First Principles x UNC Libraries

Camille Thomas

Information Architecture

3/17/14

#1—Wayfinding

Horizontal Menu with subcategories

User Card Sorting!

Easy search bar

Search options under bar

Side bar with “common use” options

Breadcrumbs

#2–Expectations & Feedback

Portal led to “NClive” but there was no indication that it led away from the library site

This may be expected for university users

Dead link!

#3—Design Ergonomically

No music attack

Clean/ minimalistic design

Reasonable amount of scrolling

Responsive site & mobile app

#4—Consistency & Standards

Search Bar similar to popular search engines

Portals with same color scheme for databases, etc.

Compares to many mainstream information sites AND academic library sites

Only problems are things that don’t work AS perfectly

#5 &6 —Error Support/Recognition vs. Recall

Some spelling/ error alerts for catalog but not totally intuitive E.g. “Tracy Ellis Ross” vs. “Tracee Ellis Ross”

Lots of individual pages = remembering where things are in the menu E.g. Library hours and scanning/copying/ printing information

No side bars of related information

#7—Varying Skill Levels• No fuss cool features vs. “trendy” delivery

• Info clearly displayed

• Random card sort = real life personas & user-centered architecture

• Something for Advanced users and something for non-advanced users (e.g. Advanced Search, Social Media & RSS feed)

Search Options! Varying Skills!Cool browsing options = exploraration-friendly, users don’t have to know what they are seeking, encourages using media for fun

#8—Provide Contextual Help

A to Z Sitemap

Contextualized Help

No “Help” label