from LouisRosenfeld.com

"I see information architecture as the intersection of three areas (imagine yet another three-circled Venn diagram):

users: (who they are, what their information-seeking behaviors and needs are)

content: (volume, formats, metadata, structure, organization)

context: (business model, business value, politics, culture, resources and resource constraints) "

What about tasks?

But ultimately, though IA has something to say about tasks and there's a lot of overlap, I see tasks as fitting more squarely within interaction design.

;-)

everybody likes a venn diagram

And four circle Venns are just too danged hard to draw.

so Lou, are you saying intereaction design is *not* information architecture???

Christina, thanks for asking. I am my own Venn diagram in this case as I would flow between IA, ID (strong on the interaction weak on the design), and application developer. Where these intersect is you will find me. I have thought the IA sets the foundation and parameters for ID to fill in and give life and provide the wrappers for the infomation applications, which conform to the findings of the contextual elements and user needs layed out by the IA.

What about the disappearing reappearing venn diagram? I've seen systems that do this :)

huh?

But I was drinking heavily last night so that may not make as much sense to anyone else as it does to me.

Nope, I don't think interaction design = information architecture. But explaining why will lead us into a discussion of definitions, and I don't have enough Gaviscon in the medicine cabinet right now to handle it...

Lou, you suggest on your site that an IA should major in one area and minor in another. Is this saying that a web team would be better off having three IAs to cover all three areas?

Safer would be for each *individual* IA to have multiple competencies (majors and minors); we should all strive to be more well-rounded.

Going from there, exploring in the other areas makes you a better-rounded IA.

Hmmm, I wonder what most IAs major in?

Let's spill the beans - I major in content.

By the way, as far as education, I majored in English and then minored in secretarial skills once I left grad school and couldn't get a job. That's how *I* ended up being an IA. ;)

Perhaps technology is lumped under 'context', but then that category is getting rather ambiguous, no?

Isn't IA about using your knowledge of your disciplines to fit the required information into the technology currently available?

my venn has always included technology...

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