Syntax

In this chapter we follow the history of the World Wide Web and internet, from the beginnings of the Web, to today’s Generative Generation marked by the rapid development of generative AI. We highlight major changes in this evolution and implications for Information Architects and UX Designers who are creating the future. It shows that the rapid development of generative AI will continue to reshape the evolving information spaces, fostering more innovative and creative approaches within the IA domain.

Human-centered design (HCD) is a framework that places people as the center of focus during the whole design process. Information architects (IAs) and UX designers help to create a human-centered future, where the user’s goals and needs serve as the guidelines for design and development. In this chapter, we present an overview of HCD and define the processes and teams that deliver highly effective and usable UX designs. The processes we cover involve the front end and behind the scenes work to identify people’s needs and balance them with business and technical concerns, to improve usability and maximize the outcomes of an information space.

Human information behavior (HIB) includes individual’s or group’s actions and interactions with any information system. In this chapter, we cover the main UX theories and laws that define human emotion, psychology, and cognition in information systems. We discuss how these behaviors intersect with emerging and evolving technologies, and how to apply theory to Information Architecture and UX design.

Information architecture (IA) and User Experience Design (UX) is an exciting area of study that is growing in importance in academics, industry, as well as in everyday life. As we all interact with technology—websites, search engines, mobile apps, or smart home devices, why do we have good experience with some of them but not others? Who creates and designs these things that make our life pleasant (or miserable)? How to structure information in a usable way so that we can all find it when we need it? Clearly, it is valuable to study the “space” between human cognitive abilities, information content, and the context of use. Enter Information Architecture and User Experience Design, an interdisciplinary field that is rooted in psychology, user interface design, system design, information organization, information access, and information use.

In this chapter, we look to the future of Information Architecture and UX design, including the global influences driving design around the globe, and the state of the online world today. We discuss cross-cultural theories of information systems and their implications in UX, the high stakes the rapid rise of generative AI applications brings, and the key challenges designers face in this evolving landscape. In closing, we revisit our definition of IA.

In this chapter we cover design thinking and systems thinking, two complementary human-centered approaches to system analysis and problem solving that are extremely important in today’s increasingly complex information environment. We share the concepts and outcomes in the iterative design thinking process, and a system mapping case study that gives Information Architects and UX designers a start with this powerful method. Combined with human-centered design, this chapter delivers a top-down and bottom-up approach to information system design.

Interaction Design emphasizes the interaction between people and the interface, and how all the elements come together in the context of use. In order to make sure we get the design right, we cover the main interaction design principles and design patterns. Mobile and AI are considered, and our Research to Design framework is shared to help Information Architects and UX designers use all the information available to them, and convince stakeholders to follow the data.

Our focus here is on the collaborative dynamics of IAs or UX designers. We examine how they interact with various disciplines and stakeholders in projects, generate business value, and amplify their impact within the organization. We will navigate through three interconnected topics: Design Team Models, Design Culture, and Design Processes coupled with DesignOps. These components are pivotal in ensuring that design teams not only deliver scalable solutions but also operate with efficiency and success.

Research and evaluation provide the foundation for creating human-centered information spaces. Research helps to build the right thing—the features and tools that users want, and evaluation helps make sure we build the thing right—that we deliver exceptional designs. In this chapter, we explore the main UX research methods, along with their pros and cons. Implications of research for human-centered AI is discussed, as is the impact of AI on research methods and tools.

Information architects (IAs) and UX designers spend a substantial time planning and designing organization and navigation systems. The ways people interact and navigate a website, app, or other information space greatly depends on taxonomies—content organization and relationships, and what kinds of navigation systems are implemented. In this chapter, we discuss organization and navigation designs including metadata, controlled vocabularies, tagging, and search systems.

This chapter focuses on the social media environments where libraries create and maintain a presence, and examines how social media sites differ from each other, yet work together within a social ecosphere.

Establishing a social media presence extends the library’s physical manifestation into virtual space. This chapter examines the library as situated within the virtual community, exploring issues in adapting a library’s social media presence to the unique contexts, audiences, communities, cultures and communication styles within diverse social media sites.

Looking down the road, libraries face an uncertain future driven by societal, technological and demographic changes in which the forms and functions of the library are under constant pressure to adapt to new roles and new realities.

This chapter examines how libraries are engaging with users across a variety of social media platforms and the extent to which libraries are involved in using these different social media platforms, as well as the activities of libraries in presenting a social “self,” sharing information, and interacting with users via social media.

After establishing the library’s visibility and voice in social media, the next issue is building an effective and engaging social media presence.