Information Architecture for the World Wide Web: Designing Large-Scale Web Sites, 2nd Edition - Softcover

Louis Rosenfeld; Peter Morville

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0596000359 ISBN 13: 9780596000356

Publisher: O'Reilly Media, 2002

Synopsis

Today's web sites have moved far beyond "brochureware." They are larger and more complex, have great strategic value to their sponsors, and their users are busier and less forgiving. Designers, information architects, and web site managers are required to juggle vast amounts of information, frequent changes, new technologies, and sometimes even multiple objectives, making some web sites look like a fast-growing but poorly planned city-roads everywhere, but impossible to navigate. Well-planned informationarchitecture has never been as essential as it is now.Information Architecture for the World Wide Web, 2nd Edition, shows you how to blend aesthetics and mechanics for distinctive, cohesive web sites that work. Most books on web development concentrate on either the graphics or the technical issues of a site. This book focuses on the framework that holds the two together.This edition contains more than 75% new material. You'll find updated chapters on organization, labeling, navigation, and searching; and a new chapter on thesauri, controlled vocabularies and metadata will help you understand the interconnectedness of these systems. The authors have expanded the methodology chapters to include a more interdisciplinary collection of tools and techniques. They've also complemented the top-down strategies of the first edition with bottom-up approaches that enable distributed, emergent solutions.A whole new section addresses the opportunities and challenges of practicing information architecture, while another section discusses how that work impacts and is influenced by the broader organizational context. New case studies provide models for creating enterprise intranet portals and online communities. Finally, you'll find pointers to a wealth of essential information architecture resources, many of which did not exist a few years ago.By applying the principles outlined in this completely updated classic, you'll build web sites and intranets that are easier to navigate and appealing to your users, as well as scalable and simple to maintain. Information Architecture for the World Wide Web, 2nd Edition is a treasure trove of ideas and practical advice for anyone involved in building or maintaining a large, complex web site or intranet.

About this title

About the Author

Lou Rosenfeld is an independent information architecture consultant. He has been instrumental in helping establish the field of information architecture, and in articulating the role and value of librarianship within the field. Lou played a leading role in organizing and programming the first three information architecture conferences (both ASIS&T Summits and IA 2000). He also presents and moderates at such venues as CHI, COMDEX, Intranets, and the web design conferences produced by Miller Freeman, C|net and Thunder Lizard. He teaches tutorials as part of the Nielsen Norman Group User Experience Conference.

Peter Morville is President and Founder of Semantic Studios, a leading information architecture and knowledge management consulting firm. From 1994 to 2001, Peter was Chief Executive Officer and a co-owner of Argus Associates, a pioneering information architecture design firm with world-class clients including 3Com, AT&T, Compaq, Ernst & Young, Ford, IBM, Microsoft, Procter & Gamble, and the Weather Channel. He also served as Executive Director of the ACIA. Over the past 8 years, Peter has written and spoken extensively about information architecture, business strategy, and knowledge management. He has been interviewed by Business Week, Knowledge Management magazine, MSNBC, and the Wall Street Journal.

From the Inside Flap

Praise for Information Architecture for the World Wide Web, 2nd Edition

"It's been well worth the wait! This much expanded second version provides a holistic perspective on information architecture – something that wasn't possible earlier on when the concept was just beginning to be raised in the web space. It will be the starting place and the core reference resource for practicing and future information architects, as well as their managers. I highly recommend it to anyone who wants to make their ideas become real, and most importantly, of value to their end-user community." -- Mary Lee Kennedy, Microsoft

"In the first edition, Lou and Peter examined the emergence of a new species of technical professional -- the IA. In this second edition, they expose the complex electronic ecosystem in which IA now exist. With wit, wisdom, and a pinch of whimsy, they give you what you need to be or work with an architect of the wired world." - Bob Boiko, Lecturer, University of Washington iSchool & President, Metatorial Services Inc.

"What's big and throbbing? Your headache. It's caused by the uncontrollable flood of web pages that you have to deal with, day after day. The pain you feel is the result of a web site that lacks structure and is getting more and more out of control. You want relief? The 2nd Edition of Information Architecture for the World Wide Web is the cure." -- John S. Rhodes, WebWord.com -- Industrial Strength Usability

"The world will be a better place when web designers read this book. It's smart, funny, and artfully distills years of the authors' hard-won experience. Information Architecture is unlike any other book on web design I know in that it tackles political/organizational challenges as well as content, structure and user interface. This is not design-lite, but a deep treatment of fundamental issues of information presentation that advances the state of the art. Light years ahead of the competition." -- Bonnie Nardi, co-author of Information Ecologies: Using Technology with Heart, MIT Press, 1999.

"If you are developing large-scale Web sites with a complex information architecture, this book will explain everything you need. Rosenfeld and Morville define the art and science of information architecture. This book is beneficial for both the novice or the experienced professional. Once again, Rosenfeld and Morville have written the Bible of information architecture. This book should be on every Web developer's bookshelf." -Cameron Barrett, Design Technologist, camworld.com

"Clearly written, a powerful use of simple metaphors to make complex points. Restores information management to its rightful place in management thinking." - Dave Snowden, Director of the Cynefin Centre for Organisational Complexity IBM Global Services

"Perhaps the only good thing about the dot.com bust is that it finally gave Lou [Rosenfeld] and Peter [Morville] time to finish their long awaited second edition of THE best book on Web design. As a reward for our patience, they've added tons of things they've learned in the intervening years, expanding it into the definitive book on Information Architecture. If you build Web sites, you need a copy on your bookshelf." - Steve Krug, Author of Don't Make Me Think: A Common Sense Approach to Web Usability

"In this definitive text for the emerging profession of information architecture, Rosenfeld and Morville provide a wealth of experience-based examples and guidance for practitioners and students alike." – Gary Marchionini, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

Edition details

• Publisher: O'Reilly Media
• Publication date: 2002
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0596000359
• ISBN 13: 9780596000356
• Binding: Paperback
• Edition number: 2
• Number of pages: 486