The four IA elements

The framework comes from a thematic analysis of 42 papers on sensemaking and interactive systems. Each element names something people already do when they make sense of information, and each maps to a concrete UI decision.

Each element can be both shown and built through the UI.

Structural elements (Partition Hierarchy) describe how information is organized. Semantic elements (Order Vocabulary) describe the meaning and priorities you bring to it.

Element	Definition	Example	Shown as	Created by
Partition	Items grouped because they are similar or related. Members are lateral peers.	Listings in Downtown, Midtown, Uptown	Tabs, kanban columns, accordions, color groups	Dragging an item between groups
Hierarchy	Items with differentiated roles relative to one another.	Price, commute, and safety under each apartment	Table columns, trees, nested cards	Adding or removing a field
Order	Sequence or weight based on what matters more to you.	Proximity to work > pet-friendly > parking	Sorted and ranked lists, pins, stars	Sorting, reordering, starring
Vocabulary	Personal terms with a task-specific meaning.	Affordable = under $1,800 a month	Headers, labels, tags, tooltips	Renaming a label, defining a term

How the elements shape generation

Maru's Layout Engine builds each interface in two steps:

1. Plan the layout with Partition and Hierarchy. Groups and fields set the skeleton, such as kanban columns for groups or table columns for fields.
2. Fill the layout with all four. Vocabulary sets the labels, and Order decides what comes first. Lower-priority items move down but are never removed.

Persistence

IA rules reflect what you build over a whole task, so they persist: each rule carries forward to new generations, and you can add or drop it at any time.

The four elements come from sensemaking work. Other activities, such as writing or data analysis, may need different elements; we offer these four as a starting point.