Information Architecture on daily things

Exercises from the book "How to Make Sense of Any Mess: Information Architecture for Everybody" by Abby Covert.

I recently read the book “How to Make Sense of Any Mess: Information Architecture for Everybody”. It’s beginner-friendly and it was a nice introduction to some Information Architecture tools and concepts.

"Information architecture is all around you. Information architecture is the way that we arrange the parts of something to make it understandable.”

After reading it I got excited to do its exercises on diagramming.

🎯 “To help you build your toolbox, I’ve included ten diagrams and maps I use regularly in my own work. As you review each one, imagine the parts of your mess that could benefit from reframing.”

My job was to produce a tidy representation on each of them.

“Objects like diagrams, maps, and charts aren’t one-size-fits-all. Play with them, adapt them, and expand on them for your own purposes. The biggest mistake I see beginner sensemakers make is not expanding their toolbox of diagrammatic and mapping techniques.”

I wanted to practice and try to expand my toolbox. Here is the outcome:

1. Make a block diagram that shows how the pieces of a concept interrelate.

Brazilian Market — There are many Brazilians Markets near home and those concepts are my perception of them.

2. Demystify a process by making a flow diagram.

Take a shower — I go mentally through this process when taking a shower

3. Break your latest project down into its individual tasks and make a Gantt chart.

Case study — I made the Gantt chart based on this process

4. Compare a group of restaurants in your neighborhood in a quadrant diagram.

Markets near home — As I rarely go to restaurants, I choose to compare a group of markets

5. Explore what happens when concepts or objects overlap using a Venn diagram.

Two concepts: oats + banana = my breakfast

6. Break any multi-user process into a list of tasks per user with a swim lane diagram.

Buying fruits on the Brazilian Market

7. Depict the content and organization of your favorite website in a hierarchy diagram.

“Favorite” website: Farnam Street (I don’t really have a favorite website, but this is one that I read often)

8. Unload all of the cool ideas in your mind right now in a mind map.

I was thinking about ways to improve my blog and practice UX

9. Explain how to make your favorite food with a simple schematic. Bonus pot for exploding it!

My vegan chili — I also don’t have a favorite food and I choose this one because it has a process to prepare

10. Make a journey map of a day in your life.

Take away

Reading the book and doing it exercises I could think about the importance of architecture information in a broad range of situations. As information is everywhere, everything can become a mess.

By drawing what was in my mind, I had to prioritize the information and simplify it — that was the challenging part. I had tried some different ways before getting those results.

I’m still learning and it was a fun practice!

“The more diagrams you get to know, the more tools you have. The more ways you can frame the mess, the more likely you are to see the way through to the other side.” — Abbey Covert

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