Information Architecture has always been an important part of website design; if a website is too difficult to navigate, users are unlikely to stick around. It is the IA’s job to think like a user and structure the website accordingly. IAs sometimes operate as graphic designers and often are responsible for SEO (search engine optimization), thus contributing to a rather unwieldy job description. But until relatively recently, the job of Information Architect has remained relatively stable. As the saying goes, however, the only thing that remains constant is change.
I like to think that I was a librarian in another life. Although the strict organization of every single item (heaven!) would have been a perk, the best part of such a job would be all the instances in which I could match up a reader with the perfect book—all the times I could see people’s imaginations come to life because of stories that I found for them.
Yet if you asked me what my dream job would be (and as a recent college grad, I’ve been getting that question a lot lately), I would tell you “storyteller.”
Website projects can be overwhelming for the uninitiated, but they don't have to be.
When engaging a development firm, the two parties are agreeing to work together to create a finished web product in a certain amount of time for a certain budget. There's a lot of interdependency to deliver all those things as expected, and it can be easy for things to go wrong.
This week's newsletter is about going "Back to School," so I'll start with a short bit about school.
It wasn't long ago that I was in school. It's interesting to me that I've spent two-thirds of my life in school, the majority of my time up to this point. But a person twice my age has spent two-thirds of his life out of school, his time defined by what he's done since. It's a funny thing to think about—school becomes less relevant as you get older, to the point that school has almost no relevance to a person in their 90s. Crazy.
It's not often that I have to justify or explain what I do for a living, thank goodness. The advancing prominence of digital marketing has meant this industry is no longer relegated to the ropes, taking rib shots for multiple rounds just to wear down opponents. The downside is that I'm particularly baffled when I come across a business that still views the web in parochial, even dangerous, terms.
This happened last week during a discussion about a company that relies on the decidedly aged technique of in-home sales. They pointedly refuse to allow any type of online marketing, thinking it cold and impersonal—not to mention a threat to their business model.
