Information architecture is all about findability and not getting lost.
In this article:
The contrast between A Field Guide to Getting Lost and IA
As an information architecture consultant, I make my clients’ web experiences easier to navigate. I do that by identifying key information and organizing it in a way that makes it easier for users to find.
The dichotomy between my work and the latest book I read was part of the reason I deeply enjoyed Rebecca Solnit’s A Field Guide to Getting Lost.
Aptly named, A Field Guide to Getting Lost is a series of autobiographical essays exploring getting lost and the utility of the unknown. “Solnit is interested in the stories we use to navigate our way through the world, and the places we traverse, from wilderness to cities, in finding ourselves, or losing ourselves.”
The Blue of Distance
Besides Solnit’s writing style and the book’s intertwined themes of trust, place, and loss, the chapter categorization itself is noteworthy.
The book had 9 chapters, 4 of which had the same title, The Blue of Distance. In these chapters, Solnit explores oceans, roadtrips, and punk rock.
She speaks about Yves Klein, the artist who patented a specific blue, and was paid in gold, “half of which he immediately threw into a river, the ocean, or in someplace in nature where this gold cannot be retrieved by anyone to return it to life.”
As a lover of synchronicities, it’s worth pointing out that I started the book up in the air, on the flight to Italy, and finished it in the bluest space on Earth, Dhërmi.
“Perhaps it’s that you can’t go back in time, but you can return to the scenes of a love, of a crime, of happiness, and of a fatal decision; the places are what remain, are what you can possess, are what is immortal.”
Solnit, Rebecca, author. (2005). A field guide to getting lost. New York.
Lost and found: Information seeking methods
Coined by author Donna Spencer, knowing information-seeking methods can help you better understand how your users’ goals differ and design more accessible experiences.
When it comes to navigating digital interfaces—websites, apps, chatbots—there are 4 main ways people look for information.
- Known-item seeking
- Exploratory seeking
- Refinding
- Don’t know what you don’t know
Known-item seeking – Information seeking methods
What is it: Known-item seeking behavior happens when the user knows what they’re looking for and where to look for the information they need.
Example: I typed A Field Guide to Getting Lost in my search engine. My goal was to include a link to the book in this article as a source. I also wanted readers to have a quick way to check the book out and buy it if they’d like.
Exploratory seeking – Information seeking methods
What is it: Exploratory seeking behavior happens when the user is looking for information, but they don’t have a specific answer in mind.
Example: A retail user of an investing app is considering investment opportunities. They open the app’s Trending stocks section and review top gainers. They may access 52 Week Gainers and 52 Week Losers to build a better idea of the stock’s performance over time.
Another example: Opening my public library’s app new releases section to find my next book
Refinding – Information seeking methods
What is it: Refinding happens when the user has previously found the information they were looking for, and they’re looking for it again.
Example: A student found a form they have to fill out on their university portal. They’re trying to refind the form. This user may look in their downloads folder or check their browser history to find the form page. They may try to recreate the path they followed in the university site. They may reach out to other students or the student affairs team for help refinding the form.
Warning: The risk for frustration is high with refinding. A way to combat that is by saving scroll position when users compare list content in library, music, or movie streaming apps.
This is a video example of how dismissing refinding increased cost interaction, making it unnecessarily repetitive for the user. Spotify did not preserve the user’s scroll position when he was browsing podcast episodes.
Don’t know what you need to know – Information seeking methods
What is it: This method refers to people who need to complete a task without knowing how to do so.
Example: International students must gather extensive information to stay and work in their host country after university. Unsure where to focus their efforts, the student may hire an immigration lawyer. The lawyer would clarify options and the type of information the student must consider.
They may also consider the paid version of a filing assistant app. The app would help them step-by-step in gathering and submitting documents the easy and correct way.
Warning: Your company may benefit from attitudinal research in this space. Attitudinal research is focused on better understanding people’s subjective attitudes and preferences about different products.
Research questions to consider for this information seeking behavior: Are people aware of the problem your product or service can solve? Are people aware of the solution? If they’re considering a few options, are you making it easy for them to know if you’re the right option for them or not? How do you want them to think of and describe your product?
A Field Guide to Getting Found
Knowing how users interact in different stages with your product—like in the Spotify scroll example—can help you reduce friction in your products and build user-centric solutions.
These information-seeking behaviors in tandem with data and user research are like A Field Guide to Getting Found. Just less blue 🙂
