Card Sorting

A user research and information architecture method in which participants organise items (written on cards or displayed digitally) into groups that make sense to them, and may also label those groups. In open card sorting, participants create their own group categories; in closed card sorting, categories are predefined and participants assign items to them. Card sorting is widely used in accessibility and usability research to understand how users conceptualise and categorise information, which informs navigation structure, menu organisation, and content grouping. It is particularly valuable when designing for diverse user populations, as different groups may organise information differently based on their mental models and experience.