Overview of Information Architecture

10.04.01:  I have now posted the particulars for Assignment Two. If you were not in class on Tuesday, October 2, and you have questions, try asking your classmates for clarifications via the email list. Also study the various maps and case studies in Kahn and Lenk, chapter 4. Even if you were in class, you might turn to each other first if you have questions about what I meant when I explained the assignment in class or questions about what I wrote on the assignment page. Of course, I think I have been perfectly clear, but you never know. I will field questions myself if you can't get enough help from each other.

09.18.01:  Because the University was closed last Tuesday, I will be revising the syllabus for the rest of the term. When I have completed that reorganization, I will post a notice here and will also send it via the email list. Essentially what will happen is that everything will be moved forward one week.

If you were not in class the first night and so did not initially receive a college site to investigate, let me know and I will assign you one. For a list of who has which site, see Assignment One.

09.11.01:  Because the University closed today at noon, we did not hold class. If you have not yet signed up for the email list, do so immediately. I have sent information about which college site each of you is to study. You can find that information repeated on the Assignment One page.

Watch this space over the next few days. I will be posting some questions about the readings for this week for us to discuss on the email list.

This is the Web site for Publications Design 756.185, Information Architecture, taught in the fall semester of 2001 by Nancy Kaplan. Watch this space for important announcements during the term. See the Syllabus for the schedule of meetings, readings and assignments. See Requirements for a list of required texts, brief descriptions of projects, and grading policies.

Information Architecture is a term coined by Richard Saul Wurman some years ago. In his 1996 book called Information Architects he defined what he meant by the term this way:

1. the individual who organizes the patterns inherent in data, making the complex clear
2. a person who creates the structure or map of information which allows others to find their personal paths to knowledge
3. the emerging 21st century professional occupation addressing the needs of the age focused upon clarity, human understanding, and the science of the organization of information

As the profession we are calling information architecture begins to grow and spread, a multidisciplinary intellectual field is also emerging. It sits at the intersection of concerns traditionally studied in rhetoric, document design, information and library sciences, visual communications, computer science, and information systems. As a new field, it is still determining its own borders and boundaries.

In this course, we will concentrate on practical and applied knowledge about this emerging professional practice but from time to time we will also venture into those more theoretical realms thorough education requires.

Like many other courses in the Publications Design program, this course will require you to work in groups for some of the assignments. It's important, then, that everyone keep up and do his or her fair share of the work. I have instituted a few policies covering prerequisite skills and expectations about deadlines to help make this course run as smoothly as possible. Deadlines are particularly vital, not only to the functioning of the course, but to your professional lives.

Technical Expertise. This course assumes that you are already proficient with standard HTML (4.0) and have learned the ins and outs of using whatever FTP software you happen to own. I will not be covering those topics in class. If you need a refresher on HTML, please consult Hypermedia: An Introduction, an extensive and comprehenisive set of notes for writing HTML. There are also plenty of textbooks, both new and used, on the subject.

By the second week of class every student will have an account on the server crow.ubalt.edu, to which you will post your work for the term. Once the account is set up, please make sure you know how to upload files and create subdirectories for your work. You should post a "home page" for your work this term so that you can update it as needed with links to your assignments. If you remember to call your home page for this course index.html, I will be able to build the course's class list so that it includes a link to your page. If you name that file something else or put it somewhere other than at the top level of your personal directory structure on crow, the link I create won't work and no one will be able to find your stuff. This chore is your responsibility and is a technical prerequisite for this course.

Late Work. Assignments are due -- in the correct place on the server with the correct file name -- at the beginning of class. By that I mean, when class begins, not when you show up! Remember: servers tend to keep good records about things. I will not accept late work unless you can demonstrate some sort of emergency. Please don't ask after the fact.

Attendance. You are expected to attend class, to arrive on time, and to stay until the end of class. You are responsible for finding out from others what you have missed if you are late to class, leave early, or miss class altogether. To contact other classmates, use the email list set up for the class (to ask everyone a question) or consult the list of your classmates I will post as soon as everyone has registered with the listserve.

Nancy Kaplan
CR 202
410.837.5319
nakaplan@ubmail.ubalt.edu

Office Hours:
Thursdays 7 PM - 10 PM and Saturdays 1:30 PM - 4 PM

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