Information Architecture in Non-RPG Books

Technical writing is a profession that is literally hundreds of years old at this point. Interestingly, the essential techniques and fundamental best practices haven't changed very much over the years, even as we have transitioned into digital-first media. 

Good information architecture tells the reader:

• Where they are
• What they'll learn here
• Where to go next if they want X, Y, and Z

I am a technical writer as my day job. On my weekends, I write RPG nonsense. 

This post is about good technical writing and information architecture that I draw on to write RPGs from sources that aren't games at all.

Show maps, list destinations

A table of contents is different from an index. When a person first opens a book, they use the table of contents as the "map" of the book: the different regions, short descriptions of what they might find there, the relative spacing of these regions within the text. They learn the lay of the land.

If you're looking for dessert recipes, you can see they start on page 120, and last about 10 pages. You understand that the last few pages of the book are dedicated to this space. 

Alison Roman, Nothing Fancy, 2019

Once you've flipped through the book once, you have a different understanding of the text. Now that you're familiar with the space, you might be looking for a specific location. Instead of looking for "desserts," you might be looking for the recipe of a trifle. 

An index is an easy way to find specific locations on the map. Whereas you can intuit desserts > trifle, the index places it directly under T, with a page reference. 

Sometimes, it makes sense to put an index in the front. Medicare & You: The Official U.S. Government Medicare Handbook is a guide to a complicated subject where users probably are coming to the text with specific questions. By putting the index in the front of the book, it serves its users well by making every topic easily accessible.

Medicare & You 2024

Provide reference materials first

Cookbooks understand that recipes (how-to guide) are different from learning how to cook (tutorials). Both are different from a glossary of terms (reference). 

Cookbooks tend to follow the successful pattern of putting tutorials and references in the front of the book. As readers explore the book space for the first time, they note their presence and realize they can come back to them as needed. 

For example, Chef Paul Prudhomme's Louisiana Kitchen begins with an explanation of the terms used in Cajun cooking (étouffée, courtbouillon, etc.) and then procedures for cooking techniques that are referenced in the recipes later in the book (how to create a roux). When a recipe says to create a roux, those instructions are not repeated later. The reader knows they can flip back to the initial reference materials for these procedures.

Paul Prudhomme, Chef Paul Prudhomme's Louisiana Kitchen, 1984

Cross your references

You cannot control the way that a user moves through a book. They might have a specific question and use the table of contents or index to find it. They might just flip through it, hoping to find a likely-looking space to begin reading. Because of this, you must cross-reference the information throughout the book, without an expectation that a reader has read any section before or after that page.

Medicare & You uses bold, blue text when they have defined the term in the glossary at the beginning of the book. Whenever there is information on another page that is important to understand the topic being discussed, a bold page reference is provided.  

Speak the user's language

Medicare & You is a masterclass in a text that knows its audience. Its large font size is supportive of a population with likely accessibility needs. It aggregates new information into a "What's new & important" section, giving a high level view for people already used to the system before going deeper.

Medicare & You 2024

Information hierarchy

Alison Roman, Nothing Fancy, 2019

Information hierarchy is a way for the reader to make sense with their eyes (or assistive devices) of what should be read first, second, third. What is most important on the page. 

Tools like a page title (H1), explanatory text above the how-to guide, a sidebar for reference material, notes, page numbers, and a running footer help orient the user on every page. The reader can easily find the information they need when they need it because each section always has the same type of information in that space. 

In digital spaces, having clear information hierarchy with header levels is especially important, as assistive devices will use the header level (H1 -> H2 -> H3, etc.) to determine what to present to the user first. Don't skip header levels for aesthetic purposes. 

Semantically meaningful headers

Medicare & You 2024

It's important to orient readers to the content of the page. In Medicare & You, headers are either imperative or interrogative. 

• Imperative headers are active: Get help. Sign up. Learn about.
• Interrogative headers are questions that users want to know. Will I have to sign up? If I didn't get B, can I get C?

These headers help users understand the content of each page. Even if they don't need the answers to these questions yet, as they move through the text, they'll understand what exists and what doesn't. 

And above all, each section is centered on the user's experience. What they need to know. Compare the page above to a section called: "Services within scope of program." That section might contain the same basic information, but by making the header about the user (and not about the program, abstractly), the reader can better understand why they would read that section.

While I have you

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