Information Architecture (IA) Fundamentals

Everything you need to know — from what content should be presented to what it’s called to how it’s organized!

Bestseller

Created byJoe Natoli

Last updated 9/2024

English

What you'll learn

Develop an IA that clearly illustrates the depth of content, its organization and priority.
Label and organize content in a way that makes sense to users.
Rules and methods for organizing the content and flow of a website, app or system.
Identify and diagram the content workflows critical to your product’s success.
Work with clients or stakeholders to find out how content should be edited, approved and published.
Extend an IA to logical structures and naming conventions of the code files that make the product reality.
Make sure your content — and its organization — is relevant, appropriate and useful.
Organize the content and flow of any kind of website, app or system.
The five core types of IA models, and when to use each type.
Five ways to organize and categorize content types that always apply, no matter what you’re creating.
The best way to test and validate your IA with clients, stakeholders and users.
How to use IA work to develop primary, secondary, global and local navigation.
How to determine key navigation paths and test their appropriateness.
My tips for rock-solid IA, based on nearly three decades working with the biggest brands in the world.

Course content

6 sections • 29 lectures • 2h 11m total length

What IS Information Architecture?2:57
Organize the content, screens, and workflows to shape how users experience a website, and explore the four core components—organizational structure, labeling systems, navigation, and search.
Architecture: Creating a Solid Foundation5:02
Information architecture shapes how content is organized, labeled, navigated, and searched to meet user expectations. A sitemap visually proves this strategy, while IA governs the content structure.

Creating Strategic Content5:52
Content forms the foundation of information architecture and should be strategic, relevant, appropriate, and useful, speaking the user’s language, telling the truth, and guiding action.
Identifying Content Requirements7:24
Identify content requirements by naming creators, editors, and managers, and decide update responsibilities within the information architecture. Assess content types, multimedia display, navigation, and form factors for usefulness and findability.
Exercise: Identifying Content Workflows9:42
Identify and map content workflows by engaging content stakeholders to define roles, tasks, and dependencies, then diagram the publishing process to optimize CMS use and SEO-ready workflows.

First: My Tips for Successful Information Architecture12:50
Identify and socialize content early, secure client approval before design, and center IA on user needs by considering physical, environmental, preferential, emotional, and cognitive contexts, matching user terminology.
Creating & Prioritizing IA3:30
Organize, categorize, and label content to create information architecture models that communicate value, prioritize categories and labels, and guide navigation, taxonomy, and file naming for websites, apps, and CMS.
Naming and Labeling Content7:40
Label content with clear, descriptive terms and intuitive navigation to boost user confidence and reduce cognitive effort. Avoid jargon and model numbers, and test labels with users via tree testing.
Naming and Labeling Files7:08
Align file and directory names with your information architecture model's categories and labels to create a clear, navigable structure that boosts consistency and seo.
Grouping and Classifying Content3:00
Learn how to group and classify content, build hierarchy, and choose effective ordering methods such as chronological, alphabetical, geographical, most popular, and process order.
Exercise: Determining Information Priority5:50
This example demonstrates establishing information priority by listening to actual users, revealing that FAQs and services outrank events, and guiding content architecture and prioritization accordingly.
Exercise: Turning Information Priority Into an IA Model4:01
Turn information priority into an information architecture (IA) model by shaping navigation with questions and answers and plans, services, and docs, using progressive disclosure to reveal details and reduce noise.

Which IA Model is Right for My Site (or App or System)?2:36
Evaluate information architecture models to find the best fit for your audience, content, and devices, balancing navigation and content for mobile contexts.
The Hierarchical Tree Model1:06
Explore the hierarchical tree model as a top-down category structure for content-heavy sites, using progressive disclosure to unfold context and support multiple routes, while noting its link-heavy limits on mobile.
The Nested List Model0:55
Explore the nested list model, a linear mobile navigation pattern that uses tap or swipe to reveal sub lists and detail content, guiding from broad to narrow.
The Hub-and-Spoke Model1:03
Discover the hub-and-spoke model, a central hub launches exploration to separate spokes. Return to the hub to reach other sections, saving space and boosting task-based efficiency.
The Bento Box Model1:51
The bento box model uses a dashboard-style, single multi-purpose screen that aggregates dynamic content from sources and third-party services, revealing layered information as users navigate between videos, data, and settings.
The Filtered View Model1:12
Explore how a filtered view model uses a single dataset to support multiple user controlled views and sorting options, with filtering at each step to focus on what matters.
Combining IA Models1:46
Explore when to combine IA models, such as hierarchical browsing and hub-and-spoke patterns, and learn to mix them appropriately—avoiding a single self-contained site to prevent user confusion.
Tools for Creating IA Models3:39
No single right tool exists; use what's available to create IA models and socialize them with clients. Small sites suit word processing; larger sites benefit from visual diagramming.
Socializing Your IA: Validating Decisions and Getting Approval8:21
Socialize information architecture and validate decisions with tree testing and card sorting; observe find-it scenarios to prove how easily users locate content for approval.
Snack Break: Create and Prioritize Your Own IA Model1:28
Create, prioritize, and label your own information architecture model by considering content, order, categorization, and user-friendly labels that guide the decision path and initial views.

Overview: Navigation Design0:55
Explore how to design website navigation across simple to multi-level architectures and different user states. Learn a concrete process to determine an appropriate navigation organization.
Primary and Secondary Navigation3:52
Balance primary and secondary navigation to spotlight core offerings and calls to action, while placing about us and faq in secondary, with importance shifting by audience and goals.
Global and Local Navigation4:15
Explore global and local navigation and learn how persistent menus guide across pages while context-specific category navigation smooths browsing and reduces cognitive load.
Navigation Design for Different User Types4:35
Design navigation that adapts to user states and membership levels, detailing access, content differences, and actions to take for logged-out and logged-in experiences.
Validating Your Navigation Scheme6:00
Validate your navigation by maintaining strong information scent across paths, guiding users like Julia to relevant content, and applying the trunk test to answer key wayfinding questions.
Determining Key Navigation Paths10:12
Identify valuable outcomes and map the key navigation paths to deliver value for users and the business, prioritizing routes like login, fast track, quick purchase, and search.

Requirements

Nothing. I speak plainly and I deal in reality; no technical terms, jargon or unnecessary acronyms here. This course is for anyone already creating digital products, and anyone completely new to all of it!

Description

Without good, relevant content, there’s no compelling reason for anyone to visit or use the site or app; without clear, understandable structure, no one can find anything! How pages or screens are divided and categorized is a direct result of Information Architecture (IA). What shows up in your navigation menus and interactive controls is a result of IA. The information on a single screen and how people move through it — and what’s connected to it — is the result of IA.

Your physical body can’t perform any task without the bones under your muscles and skin, which are designed to support those actions. In the same way, a site, app or system can’t deliver anything to anyone unless its bone structure — it’s Information Architecture — is specifically designed to support those tasks.

Information Architecture Fundamentals walks you through everything you need to know — from determining what content should be presented to what it’s called to how it’s organized and what format it’s delivered in. Taken from Joe Natoli's popular UX & Web Design Master Course taken by more than 7,000 students, these laser-focused lessons will show you how to:

Develop an IA that clearly illustrates the depth of content, its organization and priority.
Label and organize content in a way that makes sense to users.
Rules and methods for organizing the content and flow of a website, app or system.
Identify and diagram the content workflows critical to your product’s success.
Work with clients or stakeholders to find out how content should be edited, approved and published.
Extend an IA to the logical structures and naming conventions of the code files that make the product reality.
Make sure your content — and its organization — is relevant, appropriate and useful.
The five core types of IA models, and when to use each type.
Five ways to organize and categorize content types that always apply, no matter what you’re creating.
The best way to test and validate your IA with clients, stakeholders and users.
How to use IA work to develop primary, secondary, global and local navigation.
How to determine key navigation paths and test their appropriateness
My tips for rock-solid IA, based on nearly three decades working with some of the biggest brands in the world.

Who this course is for:

Anyone responsible for the success of digital products (apps, sites, systems) — designers, developers, UX professionals, content professionals, marketing folks, project managers and product owners.

Information Architecture (IA) Fundamentals

What you'll learn

Explore related topics

Course content

Overview2 lectures • 8min

Content: Strategy, Requirements and Workflows3 lectures • 23min

Creating Successful IA: Models, Categories, Labels and Language7 lectures • 44min

The Five Types of IA Models (and Which to Use When)10 lectures • 24min

Navigation Design: Getting from Here to There (and Back Again)6 lectures • 30min

Wrapping Up: If You Forget Everything Else...1 lecture • 3min

Requirements

Description

Who this course is for: