Information architects usually play a significant role in understanding the clients' needs and developing realistic plans to support the organizational objectives. Information architect responsibilities, thus assist in designing and delivering high level content for the organization and supporting it to understand the user requirements. He/she takes special efforts to deliver the complex information in a clear and concise manner. Thus, an information architect helps to translate visual and abstract ideas into a concrete form that can be used easily by various internet users throughout the world.
Key Responsibilities of an Information Architect
Information architects need to be effective planners as well as excellent designers in order to present the information that will appeal to the targeted audience and help in achieving the clients' goals. He/she is involved in designing the strategies and developing the features and content to meet the informational and functional needs. The points given below will assist you in understanding the key responsibilities that need to be handled by an information architect:
The information architect, in addition to the above responsibilities, is also involved in incorporating the testing and labeling of the prototypes and participates in various usability tests that are conducted as per the plans on websites and its applications. He/she maintains all the relevant information like details of site maps, various user scenarios, page schematics, navigation schemes, etc. He/she is basically into gathering of the information, organizing it, and presenting it in such a way that it conveys the complex information in a simpler way. This specific structuring helps is facilitating the completion of tasks and enables that the content is easily accessible. This further helps the users to find and manage the information more easily. Thus, the information architect needs to carry out a wide variety of tasks and assists in improving the accessibility of the information to its users by being associated with website designing.
Educational Background
The required educational background will differ from one company to another. However, the basic education needed is a bachelor's degree in arts or science from an accredited college in computer science, information science, human computer interaction, marketing, graphic or visual arts, industrial design, or any other relevant field. Previous work experience in the organization of websites, exposure to tools in page layout, and handling web environment that is database driven will be of great advantage.
Essential Skills
The information architect should be detail oriented with excellent communication and problem solving skills. He/she should be able to understand and have passion for user experience. He/she should possess strong analytical and research skills with good time management and organization skills. He/she should be able to understand and manage the expectations of the client or the organization he/she is working for. He/she should be keep himself/herself abreast with various emerging technologies and acquire knowledge and research on user requirements.
Work Condition
The information architect works in a normal office environment and he/she needs to work for at least thirty five to forty hours per week. As per the urgency of the work, he/she may need to prioritize his/her workload and accordingly extend his/her schedule late in the evenings or even during the weekends.
Salary Details
The basic salary package that an entry level information architect can earn is close in the range of $60,000. The highest salary package that can be earned by the experienced individuals normally ranges between $120,000 to $130,000. It may, however, vary depending on the size, type, and location of the organization.
Career Prospects
There is a huge scope for development and growth in this field and those with previous work experience have better opportunities to get promoted to higher level positions. With the internet boom, the demand for information architects is bound to increase.
Therefore, if you want to be establish and progress in this field, make sure you have the capacity to handle these information architect responsibilities and that you have the right kind of education and skills needed to make it a great success.