Process of Information Design

Effective communication is the very essence of information design. (Baer, 13) The process of information design contains few steps that can make the design effective.

STEP #1:

The first step of the Information Design process is to determine who the targeted audience is. A good way to do this is by asking some of the basic questions: What do you want to achieve? Who will use it? Where will they use it? When will they use it? Why will they use it? And how will they use it? Finding the answers to these questions you will be able to adequately develop a strategy for the rest of the process. 

 

STEP #2:

The second step is to create and present a creative brief. Kim Baer defines it as a “short document that typically runs anywhere from two to ten pages, depending on the scope of the project.  This document outlines the pertinent information about the project so that the entire team has a clear sense of the project’s background and goals” (Baer, 50) It gets the entire team up to speed on the project background and goals. The brief usually contains four parts. “The creative brief acts as a single point of communication to ensure that everyone is on the same page as the project moves forward.” – (Baer, 52)

STEP #3: 

The third step in the process of Information Design is to determine persona and scenarios. All of your data now comes into play as described by Kim Baer, “A persona is a brief profile of a typical user that outline attributes, desires, needs, habits, and capabilities of a typical user” (Baer,58). It is an important step that helps the team understands the target audiences better and also helps the designers better understand how the audience reacts to the design.

STEP #4: 

The final step of the Information Design process is coming up with a prototype. A prototype is a model that gives you an idea about how the final product of your information design process will look like. Once a prototype is created then begins testing of design. Different types of testing techniques are used such as concept tests, participatory design, focus groups, usability testing, and beta testing.

Reference:

Baer, Kim. Information Design Workbook. Beverly: Rockport Publishers, Inc., 2009. Print.
Cross, Neal. Information Design Course, Empire State College. 2012.

The Wayfinding Theory of Information Design

In the study of Information Design there are five different methodology theories that try to describe what Information Design is. The theory I chose to focus on is Romedi Passini theory of “sign-posting” or “wayfinding.”

Passini said “Information Design is communication by words, pictures, charts, graphs, maps, pictogram, and cartoons, whether by conventional or electronic means.” (Jacobson, 84) In his theory he introduces the concept of wayfinding, which “refers to the cognitive and behavioral abilities associated with purposefully reaching a desired physical destination”.  It includes three major processes the decision making, the decision execution, and the information processing required making and executing the decisions. (Jacobson, 88)

 In today's fast paced world, we all want to know where we stand right now, and what is the quickest way to reach the desired destination without getting lost? The objective of information design for wayfinding is not to design signs but to help people move efficiently to their chosen destinations.” (Jacobson, 88) Following are some of the examples of wayfinding theory:

These are all example of wayfinding from our everyday life.

 

Pros:

Wayfinding does not have to be just signs, can also be architectural and spacial features that guide users. (Jacobson, 90)

Use little text yet the information is delivered through proper and easy to understand visual.

Cons:

Wayfinding is complex. A designer needs to worry about distractions where users are in motion. (Jacobson, Page 91)

 it is often hard to get the graphic designer and architectural planner to work together. This can create flaws in the design. (Jacobson, 95)

This theory can be applied to blog environment although it is not a physical destination as defined by traditional wayfinding, it is digital destination. Being the designer of this blog I will try to use properly designed menus and hyperlinks and properly labeled post titles and other information that will allow the visitors of the blog to easily navigate and gain the access to their desired information.

References:

Jacobson, Robert. Information Design. Massachusetts: The MIT Press, 2000. Print.