Summer 2025 is coming to a close, and to celebrate the passage of time, here are some information architecture resources I’ve been loving that you may also find helpful or inspiring for Q4 and the last 100 days of the year.
Information architecture resources mentioned in this article:
Inspiration – Information architecture resources
What it is: A collection of memorable website headlines
This collection of headlines is helpful for copy inspiration and understanding the mechanics of a good headline. In the Default example below, the headline “Never ask engineers for a marketing form again” is broken down into components like better alternative, creation, intensifier, pain point, simplicity, and time-saving.
Headlines are categorized by structure (techniques that shape the form and style of the headline) and meaning (underlying messages). You can search for headlines that use:
- Alliteration – Repeats starting sounds
- Anthimeria – Shifts a word’s typical use
- Bicolon – Uses two-part phrasing
- Amplification – Promises more value
- Automation – Features AI and automation
- Better alternative – Claims to be superior
Calculator – Information architecture resources
What it is: Design system ROI calculator
Design systems are a central repository for designers, engineers, and product folks with all the design documentation (components, styles, typography).
The design system ROI calculator shows how much time and money companies can save “at an employee, release and component level.”
The calculator is built by zeroheight, a popular design systems tool. The company has a strong financial incentive to highlight the positive aspects of design systems, which is why I appreciated the transparency of this explainer blog post, Calculating the ROI of Your Design System. There are multiple reports on the ROI of design systems. A 2019 Figma study found that design systems can lead to a 34% reduction in time spent by companies. zeroheight’s explainer provides the clearest guidance I’ve encountered for getting to the actual numbers and calculating the ROI for different types of companies beyond vague tech-centric terms like “enhancing designer productivity” or “increasing engineering velocity.”
Library – Information architecture resources
What it is: A UX pattern library for people working on artificial intelligence products
The Shape of AI library includes patterns for:
- Wayfinders
- Inputs
- Tuners
- Governors
- Trust builders
- Dark matter
- Identifiers
For example, wayfinders give users tips on how to interact with an AI model. Some wayfinder patterns include follow up, initial CTA, and nudges.
Short intermission…
What do Severance, death, and Ed Sheeran’s song Shape of You have in common? They all came up in my UX Vienna talk earlier this summer. I shared Shape of AI’s pattern library at the event and sang (extremely briefly) Ed Sheeran’s similarly-named song immediately after.
Laws – Information architecture resources
What it is: A collection of design and user experience best practices
The collection is particularly valuable for people new to UX design or those who have recently entered the industry. Laws of UX is a thorough directory of UX rules to consider when building user interfaces, including:
- Hick’s Law – The time it takes to make a decision increases with the number and complexity of choices.
- Jakob’s Law – Users spend most of their time on other sites. This means that users prefer your site to work the same way as all the other sites they already know.
- Chunking – A process by which individual pieces of an information set are broken down and then grouped together in a meaningful whole
“Learn the rules like a pro, so you can break them like an artist.”
Blog – Information architecture resources
What it is: An article about threats and opportunities for mature design systems
In this article, Erin White, an information architect for VA.gov, identifies 3 design system threat patterns, explains what they are, why they happen, and how to intervene. The tl;dr sounds like something I’d write:
“tl;dr: Design systems are people
Technology is people. Design systems are people, too. Most of the issues here, and their solutions, involve deeply human stuff like relationship-building, conversation, clear documentation, conflict resolution, and feedback loops.
Like any other technology, design systems need attentive care, maintenance, upgrades, and human stewards to ensure that they’re used to do the thing they’re supposed to do. The key is being prepared to support the entire design system, including the people who are building with it.”
After reading the design systems article, I spent quite some time on the site and enjoyed reading about their library background, information architecture journey, transition from academia to tech, and the quintessential quality of a blog, the sense of personal connection it fosters (“it’s like I know this person”).
Context check – Information architecture resources
What it is: A call to observe
In a technical aspect, context matters in information architecture as it relates to:
- how to name things – is there enough context to use 1-2 words or do we need a tooltip? Are we applying progressive disclosure to make applications less error-prone?
- how things should relate to one another – what, if any, are the hierarchical relations between items and across categories and how to display them in an entity relationship diagram (ERD) like a content model?
- ways that people can find things – how should items be grouped and how do we match people’s mental models of where to find an item?
In an interpersonal aspect, context matters a hell of a lot in information architecture to get the hundreds of decisions included in the bullet points above planned for and done… or sit in a lonely whiteboarding tool file (last opened in 2023).
See also: Most Generous Interpretations and my approach to persuading stakeholders to remove content
Check Your Context served as a valuable reminder of the importance of considering context and evaluating the accuracy of our assumptions about the people we work with, particularly in asynchronous work environments.
That’s a wrap on summer and this summer 2025 resource roundup! Are there any information architecture resources you’ve been particularly enjoying recently?
