One of the biggest traps in topic-based writing it the attempt to size topics so that each one meets exactly one user information need. It is tempting to suppose that this is the point of topic-based authoring. If the book is the wrong size because people only use them to look up bits of information,… Read More »
One of the most enduring and most maligned topic patterns in tech comm and on the Web is the FAQ. Writers and Information Architects frequently regard the FAQ as a sign of poor organization. For best and most consistent access, they argue, information should be in its proper place in the overall site or help… Read More »
I am very grateful to Jonatan Lundin for a lengthy conversation on the subject of topic patterns because it helped me to crystalize something important about the basis for the principles of EPPO information design and how they are derived. Approaches based on psychology Traditionally, theories of information design have been psychologically based. Researchers (usually… Read More »
One of the principles of Every Page is Page One information design is that an EPPO topic conforms to a type. But I have come to think that that formulation is not quite right. It should really be, an Every Page is Page One topic conforms to a topic pattern. The difference between type and pattern… Read More »