Information design using card sorting. Written by James Robertson, published February 19th, 2001 Categorised under: articles, usability & information architecture At the beginning of any information design exercise, it is normal to be confronted by a very long list of potential subjects to include. The challenge is to organise this information in a way that is useful and meaningful for the users of the system. While careful investigation and analysis of the information may reveal some clues, it can be virtually impossible to determine which topics should be grouped together. The difficulty in organising the content stems from a lack of knowledge about how real users make use of this information. Without this, any exercise in information design is a purely theoretical one.
A card sorting session can go a long way towards resolving this problem. What is card sorting? In essence, card sorting works as follows: Write down each topic on a filing (index) card. Why use this method? There are a number of benefits to using card sorting: Information Architecture Institute: Library. Education Research Resources Translations Information Architecture Institute: Library IA Library Introduction to IARecently AddedSearch the LibraryAbout the Library Browse by: SubjectResource TypeAuthorLanguageAll Resources Information Architecture Library Welcome to the IA Library. Introduction to Information Architecture A select list of introductory resources that serve as a great starting point for anyone new to the field.
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