Information Architecture for Designers: Structuring Websites for Business Success [ILLUSTRATED] (Hardcover)

~ Peter Van Dijck (Author) "Information architecture is a new field in the web design..." (more)
Key Phrases: designing functionality, information architect, pottery barn kids, Semiconductor Research Corporation, Las Vegas, Wednesday June (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description

This must-read text for all web designers delivers vital information on how to employ information architecture to create intelligent sites that produce hard sales. In today’s drastically reduced web market, measurable business returns are essential to clients and this book equips the designer with the tools to deliver the goods.

Information Architecture is low on theory, high on practice. It contains practical examples, how-to’s, do’s and don’ts and ready-to-use templates, illustrating concepts, tools and deliverables that can be used immediately in real life by anyone responsible for designing web sites. Practical explanations and tips are illustrated with case studies from industry leaders like IBM and Microsoft, and clear explanations of the latest cutting-edge research from the academic world.

Readers can also access a web site where all the model templates explained in the book are ready for use, and a free sample chapter and free access to a sample templates are available.

About the Author

Peter van Dijck gained his arts teaching degree in Belgium, an MA in photography and a second in Ethnography from the UK’s Open University. He has been senior information architect and interface designer for various high profile, corporate web sites and has also contributed to online publications including m-commerceworld.com. He lives and works in New York.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 160 pages
• Publisher: Rotovision; illustrated edition edition (August 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 2880467314
• ISBN-13: 978-2880467319
• Product Dimensions: 10.6 x 9.2 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #801,062 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars As the title says, it's for designers, November 14, 2006

By	Michael Betts (San Francisco, CA United States) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

I am a web professional, with a background in writing. As the name implies, Van Dijck's book is geared toward those with a need to know the basic ideas and practices behind IA, without requiring a great depth of knowledge. It would be useful for copywriters, designers, project managers, account managers and others who work with or must dabble in information architecture. Exhaustive it's not - I read 75% of the book in about 3 readings. But that's just about what I was looking for and it lays a framework for diving deeper in areas of personal interest. Kind of like good IA, don't you think?

6 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Visually stunning, but not much useful content, March 31, 2006

By	Junius Gunaratne (Irvine, CA USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Not surprisingly this book takes a visual approach to explain information architecture. The layout and design of the book is superb and there are lots of nice visuals that diagram information architecture processes. Unfortunately, there's not much to be said about the actual content of this book. I found it to be too simplistic with generalizations about the obvious (e.g. design for your users, not the business experts or developers creating the site). This book is for beginners with no background in IA or design. Try Information Architecture by Louis Rosenfeld and Peter Morville for a comprehensive overview of what IA is about--it's not as pretty though.