Web Information Architectures

By 1995, however, a generation had grown up with the personal computer. Adapting to the quirks of another Windows application was no big deal. A new kind of specialist, the information architect, emerged. IAs tried to create an overall logic for the design of a site. But the Web grew, the IA guys formed a kind of priesthood, with its own mysteries.

Some proceeded as if information architecture should be separate from design. By 1999, with the dotcom boom in full roar, web development teams had broken into manually uncomprehending groups : Software developers, information architects, search experts, and even usability expert.

Amid the pandemonium, a lot of people got rich, and understandably, they got a little cocky. The Web grew, and users got used to the conversations of the web interface. But for all its powers, the browser is trapped in a world of pull-down menus and dialogue boxes.

This is not an easy world to move around in. Because the Web is based on HTML, we should have guessed that users would end up moving from link to link.