Great anthology of thinking about information architecture as "information design" that is particularly useful because the articles were written before the semantic web and various data exchange formats came into use in the 2000s (XML/JSON) and various efforts at standardization of modeling (UML/BPMN, etc). This makes the approach free of specific implementation detail and more about the thought process and consideration for different design approaches. It was also nice to read a text about user interaction that wasn't about UX.
This book serves as a wonderful introduction to information design studies. I read this book as a doctoral student in a class entitled "Information Design." Having little exposure the field beforehand, I was hooked after reading some of the articles in this book. The book's greatest strength is that it draws from scholarship within and without academia. Topics cover a wide range of information design principles and include articles on wayfinding, museum design, video games, interactive media, sense-making, human-centered design, and sign-posting, among others.
Not my favorite of the collection of textbooks for Information Design I had to read this semester, but definitely the most insightful to read. My main complaint was the lack of "graphics" for being a graphic design book. This collection of essays regarding various organizational formats for data was intriguing and offered several solutions to information design problems.
Offers visions of how information design can be practiced ethically and diligently, to the mutual benefit of consumers and producers. Presents various methods that seem effective, such as sense-making and way-finding, and serves as a guide to this...