Card Sorting
Card sorting is a research method in which participants group labeled cards (each representing a piece of content or a topic) into categories that make sense to them, and optionally name those categories. The patterns reveal how users actually think about and organize information, which often differs meaningfully from how the organization thinks about it. Open sorts are used when designing navigation from scratch; closed sorts validate or challenge an existing structure.
A research method for learning how users actually treat your content.
Users group cards → Patterns emerge → Information architecture reflects mental models
When to use this
- Before finalizing a website navigation structure, to validate that category labels reflect how users think, not how the brand thinks.
- When a navigation redesign reveals internal disagreement about what belongs where, card sort data resolves the argument with evidence.
- After a significant expansion of the content catalog, to determine whether the existing structure still works for a larger content set.