Designing better documents: information design professionals attempt to understand what makes documents usable and to apply that knowledge in preparing functional documents and records.

• Author: Carliner, Saul

At the Core

This article:

* Defines information design

* Shows how information design practices enhance information assets

* Clarifies the relationships between information management, information architecture, and information design

The focus on readers of information products is at the heart of a growing discipline called information design. This focus is increasingly essential because, as the quantity of information grows (according to some estimates, the volume of content now doubles every two years), people increasingly ignore it or read it too quickly to accurately follow it. For example, although tens of thousands of books were published in the United States alone last year, some studies estimate that only 6 percent of the American population reads an entire book during the year. (Certainly a larger percentage bought books, but few actually read them.) Similarly, in the world of direct-mail advertising (junk mail), acceptable response rates (that is, the percentage of people who respond to the mailing) have over time fallen from 50 percent who responded to a first direct mailing to 1.5 percent responding in the 1990s to 0.5 percent responding today.

Several experts, including Richard Saul Wurman, have discussed the problem of overloaded readers who ignore information. The growth of the Internet, in fact, has only exacerbated the problem. Merely publishing information no longer guarantees the desired results. And it is critical that some types of information--insurance forms, tax forms, and medical information--are read accurately. Such information must be prepared in a way that simplifies and facilitates the reading process.

This concern for simplifying and easing functional documentation has spawned a number of efforts to first understand what makes documents usable and, second, to apply that knowledge to preparing functional documents and records. That is the purpose underlying the embryonic field of information design.

Information Design Defined

Professionals in information management and information design share many interests. Both are concerned about providing information in such an optimal way that organizations can achieve their business goals. Both recognize that information is essential to any successful business strategy. Both also acknowledge the growing glut of information; they work to find ways to reduce its excesses and help readers wade through it. Finally, both realize that technology can assist in these efforts.

They differ, however, in the scope of their efforts. Information designers focus on the design and publication of individual documents or groups of related documents. For example, an information designer might focus on an individual manual for a word processing software package or the entire library of manuals for a particular word processor. In contrast, information managers focus on information across the entire enterprise. For example, an information management professional might be concerned with the inventory of all the manuals published by the organization--internally and externally--not just the word processing manuals, but also the frequently asked questions (FAQs) and users' guides published by the information systems group, the process manuals published by the administrative services group, and the personnel manuals published by human resources.

Information design is also poorly distinguished from other concepts, including document design and information architecture. Although all three have overlapping interests, document designers focus primarily on the appearance and navigability of documents--that is, how quickly readers can reach information they want or need. Information architecture professionals focus primarily on the structure of content, especially complex Web sites. Confusing matters, however, is that these two terms often are used interchangeably with information design.

Information design represents a focus on the fusion of content, structure, and appearance of documents. As with most emerging fields, no single, generally accepted definition of information design exists. Indeed, each of the definitions that do exist seems to represent the background of its author. Some information designers come from an architecture background; they tend to focus on structure. Some information designers come from a background in graphic design and focus on aesthetics, concentrating on the most-effective use of typography and layout. Those with a background in instructional design; usually focus on targeting the right content for the intended audience. Some come from a background in technical communication; they often focus on the usability of the text and the ease with which readers can scan it. Finally, those who come from the field of usability focus on applying the heuristics of the way people read to the design of content and the visual cues to which readers respond, especially on the Web.

In reality, good information design represents a fusion of all these perspectives. The preferred definition of information design is: "Preparing communication products so that they achieve the performance objectives established for them." This involves

1. analyzing communication problems

2. establishing performance objectives that, when achieved, address these objectives

3. developing a blueprint for a communication effort to address those objectives

4. developing the components of the planned communication effort solution

5. evaluating the ultimate effectiveness of the effort

   Some of the terms in this definition have specific meanings:

   * Performance objectives are observable, measurable tasks and business goals that users should be able to perform, as well as the conditions for doing those tasks and the level of acceptable work, according to Robert Mager's 1997 book, Preparing Instructional Objectives: A Critical Tool in the Development of Effective Instruction.

   * A blueprint is a detailed design plan for a document or group of related documents that indicates the overall structure and interrelationships of the documents (like the site plan used by architects), the structure of individual documents (like the floor plans used by architects), sample sections (like models of proposed buildings), storyboards (like elevations used by architects), and editorial and technical guidelines (like the plans for architectural details, such as electrical and plumbing).

   * Evaluation is a detailed plan for assessing the effectiveness of documents from a number of perspectives. These perspectives include reader satisfaction with the document, the ability of readers to comprehend the intended information, and the tangible effect that readers' success has on the organization that published the document.

   In short, good information design focuses on readers--it takes a "you" perspective toward content. An information designer is only successful when readers can perform the intended tasks associated with a document. Achieving this result requires that information designers clearly identify their purpose and audience beforehand and identify the context in which content will be communicated. They must choose the right information, present it in an accessible structure, and format it so that readers can effortlessly find and comprehend the material in the situation in which they will be using it. For example, if readers will be using a document in a physically tight space, the designer must design a document...