Web and Information Design
How information design is related to the web?
Internet use has seen exponential growth over the past 5 years. Online users are leveraging the internet to research everything from doctor prescriptions to searching for the best deal for buying their next car. Companies are starting to realize that they can leverage the internet user explosion to clearly communicate their services and offerings to a broader range of potential clients. Therefor, websites can provide a strategic advantage in communicating with their clients. Because most companies today do not have the resident experience “in-house” to develop for this new communication medium, many companies choose to contract out the development to professional information/messaging architects and graphic designers.
Information Archetecture
Information Architecture was originally a term with a meaning more like what is called Information Design today. The term "Information Architecture" was found by Richard Saul Wurman, an architect and AIGA luminary. Since Information Architecture is an important aspect of web user experience design, web design professionals applied it onto high-complexity web sites.
User Experience
" User experince encompass all aspects of the end-user's interaction with the company, its services, and it's products… In order to achive high-quality user experince in the companies offerings there must be a seamless merging of the services of multiple disciplines, including engineering, marketing, graphical and industrial design, and interface design." Nielsen Norman Group, "User Experience: Our Defenition"
A good user experience balannces usefulness, usability and desirability. A user experince is all about behavior, thoughts, and feelings a person has when interacting with a product or a service. The designer's job is to make sure all of these elements are considered when designing the web site.
Uselfuness - How well the besic services, features, and functions match users needs and goals.
Usability - How well end product works and how well user can interact with it.
Disirability - The subjective, emotional responces to the web site.
User Experience and the Web.
On the web user experience even more imortent since the web site is "self-service" product. There is no manuel to support how to navigate the web site, no customer service representetive to guide you how to browse the web site. There is only the user who browses site along. Therefore it is extreamly important that the user has pleasant experince navigating the web site. Companies these days started to recognise that providing quality user experience is essential. It is users who desides if rather they want to comback to the web site and buy the product again.
