Information Design
summary | detail
Information design is creating usable information for a particular purpose—choosing words and images that guide users to accurate understanding of content, successful task completion, or grasp of new concepts and ideas. Websites, contextual instruction, user documentation, and technical and marketing literature can all benefit from information design. Information design involves several steps, including:
- Define audiences—Identify audiences for your product or information, define their importance to the organization, prioritize the audiences (primary, secondary, or peripheral), and list characteristics and information goals for each audience.
- Develop an information plan—Develop an information outline or storyboard, including:
- Information structure (topics and flow of interaction)
- Information types and formats (instructions, directions, forms, articles, audio narration, animated demos, troubleshooting algorithms)
- Elements of information (headings, titles, paragraphs, definitions, index entries, diagrams, bulleted lists)
- Media and presentation formats (print, hypertext, software, audio, video, animation, CD, tape, film, photographs, kiosk, website, lecture, live demonstration)
- Create samples—Develop sample information pieces to ensure that style and terminology work for target audiences
- Revise content—Develop, review, and revise content until it meets audience and organizational needs
Information design must consider:
Designing Information for Usability
Designing usable information means planning the access, presentation, flow, and support of information for particular uses. Because more and more information is available in electronic rather than print format, information design must account for visual user interfaces, interactive and non-linear access to information, rigorous cross-referencing, and highly individualized or random patterns of information access and use.
In addition, user interfaces are now expected to incorporate instructions for use and access. Such instructions must be visible, accessible, legible, and usable.
Information interfaces must combine usability of interaction and features with content information design to create usable, useful applications and services. Information design incorporates aspects of usability, information architecture, technical communication, and visual design, employing user-centered design principles at the content level as well as the system and structural design level. Information design principles and techniques are coupled with usability principles and techniques to plan and develop information structures, features, functions, and specific user supports such as contextual help and knowledge bases.
Specific design techniques that improve information usability include:
- Grouping of related information
- Organizing and labeling information for coherent non-linear access
- Redundant presentation of information (saves time and speeds access)
- Matching order or flow of information to user task flow
- Using familiar terminology
- Providing immediate, transparent access to mission-critical or frequently needed information
User interfaces and information structures provide varying degrees of information at successive levels, depending on how audiences are defined and prioritized. Functional labeling is the base-level information element. Richer information elements, available as high-level content, include surface text instruction, descriptions and definitions, introductory paragraphs or sections, and links to submerged (secondary, more detailed) instruction and information. Second-level information can link to third-level instruction or information, such as animated demos, detailed explanations, or samples.
Testing Information for Usability
Usability testing explores how well the information elements serve user needs and how best to provide access to them. Such research evaluates how successfully users can perform tasks with applications and services—and how quickly and well they grasp key content. Usability testing of information design touches all information elements that impact the successful use of information and considers the audience, goals, media, and distribution methods for information. The more important an information element is, the more strongly it figures in usability studies and the more carefully it must be investigated and evaluated.
Related Topics
- Technical Communication
- Marketing Communication
- Information Architecture Design
- Interaction Design
- Visual Design
- Usability Testing
Related Tec-Ed Papers or Publications
- Combining Usability Research with Documentation Development for Improved User Support [PDF version 292KB]
- Helping Users to Use Help: Results from Two International Conference Workshops [PDF version 330KB]
- The Best of Both Worlds: Combining Usability Testing and Documentation Projects [PDF version 144KB]
For help with defining an information design project or if you have questions about Tec-Ed’s services, please contact Barbra Wells at barbra@teced.com.
