perform reasonable research required for project success
    • Evaluate and critique existing architectures
    • Create artifacts of information architecture
    • Ably present and justify IA insights

    Grading

    • Satisfactory completion of assignments -- 75%
    • Student class and group participation -- 25%

     

     

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