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Information Architecture: Blueprints for the Web
 
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Information Architecture: Blueprints for the Web [Paperback]

Christina Wodtke (Author)
4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (27 customer reviews)

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Book Description

October 26, 2002 0735712506 978-0735712508

All web sites have an architecture, whether you design one or not-just as every building has an architecture, from the lowly shanty by the railroad track to Chicago¿s tallest skyscraper. Unfortunately, most web sites are shanties, not skyscrapers. Companies that hastily threw up a web site in the dot-com boom days were visited by building inspector Jakob Neilsen, who told them their site should be condemned. But now we are entering a time of rebuilding, and we¿ve got a chance to get it right.

Information Architecture: Blueprints for the Web introduces the core concepts of information architecture: organizing web site content so that it can be found, designing web site interaction so that it's pleasant to use, and creating an interface that is easy to understand. This book will help designers, project managers, programmers, and other information architecture practitioners avoid the costly mistakes of the past by teaching the skills of information architecture swiftly and clearly. Use this book and you will pass the usability inspection with flying colors!


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Editorial Reviews

Review

"...a significant, clear and useful port in the increasing data storm..." -- Richard Saul Wurman, Author of 80 books, including Information Architects, and creator of the field of Information Architecture

"Finally, a book about the technical topics of web architecture and usability that is fun to read, informative and authoritative." -- Don Norman, Northwestern University and The Nielsen Norman Group, Author of The Design of Everyday Things

From the Back Cover

All web sites have an architecture, whether you design one or not-just as every building has an architecture, from the lowly shanty by the railroad track to Chicago's tallest skyscraper. Unfortunately, most web sites are shanties, not skyscrapers. Companies that hastily threw up a web site in the dot-com boom days were visited by building inspector Jakob Neilsen, who told them their site should be condemned. But now we are entering a time of rebuilding, and we've got a chance to get it right.

Information Architecture: Blueprints for the Web introduces the core concepts of information architecture: organizing web site content so that it can be found, designing web site interaction so that it's pleasant to use, and creating an interface that is easy to understand. This book will help designers, project managers, programmers, and other information architecture practitioners avoid the costly mistakes of the past by teaching the skills of information architecture swiftly and clearly. Use this book and you will pass the usability inspection with flying colors!


Product Details

  • Paperback: 368 pages
  • Publisher: New Riders Press (October 26, 2002)
  • Language: English
  • ISBN-10: 0735712506
  • ISBN-13: 978-0735712508
  • Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 6.9 x 0.8 inches
  • Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
  • Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (27 customer reviews)
  • Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #583,280 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews
69 of 80 people found the following review helpful
Lack of focus May 12, 2003
Format:Paperback
When reading the book I was briefly enthralled by her critical take on the standard (guru) guidelines for good site design - but it should have been a warning on what was to come: a mixing of usability, design and information architecture. Off course the three disciplines mingle in every site development, but in a book called Information Architecture it should dedicate all its pages to that subject - but all too often I find myself halfway through a chapter before realizing that it is mainly about design and usability (or even project management) and only secondly about information architecture.

Another thing that seriously degrades the focus is what I see as a shameless attempt to make the book thicker by including non relevant material. On pages describing the organizing of content she manages to use up half a page with a picture of her husband with the caption "Looks cold, doesn't he?".

She could also have spent more time organizing the book's content. With chapters named "Making It All Up, Writing It All Down", "All Together Now" and "Eat Me, Drink Me, Push Me" it is impossible to navigate in, impossible to look for some kind of principle behind the organizing of the content.

The book should have been called "Site Development: IA, Design and Usability for the newcomer".

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68 of 80 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
While well written and entertaining, the author fails in this book to present a volume with any real depth. If one is in search of a book that explains information architecture and provides some really good guidelines, this is, however, such a book.

The reader is directed to carefully plan the Web site, to commit it to paper first and to do a prototype which should then be shown to others for their input as users.

All this is fine. But she seems to thumb her nose at credible usability experts (while not naming them one senses one is Jakob Nielsen) by attempting to prove that the rules don't really matter all that much.

That would be obvious when you visit her personal Web site, ... You'll find locating links a considerable task.

I am sure she's very professional and very good at what she does. But this book did not speak to my desire to better understand usability and information architecture in a manner that I could adapt to my own work immediately. It was more of a survey of IA.

I much prefer the work and exhaustive studies of Jakob Nielson and others who provide workable ideas that have proven themselves over time. The author of this book doesn't seem to hold with their findings. And indeed, one must know the rules and then set about to improve on them. So I have no argument with her here.

My argument is that she puts no stock in the "rules" yet she fails to offer any alternatives. Had she done so, the book would have been a breakthrough read. It was not.

Susanna K. Hutcheson
Owner and Executive Copy Director
Powerwriting.com LLC

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27 of 31 people found the following review helpful
Wake up the editor! August 28, 2003
Format:Paperback
I suppose Wodtke knows everything there is to know about IA, but I not so sure about her book writing skills...

Given that she claims that "yes, it's a short book" (false modesty at 350 pages?) it's surprising to notice the number of digressions - into some pretty lame issues, perspectives and tips:

- How she got the idea of writing a book.
- What the book is not about.
- A 30 page discussion of guidelines she does not support.
- A comprehensive guide to the pros and cons of different ways to draw people, e.g. stick people.
- A note that you need a big notebook or a whiteboard and some markers if you want to do some topic mapping.
- A tip that when receiving guests you might break the ice by asking if it was easy to find the way.

Actually, I learned quite a few things by reading this book, but I call for the editor to wake up and give Wodtke some decent advise if she decides to go for a follow up. Any half decent editor could take a hundred pages out of this book in an hour, ending up with a much better read.

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Most Recent Customer Reviews
Are you just starting yours studies at IA now?
I have to ask you a question - "Are you just starting yours studies at IA now?". If yes, probably this book will help you. It's easy to read, small and fun. Read more
Published on October 20, 2006 by Bruno Ribeiro
A Good Overview of IA
I'm a web developer and have always been fascinated with the interaction of humans and web sites, and this book does an excellent job of explaining the subject in simple terms... Read more
Published on May 16, 2006 by R. Walling
Good overview/introduction to IA
This book is a pretty quick read and a very good overview/introduction to the field of information architecture and HCI methods in general. Read more
Published on May 28, 2005 by Noor Ali-hasan
insight into a true leader
this volume is an extremely valuable lesson from a true leader in the field. Wodtke provides insight into the thinking behind some of the most-used services on the Internet today.
Published on July 4, 2004 by theologybuff
It's worth taking the time to read a book like this
This book won't present shocking facts about IA but it puts in writing many things that come in handy when you have to work in this field. Read more
Published on February 19, 2004 by Luis Escalante
Another book on usability
Three first chapters are quite original. But nothing new in the rest of the book. Good ideas. But I won't say that is a basic book or a must read. Read more
Published on December 31, 2003 by Rafael Lopez Callejon
A must for those in e-learning.
While most people reading this book do so for Web development, it has absolutely amazing tenets for use in e-learning. Read more
Published on May 5, 2003 by "sonus"
very good
After having seemingly slagged off every book I read these days, I was delighted to pick up a new book and enjoy it - particularly on a subject as seemingly done-to-death as... Read more
Published on February 7, 2003 by "terryjking2"
VALUABLE FOR TAMING COMPLEX AND DIFFICULT WEB-SITES
If your headache is how to overcome maintainance problems in any type of web site, then this book will be of tremendous help to you. Read more
Published on January 30, 2003 by reviewer
the "Don't Make Me Think" of Information Architecture.
Although best read by practitioners of information architecture (or those who peripherally practice it) this book is like Steve Krug's book in that it's no-nonsense, witty, erudite... Read more
Published on January 9, 2003 by bruce lawson
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