IA is not another name for UX

IA is not another name for UX

User experience (UX) and Information Architecture (IA) are very different and have separate skill sets, processes and outputs.

I often talk to people who add IA on the their CV as if it’s some simple skill, it’s actually more complex and difficult than UX. IA is also hundreds of years old as an activity while UX is less than twenty in it’s current form.

• Information architecture is involved in the classification and structure of information.
• User experience is involved in; defining who the audience is, what they can do, how they can do it and matching the aspiration of the content provider with the desires of the audience.