Information Architecture: Information architecture (IA) is a crucial aspect of user experience (UX) design that focuses on organizing and structuring information within a digital product or platform to enhance user understanding, navigation, and overall satisfaction. IA plays a pivotal role in creating intuitive, efficient, and user-friendly interfaces, ensuring that users can easily find and interact with the content they seek.
Here are 5 great examples of Information Architecture
Another great read to be followed:
Accessibilities:
Creating a product design that takes every range of ability into account can be incredibly difficult. Thankfully, there are services and apps designed to help bridge the gap. For example, one service that’s recently been added by phone providers is Real-Time Texting, which lets users text during a phone call to improve communication.
Another feature that helps people with disabilities is alternative text. People who have low vision or are blind often rely on screen readers to read the content on their screens aloud. But, if your informational icons don’t have labels or alternative text, the screen reader can’t describe the functionality of that button to the user. Not every image or icon is informational, so only include descriptions when necessary.
Researching and learning about assistive technology will help you better understand the impact these technologies have. Here are a few links to help you get started:
- Discussing the value of disability technology: Disability Technology
- How accessibility in technology changes lives: How the Blind Use Technology to See The World
- An explanatory guide for phone accessibility: Smartphone accessibility: a comprehensive guide from Uswitch
- Google’s accessibility information hub homepage
Putting inclusive design into practice
To put inclusive design into practice, it’s important to immerse yourself in the assistive technology that people with disabilities might use and to have conversations with them about their experiences. The best way to design empathetically for the world around you is to engage with your users and ask them questions about the way your designs could help them succeed.
To learn more about inclusive design, here are some additional resources to get you started:
- Describing ways to design products inclusively: Inclusive Design: 12 Ways to Design for Everyone from Shopify
- Google’s accessible approach to inclusive design: An Accessible Process for inclusive Design from Google I/O
- Breaking down important inclusive design principles: 6 Principles for Inclusive Design from UX Planet