Justification: Why Do We Study Information Design and Usability?

As we produce information for the Web, our primary goal should be to inform our audience—those who will access our hypertext. Thus, we study information design so we can effectively provide that information and thus meet the needs and expectations of the readers who will visit our online texts.

This blog is a collection of general information about topics that I discuss with my undergraduate students.

What is Information Design?

Information design include a variety of topics, many of which I will discuss as I work through this blog. These topics include

• researching to ensure accuracy of the information and credibility of the writer;
• applying style principles and mechanics rules to ensure that the language is correct as well as clear and concise;
• formatting text so the reader can navigate the page and find information;
• organizing information in an inverted pyramid so the most important information is provided at the beginning of the page;
• writing effective headings and subheadings to direct the reader;
• integrating design principles that are not distracting or irritating;
• considering search engine optimization—e.g., keywords, links and backlinks, analytics, metatags—to improve access to the source;
• ethically and legally presenting information and so citing sources to give credit to the owners of intellectual property and acknowledging copyright; and
• providing the reader with information and keeping the reader's attention.

The first and most important principle of information design is to remember:

It's Not about You!

As "information designers," we must remember that everything we do needs to center on someone else: our reader. We must present text that interests the reader and in such a way that we maintain the reader's attention and communicate effectively to that person.

Thus, we also study usability. Usability is not the user's ability to use something but rather how the user uses the product. Thus, when we research usability, we observe how the user accomplishes a task but we also note what unanticipated actions or uses that user may expose in using the product. In other words, we watch and learn from what the user does.

In future posts, I will write more about these topics.