Principles: Labeling Systems

Beside the overall organization of the website, labeling is another key concern for the information architect. Through labeling we are able to represent the larger pieces of information present in our web site. The goal of labeling is to communicate information efficiently. Labels should speak the same language as the users while reflecting the site's content. They should also educate the user about new concepts and provide explanations when necessary.

Examine the labels used on United State Postal Service's home page. Identify each of the labels used and briefly discuss each one considering the following: Do the prominent labels on this page stand out to you? If they do, why? If a label is new, unanticipated, or confusing, is there an explanation? Or are you required to click through to learn more?

Varieties of Labels

Be sure to select the best label for the job.

Contextual Links

• describe the hypertext links within the body of the document and occur within the context of the surrounding text
  
• easy to create, but hard to make work well - not developed systematically but in an ad hoc manner
  
• they rely on context
  
• ensure they are representational by asking the user where he/she expects to be taken
  

Headings

• describe the chunk of information that follows
  
• establish a hierarchy and visual consistency with the text through numbering, font size, color, style, etc.
  
• must be obvious and convey sequence
  

Within Navigation Systems

• require consistent application because they typically occur throughout the site
  
• use to build a sense of familiarity
  
• use scope notes to help users understand the label more clearly
  

Index Terms

• often called keywords, descriptive metadata, taxonomies, controlled vocabularies and thesauri
  
• can be used to describe any type of content
  
• support precise searching
  
• frequently visible to users - IUPUI Site Index - but can be hidden in the metadata tag of the HTML document
  

Iconic Labels

• most often used as navigation labels
  
• more limited language than text - use with caution

Designing Labels

General Guidelines

• Narrow scope whenever possible - labeling is easier when your site's content, users and context are kept simple and focused
  
• Develop consistent labeling systems, not labels - be consistent and predictable

Sources of Labeling Systems

• your site - create a table of the existing labels and what they represent
  
• comparable and competitive sites - find the labeling pattern that is already in place
  
• controlled vocabularies and thesauri - seek out focused vocabularies that help specific audience - like ERIC
  
• content analysis - focus on things like titles, summaries, and abstracts
  
• content authors - make their own suggestions
  
• user advocates and subject matter experts - work with librarians and the like who can speak on behalf of the user - those who know what the users want
  
• users - learn how the site's users will use the information - card sorting exercises where users are asked to cluster labels of existing content into their own categories and then label the categories or where they are given existing categories and asked to sort content into those categories

Fine Tuning the Labels

1. Sort the list of terms alphabetically and remove duplicates
   
2. Review for consistency of usage, punctuation, letter case, etc.
   
3. Look for obvious gaps in the system - is the future considered?
   
4. Remember that you'll need to continually improve and work on your labeling system as users and content continue to change

Read Chapter 6: Labeling Systems in Information Architecture for the World Wide Web, 3rd edition by Peter Morville & Louis Rosenfeld.

Choose any online mail order catalog to carefully examine. Using the catalog as a model of organization, answer the following questions:

Organization
Is there an organizational scheme present? Is it exact or ambiguous?
Is there an organizational structure present? Is it hierarchical, a database type, or the unlikely hypertext?
Can the organizational scheme/structure translate to the web or should it be changed? If so, how would you change it?

Labeling
Are labels present to identify and communicate meaning?
Are they appropriate?
What type/s are they? contextual, headings, navigational, index terms, iconic?
How would they need to be change in order to be used on the web?
What new types of labels would need to be in place in order to make the information accessible via the web?

Some ideas adapted from Information Architecture for the World Wide Web, 3rd edition by Peter Morville & Louis Rosenfeld.

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