Tyler Tate

Information Wayfinding

Part 1

1. The role of metaphor

2. What is wayfinding?

3. Information seeking as wayfinding

Part 2

1. Elements of the information environment

2. Information wayfinding strategies

3. Heuristics for effective wayfinding design

The role of metaphor

“Mankind evolved in a world of space and time. Our memories evolved to record events that transpire in space and time. Modern attempts to externalise and enlarge that memory should not, and probably need not, neglect its spatiotemporal dimensions.”

— George A. Miller

“Our concepts structure what we perceive, how we get around in the world, and how we relate to other people. Our conceptual system thus plays a central role in defining our everyday realities. If we are right in suggesting that our conceptual system is largely metaphorical, then the way we think, what we experience, and what we do every day is very much a matter of metaphor.”

— George Lakoff and Mark Johnson

What is wayfinding?

The wayfinding process

The wayfinding process

1. Developing a decision plan

2. Executing a decision from the plan

3. Processing environmental information

Information seeking as wayfinding

Q1

Q2

Q3

Q4

Q5 Q6

Q7

The dynamic, or “berrypicking” model.

The information journey model.

RecognizeNeed

Validate andInterpretInformation

FindInformation

UseInterpretation

Elements of the environment

1. Districts

2. Layers

3. Nodes

4. Bits of information

Wayfinding strategies

1. Aerial descent

2. Teleport

3. Bottom-up

4. Conversational

Heuristics

Fluid survey views

Fluid survey views

1. Controls for both districts and layers

Fluid survey views

1. Controls for both districts and layers

2. Data visualization to enhance orientation

Unified interaction

Unified interaction

1. Search in context

Positional cues

Positional cues

1. Human-readable URLs

Positional cues

1. Human-readable URLs

2. Integrated breadcrumbs

Clear paths

Clear paths

1. Links between nodes

Clear paths

1. Links between nodes

2. Topic views

Tyler Tate

Information Wayfinding