The organization of information: Universal Principles of Design

People interact with a design in different ways. Therefore, it is important to take into account one of the most important factors that influence the way people think and interact with a design: the organization of information. The organization of information: Universal Principles of Design

There are five ways to organize information. These forms are category, time, location, alphabet, and continuity. They are also known as “the five hat racks ”, and today we will go over what they are and why they are important.

The category

The category has to do with the similarity and relationship. An example would be the types of retail merchandise on your website or e-commerce.

Therefore, you can organize the information by category if there are groups of similarity in the information, or even when there is a need to search for information by category naturally.

Time

Time refers to the organization of information by chronological sequence. You should organize the information by time whenever you present and compare events during fixed periods.

The ubication

The location has to do with the organization by spatial or geographic reference, as in maps, or travel guides. You can organize information by location as long as it is significantly related to the geography of a place.

The alphabet

The alphabet refers to the organization by alphabetical sequence. You can see it in dictionaries, for example. You must organize the information alphabetically, when the information is referential, when it is necessary to access specific elements in a non-linear way, or when you cannot apply another organizational strategy.

Continuity

Continuity has to do with the organization by magnitude, from highest to lowest, from best to worst, etc ... You can organize by continuity when you compare things through a common measure.

Conclusion

As you have seen, the ways to organize the information are simple and if you use them correctly in your design, the results will be efficient, as you will improve the experience of your users.