Author: Laura Aschbacher

When the information architecture is in place you will gradually start with the visualisation process. The information architecture tells you where to put your information and how it is connected to but not how it is visualized in a way that the user can understand the connections. At this point, creating a visual hierarchy is important. You can create visual structure with different shapes, sizes, textures etc. (see below)

Most mobile applications will have buttons that need to be touched so that the user can interact properly with the data. Therefore, the size of buttons should be suited for touch and they should ideally be positioned in the lower half of the screen due to the increasing size of smartphone displays. (see below)

When you are creating a visual structure for your application, you should also write a style-guide that encompasses the colours you are using, details about the font you are using and how design elements are used correctly.

Sources:

https://uxstudioteam.com/ux-blog/screen-design/
https://www.springboard.com/blog/ux-design-principles/

Around 410 million tons of paper and cardboard are produced and consumed worldwide each year. The per capita consumption in Austria is around 218 kilos per year – that is approx. 4.2 kilos a week. This amount is about four times the global average (56.5 kilos). In the USA the consumption is 219 kilos, the European average is158 kilos and in Africa it is only 7.7 kilos per capita. Austria is thus one of the frontrunners in paper consumption, the EU and the US together consume around 37% of the world’s paper production.

Forests are not only the “lungs of the world” (they bind CO2 and release oxygen) and home to two thirds of all animal and plant species, they are also pollutant filters, regulate the water balance and stabilize the earth’s climate. The paper industry is the world’s fifth largest energy consumer, which needs more water than any other industry and threatens the livelihood of people and animals with its hunger for resources. 20 football fields disappear every minute and 40% of industrial forestry goes to the paper industry.

In recent years the smartphone has become a loyal companion in everyday life with increasing functionality. By 2014 most people in the industrialised world had a smartphone with the ability to download data depending on their needs. Since then print media have become obsolete in their use, because the fast-paced world of today is in need of a medium that transfers information worldwide within seconds and this information can be updated at any given moment. A mobile application, which makes use of the internet, is a powerful medium that can be used to transfer information instantaneously and it is also a viable antidote to deforestation for paper production.

Sources:

https://www.umweltberatung.at/papierverbrauch-steigt-weiter-an
https://de.statista.com/statistik/daten/studie/483406/umfrage/kohlendioxid-emissionen-bei-der-herstellung-von-papier-und-pappe-in-deutschland/
https://www.kartenmacherei.de/digitalisierung-in-der-familie/#kinder

It is important to organize information so that it is easily understandable for the user and intuitively usable. Then the user will stay engaged and nothing stands in the way of using the app frequently and efficiently. Especially an app for a conference programme needs a good structure, because it contains many layers of information. Here are the 8 principles of IA aplied to mobile applications: 

The principle of objects:

Content should be treated as a living, breathing thing. It has life-cycles, behaviors, and attributes. It needs to be clear where buttons lead  and the navigation bar should change depending on the page’s content.

The principle of choices: 

More is less. Keep the number of choices to a minimum. Only important Information for the user should be shown, which also depends on the buttons the user uses. 

The principle of disclosure:

Show a preview of information that will help users understand what kind of information is hidden if they dig deeper. Giving meaningful names to the buttons and other navigational elements.

The principle of examples: 

Show examples of content when describing the content of the categories. If you choose to add categories (for example to an online shop) you should add a short but meaningful description of the category.

The principle of front doors: 

Assume that at least 50% of users will use a different entry point than the home page. When developing a web application you need to test it with at least 5 users per target group. It’s important to not always start from the homepage, but from different pages like the login page. 

The principle of multiple classifications:

Offer users several different classification schemes to browse the site’s content. Make navigation from one page to the other easy and intuitive. There should be more than one way to get to the desired information.

The principle of focused navigation: 

Keep navigation simple and never mix different things. The navigational elements should be clear and understandable leaving no room for misunderstanding. 

The principle of growth: 

Assume that the content on the website will grow. Make sure the website is scalable. Don’t mix up things. Keep it organized and clean.

IA forms a skeleton of any design project. Visual elements, functionality, interaction, and navigation are built according to the information architecture principles. It’s a fact that even compelling content elements and powerful UI design can fail without appropriate IA. Technically, these terms relate to each other but they are by far not the same. IA is a blueprint of the design structure which can be generated into wireframes and sitemaps of the project. UX designers use them as basic materials so that they can plan the navigation system.

UX design means much more than content structuring. In the first place, UX designers aim at making pleasant interaction models, so that users feel comfortable using the product. Good information architecture is the foundation of efficient user experience, so IA skills are essential for designers. Effective IA makes the product easy to use but only combined with design thinking will the product bring about a powerful user experience.

Sources:

https://careerfoundry.com/en/blog/ux-design/a-beginners-guide-to-information-architecture/, https://www.gruenderszene.de/lexikon/begriffe/user-experience?interstitial, https://applikeysolutions.com/blog/designing-the-information-architecture-ia-of-mobile-apps,

The former conference program consists of dates, time, names of streams and names of the lecturers. All of the information is displayed on one sheet, which is confusing. In the app the information is well-structured so that every important information is clearly visible depending in the user’s input. As consumers, we’re accustomed to finding exactly what we need, where we expect it to be. And when we find it easily, it’s generally no coincidence. It’s usually the result of extensive user research and testing.

Information Architecture is the practice of organizing the information / content / functionality of an app or website so that it presents the best user experience it can, with information and services being easily usable and findable. These are 8 principles for optimizing an IA:

1. The principle of objects: Content should be treated as a living, breathing thing. It has life cycles, behaviors, and attributes.
2. The principle of choices: More is less. Keep the number of choices to a minimum.
3. The principle of disclosure: Show a preview of information that will help users understand what kind of information is hidden if they dig deeper.
4. The principle of exemplars: Show examples of content when describing the content of the categories.
5. The principle of front doors: Assume that at least 50% of users will use a different entry point than the home page.
6. The principle of multiple classifications: Offer users several different classification schemes to browse the site’s content.
7. The principle of focused navigation: Keep navigation simple and never mix different things.
8. The principle of growth: Assume that the content on the website will grow. Make sure the website is scalable.

This is the overview of the information architecture of the conference app:

The App solution is easily updatable and more sustainable than the paper solution. The userfriendly design helps visitors to find the Information they need. The App can be used on all mobile devices and the former version is available for iOS and Android.

Quellen:

www.eurospi.net, https://careerfoundry.com/en/blog/ux-design/a-beginners-guide-to-information-architecture/, https://applikeysolutions.com/blog/designing-the-information-architecture-ia-of-mobile-apps