Information architecture is the process of structuring information, typically based on specific interaction objectives. Yet as interaction design is increasingly seen as the extension of a brand experience, interactions themselves can become identity driven. This has implications for any content segmentation, which itself becomes an integral aspect of an identity program. The brand strategy can determine where, when and how to surface any type of information.
Take, for instance, the iPod. The scroll-pad functionality is as much identity-defining as it is an extension of the Apple brand experience, and the menu interaction is analogous to the Mac OS X finder—while subtle, it too reinforces the Apple brand.
Moreover, reversing this logic, not only can identity drive content segmentation, but the segmentation strategy can also lead to an identity program. This opens up the intriguing possibility of an identity formulated around information. An information-based identity could adapt depending on the configuration of the underlying data, changing as the data or its classification changes.
Why? The opportunity inherent in this approach is synergy between information and association, data and metaphor. While the two have typically been treated separately, an information-based identity would be intrinsically more authentic and believable, no longer largely aspirational, but simply a reflection of the “information footprint” of an organization.