The Recipe for Applying Information Design Theory To Your Blog

The Theories: Sense-Making as proposed by Brenda Dervin (Information Design - pp. 35-57) and Sign Posting as proposed by Romedi Passini (Information Design - pp. 83-98)

Why pick two instead of just one: Ultimately, I feel that these two theories on information design work best when working in tandem with each other, as each compliments and enhances what the other is trying to do. 

The Pros:

Sense-Making

• By it's very nature, the goal is to make sense/order out of chaos, key for proper processing of information
• It allows for continual adjustments and constant understanding because it is used in a reality that "is itself in flux and requires continued sense-making" (Dervin 45).
• Helps understand the cores of the issues, along with the issues themselves, leading to a better understanding and use of information

Sign-Posting

• Determines "what information is necessary, where it should be, and what form it should take" (Passini 88). 
• Excellent in use for problem solving given the step by step nature of the process (if you follow X step, you achieve Y goal, and may continue to step Z).

The Cons:

A big draw back to the sense-making theory of Information Design is that it has been used more in a hypothetical nature as opposed to a practical one. Dervin does mention the use of a Sense-Making approach by librarians when trying to help patrons with their research questions (by asking things like "How do you hope to be helped? What led you to ask this question?" p.49). If you're not looking to build a wealth of background information to use to make decisions, sense-making may not be the best approach to your design.

The biggest drawback to a Sign-Posting/Wayfinding approach to information design, is trying to achieve a universality that speaks to people in all situations. As Passini points out, "A major distinction must be made between wayfinding in unfamiliar settings and wayfinding in familiar settings or along familiar routes" (89). If you're trying to teach/educate with your wayfinding design, it may be a bit more of a challenge than if you're just trying to make use of information your audience is already familiar with, such as brand familiarity/expectations.

In The Blog Environment:

In this kind of an environment, I think these two methods work quite well together because of the nature of the presentation. As my fellow student Sara Neukirchner points out in her discussion post this week, "Links, Navigation bars like “Home” “About” “Contact” are everyday occurrences we’ve learned to use." Just think of the web, and the kinds of icons that have become so ingrained that we hardly think about them any more. 


Take a look at this image of an early web browser, which was found here: http://www.1stwebdesigner.com/design/web-design-history-from-the-beginning/  and they got it from here: http://www.computerhistory.org/timeline/?year=1993

This early browser contains many images we still use today in the internet and computer programs, with some very minor changes (if any at all). The fact that they are still in use speaks to the fact that people understand the need for universal sign points to convey information in the most efficient manner to guide the audience from point A to point B. For example, if I want to refresh my page online, I will be looking for some sort of looped arrow design, even if I've never used that particular program before. The drawback comes when someone decides not to use that symbol for that function. It causes problems because it then brings the user to an unfamiliar path and they must reprocess information in order to continue on. It isn't necessarily a bad thing, just something be aware of. 

So in that manner, any blog, not just my own, will always utilize Sign-Posting to some degree. You can be innovative with your design, but it's a fine balance between old and new that will be the most effective towards your goals.


As far as sense-making goes, the research aspect of the techniques used in that particular theory make a lot of sense. If you think about it, a blogger is essentially an author, as they must come up with interesting content with the goal of attracting readers. Authors can never do enough research for their projects, and often have mountains of information that they may never actually use in the final product. But even if they never use the information, it still must be gathered so that it can be assessed. The above mentioned questions asked by a librarian fit very well for an author trying to analyze their audience. What do you like to read? What would hold your interest long enough to finish an article? Do you like more visual media (pics, videos) or straight text? And so on.


As a blogger, those are the kinds of questions you need to be asking, and then making sense of in order to generate the biggest readership you can. Outwardly, the implementation of the sign-posting theory is going to be more obvious and overt than the implementation of a sense-making one. This is mostly because of the familiarity people have with the sign-posting technique. Even when you don't know the technical terms behind it, it's easy to see when you've been led from point A to B to C. It becomes more difficult to see when something has been customized to your desires when you aren't the one doing the customizing. Then it just becomes just a vague sense of enjoyment derived from your experience on the blog. That's ultimately why I think both techniques will work well in the blog environment: one works behind the scenes, one works center stage.Think of a concert where all the attention is on the performers (sign-posting) while not even thinking about the people behind the scenes that make all the lights, effects, etc work (sense-making).