The Informed Life
Rachel Price on Improvisation
Sep 1, 2019
Rachel Price, a Senior Information Architect at Microsoft and a teacher in Seattle, explores the intersection of structure and creativity. She shares insights from her musical background, illustrating how improvisation enhances UX design. The conversation delves into the importance of flexibility in both music and design, advocating for improvisational techniques in user research. Rachel also discusses managing screen time effectively and emphasizes balancing work with leisure, drawing parallels to collaborative jazz improvisation.
30:29
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Quick takeaways
- Rachel Price highlights that information architecture simplifies user experiences by breaking down environments into distinct information objects for deeper understanding.
- She emphasizes that flexibility in improvisation, much like in jazz, is essential for effective information architecture and user research.
Deep dives
The Role of Information Architecture in Understanding User Experience
Information architecture (IA) plays a crucial role in shaping user experience by teaching individuals to perceive environments as structured information landscapes. Rachel Price emphasizes that the core of IA involves breaking down experiences into distinct information objects, enabling designers to see beyond just the visual aspects of a website or application. Through techniques like visual exercises, students learn to develop an in-depth understanding of these objects, akin to solving mind's eye puzzles where underlying patterns become more apparent with focus and practice. The goal is to empower students to recognize and manipulate these information structures to create effective user experiences.
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