Corso Vittorio Emanuele II, 39 - Roma 0669207671

Communication Sciences (Academic Year 2022/2023) - Public Institutions and Digital Media

Information Architecture


Credits: 12
Content language:English
Course description

This course introduces the students into the field of the information architecture, namely the study of the logical and semantic organization of physical and digital information environments. Creating an optimal information environment implies adopting the perspective of the user/beneficiary; therefore, the concept of User Experience Design becomes essential. On the other hand, every communication process must also take into account the context and the contents to be transferred. Therefore, the course offers theoretical and practical skills to take into account jointly the contents to be transferred, the context and the users for whom the information environment is build. Consequently, it will take into account the field-specific studies and products as well as the semiotic and cognitive assumptions underlying the construction of these environments. It will take into account the contributions of the iconic syntax coming from the Australian and American schools, inspired by Peirce’s, structural and cognitive semiotics.

Prerequisites

Consigliabili, conoscenze essenziali di linguistica e semiologia, uso intuitivo di CMS siti.

Objectives

This course is aimed at supplying the students with a theoretical and practical training in the field of the information architecture. Therefore, it will supply theoretical tools to understand the semantic and logical organization of both physical and digital information environments and it will organize activities enabling the students to use these skills for an optimal realization of information environments. To this end, the students will work on exercises aimed at creating websites, built according to the principles learnt during the course and more specifically related to the organization of contents and to the user’s perspective.

Program

The videolessons deal with the following issues:

 

Lesson 1 – Introduction to the information architecture (Elisabetta Zuanelli)

Lesson 2 – Semiotics basics: text and comprehension

Lesson 3 – Basics of digital communication

Lesson 4 – Computer science basics 1: introduction to the Web languages: HTML

Lesson 5 – Computer science basics 2: HTML

Lesson 6 – Computer science basics 3: CSS

Lesson 7 – Computer science basics 4: XML

Lesson 8 – Semantic Web and digital archives

Lesson 9 – Knowledge and communication architecture

Lesson 10 – Websites accessibility and usability

Lesson 11 – Knowledge and communication architecture

Lesson 12 – Websites accessibility and usability

Lesson 13 – Interfaces and e-content

Lesson 14 – Digital texts and the linguistic-semiotic component

Lesson 15 – Verbal languages and iconic languages

Lesson 16 –A semiological-linguistic analysis of user’s interfaces

Lesson 17 – Iconic syntax and digital texts

Lesson 18 – Case studies in 2016

Book

Elisabetta Zuanelli, Architetture digitali e comunicazione digitale, Aracne 2016

Exercises

The course envisages the following compulsory exercises:

 

1) Practice work devoted to deepening the theoretical-practical concepts of information architecture;

2) Realization of a website built according to the principles learnt during the course and more specifically related to the organization of contents and to the user’s perspective.

 

Professor/Tutor responsible for teaching
Professor not available
Video professors
Prof. Elisabetta Zuanelli - Università di Tor Vergata (Roma - Italy)
List of lessons
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    •  Lesson n. 5: Content design  Go to this lesson
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