Card Sorting

Card Sorting is a participatory design technique where users organize content items (represented on cards) into logical groups and categories. Used primarily for information architecture design, card sorting reveals how users naturally think about and categorize content, providing empirical data for navigation hierarchies, menu structures, and taxonomy design. The method exists in open form (users create their own categories) and closed form (users organize cards into predefined categories), each revealing different insights about user mental models and organization preferences.