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 information architecture 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.

Amazon.com® Reader Reviews (Ranked by Helpfulness)

Average Amazon.com® Rating:  Based on 108 Ratings

Too Little Useful Information - 2009-03-20
Reviewer Rating:
Lot of text, nicely written, easy read, finished the book in one hour.

Not much useful

Gained almost nothing from the book. where can I get my money back ?

A book that defines a new field in the digital world. - 2009-02-23
Reviewer Rating:
I did not know the astounding amount of intersection between Library Science and Web Site Design until I read this book. If you design big web sites, corporate intranets, or other information sources you owe it to your users to read this book.

The first part of the book starts with a gentle, but cogent introduction to the nascent field of Information Architecture. Part two looks at ways of organizing information for web sites (e.g. taxonomies, controlled vocabularies, thesauri). The next three parts give you ways to implement Information Architecture in a variety of contexts (e.g. corporate, world wide web) with different methodologies and processes. The last part is also very helpful in that gives you two case studies, one being for Microsoft's intranet.

The authors are experienced in the IT world and steeped in knowledge of Library Science. Broaden your horizons in IT by reading this important book.

Easy to understand - 2008-10-31
Reviewer Rating:
One thing I found great about this book is the way it backs up its arguments with proper evidence with real-time examples. It would put an explanation (for example about labeling and navigation) then introduce a site and analyze it from that particular perspective.

For someone who wants to know how information architecture works, this is a great book. But be careful. This books focuses heavily on the world wide web part (well it said it would) so make sure you keep that in mind if you were looking for general knowlede about information architecture.

A Poorly Organized Book About Organizing Information - 2009-11-05
Reviewer Rating:
Morville and Rosenfeld managed to sum up a very complex and difficult topic into about 500 pages of text. The humorous authors took an interesting approach to help readers understand the world of information architecture. Starting with the basics and working their way to the complicated material, Morville and Rosenfeld teach readers how to organize information on the web to make websites readable, searchable, usable and of course informative. They guide readers through a step by step process showing them what to do and why to do it in order to make their website more profitable.

The two authors made learning this complex, ambiguous topic simple by providing readers with plenty of familiar anecdotes, charts, examples and analogies. They draw readers in by talking to them as if they were there in person, and then take their time to explain each subject.

However, the organization of this book made it difficult to read. The sections jumped from definition of concepts, to elements of concepts and then to a step by step guide to information architecture. I often found myself confused and having to look back to remember what they were talking about. This made the how to confusing.

All in all, this book was able to tell me what to do and why I should do it when crafting the information of my website. But I still don't know how...

a required text for my graduate seminar in IA at UCLA - 2009-10-13
Reviewer Rating:
This book is the "Aha!" for many librarians ready to bring their game to the 21st century. Lou and Peter have created a solid introduction to the practice and profession of information architecture. Along with Dan Brown's book on deliverables (Communicating Design) and Peter Block's book (Flawless Consulting), this is the required reading for my graduate seminar in Information Architecture at UCLA's library school. And we read the entire thing in the first three weeks.

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Human-Computer Interaction
Internet/Online

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Human-Computer Interaction > Information Architecture
Internet/Online > Web Design
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