lizelle's review
5.0
“Information isn’t neutral; neither are the choices we make about how to present it, structure it, write it, juxtapose it, or classify it. Every design decision makes an impact; it’s just a question of whether we can stand up and own that impact.”
This is a fantastic book that should be required reading for anyone designing, writing, or managing any bit of digital space.
This is a fantastic book that should be required reading for anyone designing, writing, or managing any bit of digital space.
kirabug's review
5.0
I'm a three-time failure at reading the Polar Bear Book.
I'm also a Principal Information Architect with 10 years' experience.
I'm not telling you not to read the Polar Bear Book. I am telling you that if you want a short, direct, and well-structured book on what Information Architecture is, how to get started practicing it, and real-world examples of prior work, this is the book to start with.
It is the IA cohort to [b:The Elements of Content Strategy|9815847|The Elements of Content Strategy|Erin Kissane|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1291400563s/9815847.jpg|14706306].
I started this book while sitting in a hospital room watching my husband sleep. It's readable even under extreme stress. The book starts with the LATCH system of organization, which I had learned... but when I'd learned it through the quasi-apprenticeship of a mutual fund company's design department, it didn't have a name. So here I was, middle of the afternoon, snoring and beeping filling the room, and ten-year veteran of information architecture, learning things I didn't know on page 5.
Your milage may vary (YMMV), especially if you're one of those younger folks for whom information architecture degrees were available. (We had library science but I was too short-sighted to major in it.)
The book is vibrant and well-structured enough that I could put it down for a week at a time if I needed to and pick it up again and keep reading and understand where I'd left off. (Also, YMMV.)
Plus, this book isn't afraid to use Star Trek, Ravelry, cooking, self-deprecating spreadsheet jokes, and colorful, useful examples.
To sum up, this book is going on the list of books anyone who asks me how to start a career in UX, along with [b:Don't Make Me Think, Revisited: A Common Sense Approach to Web Usability|18197267|Don't Make Me Think, Revisited A Common Sense Approach to Web Usability|Steve Krug|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1384736553s/18197267.jpg|561281], [b:How to Make Sense of Any Mess: Information Architecture for Everybody|23557020|How to Make Sense of Any Mess Information Architecture for Everybody|Abby Covert|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1433930545s/23557020.jpg|43156580] and [b:Universal Principles of Design: 100 Ways to Enhance Usability, Influence Perception, Increase Appeal, Make Better Design Decisions, and Teach Through Design|130730|Universal Principles of Design 100 Ways to Enhance Usability, Influence Perception, Increase Appeal, Make Better Design Decisions, and Teach Through Design|William Lidwell|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1328754391s/130730.jpg|125913].
I'm also a Principal Information Architect with 10 years' experience.
I'm not telling you not to read the Polar Bear Book. I am telling you that if you want a short, direct, and well-structured book on what Information Architecture is, how to get started practicing it, and real-world examples of prior work, this is the book to start with.
It is the IA cohort to [b:The Elements of Content Strategy|9815847|The Elements of Content Strategy|Erin Kissane|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1291400563s/9815847.jpg|14706306].
I started this book while sitting in a hospital room watching my husband sleep. It's readable even under extreme stress. The book starts with the LATCH system of organization, which I had learned... but when I'd learned it through the quasi-apprenticeship of a mutual fund company's design department, it didn't have a name. So here I was, middle of the afternoon, snoring and beeping filling the room, and ten-year veteran of information architecture, learning things I didn't know on page 5.
Your milage may vary (YMMV), especially if you're one of those younger folks for whom information architecture degrees were available. (We had library science but I was too short-sighted to major in it.)
The book is vibrant and well-structured enough that I could put it down for a week at a time if I needed to and pick it up again and keep reading and understand where I'd left off. (Also, YMMV.)
Plus, this book isn't afraid to use Star Trek, Ravelry, cooking, self-deprecating spreadsheet jokes, and colorful, useful examples.
To sum up, this book is going on the list of books anyone who asks me how to start a career in UX, along with [b:Don't Make Me Think, Revisited: A Common Sense Approach to Web Usability|18197267|Don't Make Me Think, Revisited A Common Sense Approach to Web Usability|Steve Krug|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1384736553s/18197267.jpg|561281], [b:How to Make Sense of Any Mess: Information Architecture for Everybody|23557020|How to Make Sense of Any Mess Information Architecture for Everybody|Abby Covert|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1433930545s/23557020.jpg|43156580] and [b:Universal Principles of Design: 100 Ways to Enhance Usability, Influence Perception, Increase Appeal, Make Better Design Decisions, and Teach Through Design|130730|Universal Principles of Design 100 Ways to Enhance Usability, Influence Perception, Increase Appeal, Make Better Design Decisions, and Teach Through Design|William Lidwell|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1328754391s/130730.jpg|125913].
ronbronson's review
5.0
Full disclosure, I used to read the author's feminist blog with deep exegesis on Star Trek episodes, so I'm probably not objective.
But this is the definitive book meant for all types of audiences on the importance of information architecture. So much of the web proliferates with people who think design is all about making things more pixel perfect and short shrifting all of the component parts of what makes a site and what people visit it for.
In a world where a lot of people still don't realize information architecture is an *actual thing* and that's been with us for decades, I'm glad we have another book I can recommend for folks to discover, learn, and appreciate one of the component parts of what makes the web work.
It's also hilarious, incisive, and brilliant. Add this one to your shelves, and buy copies for your colleagues.
But this is the definitive book meant for all types of audiences on the importance of information architecture. So much of the web proliferates with people who think design is all about making things more pixel perfect and short shrifting all of the component parts of what makes a site and what people visit it for.
In a world where a lot of people still don't realize information architecture is an *actual thing* and that's been with us for decades, I'm glad we have another book I can recommend for folks to discover, learn, and appreciate one of the component parts of what makes the web work.
It's also hilarious, incisive, and brilliant. Add this one to your shelves, and buy copies for your colleagues.
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