Information architecture and content strategy are the foundation of any website but, when it comes to mobile, they can literally mean the life or death of a product. The truth is that even the best-designed and well-engineered mobile products can still fail if their IA is not sound, and that’s because mobile information architecture doesn’t only define the structure of content, but also determines how users will interact with it. And speaking of content, do you know what content should go on your mobile sites and apps? Are your users finding what they came for? In this talk we will take a look at the thought process that drives mobile content strategy, the specific challenges and opportunities of the mobile space and how information architecture and content strategy contribute to the creation of outstanding mobile experiences.

1. image: flickr.com/photos/gregoryjordan
the web you were used to is gone | @albertatrebla MOB’d UP - San Diego
THE WEB YOU WERE USED TO IS GONE
Architecture and strategy for your mobile content
alberta soranzo | @albertatrebla
MOB’d UP - San Diego, CA

2. the web you were used to is gone | @albertatrebla MOB’d UP - San Diego
REMEMBER THE INTERNET?
image: wtfjeans.com

3. the web you were used to is gone | @albertatrebla MOB’d UP - San Diego
THE INTERNET IS IN YOUR PANTS
image: wtfjeans.com

4. the web you were used to is gone | @albertatrebla MOB’d UP - San Diego
WHAT IS MOBILE?
image: huffingtonpost.com (Alamy)

5. the web you were used to is gone | @albertatrebla MOB’d UP - San Diego
MOBILE USAGE STATISTICS
• 86% of mobile internet users use their device while
watching TV.
• By 2014, mobile internet usage will overtake desktop
internet usage.
• Adults spend more time on mobile media than they do
on newspapers and magazines combined.
source: pocketyourshop.wordpress.com

6. the web you were used to is gone | @albertatrebla MOB’d UP - San Diego
MOBILE ONLY PAGEVIEWS
source: mobithinking.com

7. the web you were used to is gone | @albertatrebla MOB’d UP - San Diego
image: flickr.com/photos/guidedbycthulhu
WHAT IS MOBILE?

8. the web you were used to is gone | @albertatrebla MOB’d UP - San Diego
MOBILE WEB STATISTICS
• 99% of smartphone owners use their mobile browser at least
once a day.
• 46% of consumers will NOT return to a mobile site that is not
working properly.
• 39% of business do nothing to make site mobile-ready.
• 74% of consumers will wait 5 seconds for a web page to load
on their mobile device before abandoning the site.
• 18% of all web traffic in the U.S. is mobile traffic. That number
skyrockets to 24% in Africa, and 30% in Asia. This is up 192.5%
since 2011.
source: pocketyourshop.wordpress.com

9. the web you were used to is gone | @albertatrebla MOB’d UP - San Diego
MOBILE ONLY USERS
source: mobithinking.com

10. the web you were used to is gone | @albertatrebla MOB’d UP - San Diego
MOBILE SEARCH STATISTICS
• 95% of mobile users use their devices for local search.
• 52% of all local searches are done from a mobile
device.
• 9 out of 10 mobile phone searches result in a purchase
or visit.
• 3 out of every 5 searches are conducted on a mobile
device.
source: pocketyourshop.wordpress.com

11. the web you were used to is gone | @albertatrebla MOB’d UP - San Diego
DIRECTV

12. the web you were used to is gone | @albertatrebla MOB’d UP - San Diego
DIRECTV

13. the web you were used to is gone | @albertatrebla MOB’d UP - San Diego
DIRECTV

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DO YOU HAVE A WEBSITE?
“You need to get your content onto mobile
devices. Period.”
— Karen McGrane

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WHO DECIDES WHAT MATTERS?
image: flickr.com/photos/d_space

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MOBILE IS SOCIAL
image: flickr.com/photos/strandloper/

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MOBILE ONLY FACEBOOK
source: allfacebook.com

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HOW WE USE THE INTERNET
“If people want to do something on the
internet, they will want to do it using their
mobile device. Period.”
— Karen McGrane

19. the web you were used to is gone | @albertatrebla MOB’d UP - San Diego
WHAT ABOUT CONTEXT?
image: flickr.com/photos/kattebelletje/

20. the web you were used to is gone | @albertatrebla MOB’d UP - San Diego
WHAT ABOUT CONTEXT?
image: flickr.com/photos/piblet

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ONE SITE

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MANY DEVICES

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image: flickr.com/photos/cannedtuna
THERE IS NO SUCH A THING AS
MOBILE IA

24. the web you were used to is gone | @albertatrebla MOB’d UP - San Diego
WHAT IS IA?
The structural design of shared information environments.
source: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Information_architecture

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CROSS-CHANNEL IA BLUEPRINT
image: tylertate.com/blog/2012/02/21/cross-channel-ia-blueprint.html

26. the web you were used to is gone | @albertatrebla MOB’d UP - San Diego
image: journalofia.org/volume1/issue1/02-brugnoli/jofia-0101-02-brugnoli.pdf
TOUCHPOINTS MATRIX

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WHAT DOES IA DO?
IA interprets information and expresses distinctions
between signs and systems of signs and involves the
categorization of information into a coherent structure.
source: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Information_architecture

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DESKTOP

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TABLET

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MOBILE

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image: Android Design Patterns
STRUCTURE AS DESIGN PATTERNS
WAYFINDING

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MOBILE PATTERNS - HYERARCHY
source: uxbooth.com

33. the web you were used to is gone | @albertatrebla MOB’d UP - San Diego
MOBILE PATTERNS - HYERARCHY

34. the web you were used to is gone | @albertatrebla MOB’d UP - San Diego
MOBILE PATTERNS - HUB & SPOKE
source: uxbooth.com

35. the web you were used to is gone | @albertatrebla MOB’d UP - San Diego
MOBILE PATTERNS - HUB & SPOKE

36. the web you were used to is gone | @albertatrebla MOB’d UP - San Diego
MOBILE PATTERNS - NESTED DOLL
source: uxbooth.com

37. the web you were used to is gone | @albertatrebla MOB’d UP - San Diego
MOBILE PATTERNS - NESTED DOLL

38. the web you were used to is gone | @albertatrebla MOB’d UP - San Diego
MOBILE PATTERNS - TABBED VIEW
source: uxbooth.com

39. the web you were used to is gone | @albertatrebla MOB’d UP - San Diego
MOBILE PATTERNS - TABBED VIEW

40. the web you were used to is gone | @albertatrebla MOB’d UP - San Diego
MOBILE PATTERNS - BENTO BOX
source: uxbooth.com

41. the web you were used to is gone | @albertatrebla MOB’d UP - San Diego
MOBILE PATTERNS - BENTO BOX

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MOBILE PATTERNS - FILTERED VIEW
source: uxbooth.com

43. the web you were used to is gone | @albertatrebla MOB’d UP - San Diego
MOBILE PATTERNS - FILTERED VIEW
Filter Filter

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image: flickr.com/photos/10ch
MANAGING INFORMATION TO CREATE MEANING
SENSEMAKING

45. the web you were used to is gone | @albertatrebla MOB’d UP - San Diego
CONTENT = INFORMATION
“Typically information foraging must be
analysed as decision making under uncertainty”
— Peter Pirolli

46. the web you were used to is gone | @albertatrebla MOB’d UP - San Diego
CONTENT = INFORMATION
“A strong information layer is the key to cross-
channel success”
— Andrea Resmini and Luca Rosati

47. the web you were used to is gone | @albertatrebla MOB’d UP - San Diego
WAYFINDING

48. the web you were used to is gone | @albertatrebla MOB’d UP - San Diego
THERE IS NO SUCH A THING AS
MOBILE CONTENT STRATEGY
image: abookapart.com

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THE CHALLENGE

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ADAPTIVE CONTENT
• Reusable
• Strong structure
• Independent of presentation layer
• Metadata
• Content Management System (CMS)

51. the web you were used to is gone | @albertatrebla MOB’d UP - San Diego
ADAPTIVE CONTENT

52. the web you were used to is gone | @albertatrebla MOB’d UP - San Diego
REUSABLE CONTENT

53. the web you were used to is gone | @albertatrebla MOB’d UP - San Diego
METADATA
image: http://dev.npr.org/#station-finder-api-examples

54. the web you were used to is gone | @albertatrebla MOB’d UP - San Diego
PROGRESSIVE DISCLOSURE

55. the web you were used to is gone | @albertatrebla MOB’d UP - San Diego
THE INTERNET IN YOUR PANTS
image: techpinions.com

56. the web you were used to is gone | @albertatrebla MOB’d UP - San Diego
THE FUTURE IS YESTERDAY
image: slashgear.com

57. the web you were used to is gone | @albertatrebla MOB’d UP - San Diego
BTW
image: flickr.com/photos/gregoryjordan

58. the web you were used to is gone | @albertatrebla MOB’d UP - San Diego
STEPHEN HAY

59. the web you were used to is gone | @albertatrebla MOB’d UP - San Diego
thank you.
@albertatrebla
albertasoranzo@gmail.com
albertasoranzo.com
Illustration: Dan Willis

60. the web you were used to is gone | @albertatrebla MOB’d UP - San Diego
RESOURCES
Content Strategy for Mobile
Karen McGrane
A Book Apart, 2011
Pervasive Information Architecture
Andrea Resmini, Luca Rosati
Morgan Kaufman, 2012
Android Design Patterns
Greg Nudelman
Wiley, 2013
Information Foraging Theory: Adaptive Interaction with Information
Peter Tirolli
Oxford University Press (USA), 2009
Fisher, J., Norris, S., & E. Buie (2012).
Sense-making in Cross-channel Design.
Journal of Information Architecture. Vol. 4, No. 1-2.
journalofia.org/volume4/issue2/02-fisher/