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"Defining the information architecture and graphical user interface (GUI) design."
Information architecture (IA) is the art and science of expressing a model and/or concept for information. Information architecture is used in library systems, web development, user interactions, database development, programming, technical writing, enterprise architecture, critical system software design and other activities that require expressions of complex systems. Most definitions have common qualities: a structural design of shared environments, methods of organizing and labeling websites, intranets, and online communities, and ways of bringing the principles of design and architecture to the digital landscape.
Information architecture is defined by the Information Architecture Institute as:
- The structural design of shared information environments.
- The art and science of organizing and labeling web sites, intranets, online communities and software to support findability and usability.
- An emerging community of practice focused on bringing principles of design and architecture to the digital landscape.
In the context of information system design, information architecture refers to the analysis and design of the data stored by information systems, concentrating on entities, their attributes and their interrelationships. It refers to the modeling of data for an individual database and to the corporate data models an enterprise uses to coordinate the definition of data in several (perhaps scores or hundreds) of distinct databases.
We begin be defining the information architecture and the graphical user interface (GUI) design. This refers to the hierarchy and logical groupings of information accessible on the web site.
To ensure the success of your project, it is imperative that all specific content and images you wish to convey within the site are pulled together and clearly detailed prior to development. DPG will then produce a solid design "blueprint" of the site to ensure that all your needs are clearly understood by all prior to the design and implementation phases of the project. This results in a clear definition of the scope of work including an efficient and effective information architecture designed for your business needs and requirements.
The navigation system and page grid systems, as such, rely on this architecture and it dictates the priority of information and how it is presented to the user, your visitors, and the search engines such as Google, MSN, Yahoo and so on. In addition, the user's needs in terms of data and formats in which it is presented influence the information architecture.
The end result is a web site that is visually appealing, user friendly, search engine friendly and effective and efficient in both design, development and usability.
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