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Presented at the Software East Meetup in Cambridge on 20 March, 2014. My blog post on the same topic can be found at: http://twigkit.com/blog/2013/11/07/information-wayfinding.html
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Information WayfindingB Y T Y L E R TAT E
We are drowning in information.
“What information consumes is rather obvious: it consumes the attention of its recipients. Hence a wealth of information creates a poverty of attention, and a need to allocate that attention efficiently among the over-abundance of information sources that might consume it.”
— Herbert Simon
How can we make ever-growing volumes
of information accessible and useful to
people without overwhelming them?
1. Think of information as an environment.
2. Understand how people find their way through such information environments.
3. Design for efficient wayfinding.
The Information Environment
1
"Mankind evolved in a world of space and
time. Our memories evolved to record events
that transpire in space and time. Modern
attempts to externalise and enlarge that
memory should not, and probably need not,
neglect its spatiotemporal dimensions.”
— George A. Miller, 1968
“We must consider not just the city as a thing
itself, but the city being perceived by its
inhabitants.”
— Kevin Lynch
Paths
Edges
Districts
Nodes
Landmarks
The EnvironmentA place someone goes to seek information in order
to satisfy an information need.
Districts
Layers
Nodes
DistrictsThe primary categories into which an environment
can be logically divided.
LayersSecondary categories which describe a specific
facet of a given node.
NodesPrecise points in the environment (that we might
otherwise refer to as a Web page, document, or record).
Wayfinding Behaviour2
Wayfinding is the collection of cognitive
processes people use to navigate physical
environments.
Information wayfinding is the collection of
cognitive processes people use to navigate
information environments.
Locate
Explore
Q1
Q2
Q3
Q4
Q5 Q6
Q7
Meander
1. Locate
2. Explore
3. Meander
Principles for a New Architecture
3
Structured Districts
Flexible Layers
Positional Cues
Survey Knowledge
Clear Paths
Coherent Interaction
1. Structured Districts
2. Flexible Layers
3. Positional Cues
4. Survey Knowledge
5. Clear Paths
6. Coherent Interaction
How can we make ever-growing volumes
of information accessible and useful to
people without overwhelming them?
1. Think of information as an environment, not pages.
2. Understand how users find their way through such information environments.
3. Design for efficient wayfinding, particularly by integrating search and browse.
DesigningTheSearchExperience.com
twigkit.com/blog
vimeo.com/78578346
@TylerTate
Information WayfindingB Y T Y L E R TAT E
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