This document contains lecture notes on labeling in information architecture. It discusses the purpose of labels as efficient communication, and how they should help users identify concepts and educate them on new concepts. The notes provide examples of different types of labels, such as textual, iconic, contextual links and headings. It also discusses guidelines for developing effective labeling systems, such as focus, consistency, controlled vocabularies and evaluating existing labels. The document concludes by assigning reading from the textbook and homework for the following week.

1. 2/12/2013
Labeling
SI 658
Information Architecture
Marti Gukeisen

2. Organization
Related Readings
Information Architecture for the World Wide Web 3
rd
Edition (The Polar Bear Book)
Peter Morville & Louis Rosenfeld
ISBN 978-0-596-52734-1
 Ch 6 Labeling Systems
1/23/2013
2 SI658 Information Architecture

3. the ‘L’ word
Label. I mean label.
we aren’t watching
showtime reruns.
2/12/2013
3 SI658 Information Architecture

4. Organization
labels are goal-oriented language
the goal of a label is to communicate information
efficiently
Conserve:
 Page space
 Cognitive Space
2/12/2013
4 SI658 Information Architecture

5. Organization
Labels are one-way communications
 More like radio than telephone
Broadcasting a brand’s representation of itself
(you guys still know what radio is, right?)
2/12/2013
5 SI658 Information Architecture

6. Organization
Non-verbal Communication
2/12/2013
gestures
signals
personal space
posture
tone
appearance
expression
eye contact
Non-verbal
communication
what you
have to work
with as an IA
mostly words
icons
pictures
voice
6 SI658 Information Architecture

7. Organization
Labels should
2/12/2013
help users quickly identify familiar
concepts
educate users about new concepts
7 SI658 Information Architecture

8. Organization
Your momma was wrong
2/12/2013
labels do matter
like any other form of professional communication
8 SI658 Information Architecture

9. Organization
Labels…
 tell users how to think about what the site
(business / organization) has to offer
 convey much more than just what is there
 personality
 what’s important to the brand
 what’s available
 (maybe) how they should feel about it
2/12/2013
9 SI658 Information Architecture

10. Organization
Labels can be
2/12/2013
AIRPORT
Textual
like this. this is text. I am
writing it with letters and
words.
Iconic
like Billy Idol or Kurt
Cobain or Elvis or a
bathroom sign.
10 SI658 Information Architecture

11. Organization
varieties of labels
Contextual links
Headings
Navigation Items
Index Terms
2/12/2013
11 SI658 Information Architecture

12. Organization
Poor U-HAUL of 2002
2/12/2013
 jargony
 aren’t representative
 don’t differentiate
 lose users, lose money
 not impressive
And now
it’s history.
Hitches are
so passé.
12 SI658 Information Architecture

13. Organization
Labels make an Impression
2/12/2013
The way you say or represent information in your site
says a lot about you, your organization, and its
brand. If you’ve ever read an airline magazine, you’re familiar
with those ads for some educational cassette series that
develops your vocabulary. “The words you use can
make or break your business deals” or something
like that. The same is true with a web site’s labeling—poor,
unprofessional labeling can destroy a user’s
confidence in that organization.
13 SI658 Information Architecture

14. Organization
2/12/2013
Why can a blogger have mysterious link
labels but not fidelity?
14 SI658 Information Architecture

15. Organization
Writers write the writing
which means IAs don’t often control contextual links.
RULES
internal links:
 match linked text to the resulting page heading
 click here is the worst link label ever. Foreboden.
 external links:
 you gotta specify.
www.123.com OR the 123 website
2/12/2013
15 SI658 Information Architecture

16. Organization
Headings
some rules
RULE FOR DESIGNERS:
2/12/2013
 Static headings CANNOT be styled exactly the
same as dynamic hypertext.
RULE FOR IAs:
 Headings in menus (or other navigation areas) that
are not clickable are NOT OKAY.
16 SI658 Information Architecture

17. Organization
Orientation within a Process
 Progress Indicator (% done)
 Total number of steps / screens
 Label for each step
Example labels for a checkout process
 Personal Information
 Delivery Address
 Payment Information
 Confirm Order
2/12/2013
17 SI658 Information Architecture

18. Organization
consistency is king
2/12/2013
Thank you, thank you very much…
for always referring to the same page / product /
tool using the same label.
Linked labels are NOT the place to mix it up, get
creative, use synonyms, or get bland (find it here).
18 SI658 Information Architecture

19. Organization
Scope Notes
A bit of extra text for additional
understanding. Just like this. Deep.
2/12/2013
19 SI658 Information Architecture

20. Organization
Rollovers for scope notes? Who do you
think you are, XKCD?
 [photo of brilliant XKCD rollover]
2/12/2013
20 SI658 Information Architecture

21. Organization
META META META
It’s the workaround for the imperfection of labeling.
You can’t call it 8 things on the page.
But you can in the META.
Synonym Mappings: what should be in the meta.
Do IAs do this?
Sometimes.
OR writers, SEO experts, content strategists…
This is a border task.
2/12/2013
21 SI658 Information Architecture

22. Organization
Icons
the good
 use minimal space
 good when icon is
highly recognizable
 useful when text might
be an issue
 good for REPEAT users
the bad
2/12/2013
 rely on METAPHOR
 can be a win or NOT
 often bad for NEW
users
 too many overwhelm
22 SI658 Information Architecture

23. Organization
so what are these?
2/12/2013
23 SI658 Information Architecture

24. Organization
mobile influence on iconic labels
 battle between clarity and space
 less space = get creative
 the less options there are,
the less ambiguity is a problem
(One option? Try that.)
2/12/2013
24 SI658 Information Architecture

25. Organization
social icons
 Learnability & popularity:
 1st twitter bird—what? Oh.
 Millionth twitter bird—yup, I got it.
What about pinterest? digg? google+?
if it doesn’t convey meaning,
that isn’t your target audience for that link
2/12/2013
25 SI658 Information Architecture

26. Organization
why you will never get it perfect
 language is ambiguous
 language is FLUID, evolving
 context will change
 audience will change
2/12/2013
26 SI658 Information Architecture

27. Organization
Guidelines
 Focus
 narrow your topic goals
 narrow your target audience goals
 aim for the specific, not the general
 Plan labeling systems, don’t just pick labels
 consistency = predictability = learnability
2/12/2013
27 SI658 Information Architecture

28. Organization
Consistency in:
 Style
 Presentation
 Syntax
 Granularity
 Comprehensiveness
 Audience
 Tone / Voice
2/12/2013
28 SI658 Information Architecture

29. Organization
Evaluating Existing Labeling
 Content Inventory (labeling table)
 link label(s)
 resulting page heading
 Competitive Review
 How is everyone else doing it?
 Note: the answer might be badly.
2/12/2013
29 SI658 Information Architecture

30. Organization
Controlled Vocabulary
 Most applicable to highly technical or regulated
subject areas.
 Medical
 Financial
 ‘professional’ level audience
2/12/2013
30 SI658 Information Architecture

31. Organization
Developing Labels
2/12/2013
 content analysis
 authors
 experts
 competitors
 card sorting
 free listing
 search log analysis
 tag analysis
31 SI658 Information Architecture

32. Organization
Tweak for
 consistency
 no cop-outs
And have a management plan.
2/12/2013
32 SI658 Information Architecture

33. Presentation
Time
the part where you teach
2/12/2013
33 SI658 Information Architecture

34. Wrap Up
More stuff for you to do.
2/12/2013
34 SI658 Information Architecture

35. Organization
For next week
Due TUES Feb 20th at 11 pm.
50-300 words responding to the following:
2/12/2013
Polar Bear
Ch 7 Navigation Systems
35 SI658 Information Architecture

36. 2/12/2013
Laters
Questions?
36 SI658 Information Architecture