Card sorting is a fast, participatory research method that reveals how users mentally organise and categorise information. Instead of the design team deciding what goes where, participants make those decisions themselves, producing a map of the user's mental model rather than the designer's assumptions. The method is one of the most direct and reliable ways to inform the information architecture of a website, app, or any system that requires users to find and navigate content.
Card Sorting
Letting users define the categories that make sense to them
A
Designers Academy
18 March 2026 · 4 min read
ResearchMethods
In brief
Card sorting is a user research method where participants group and name content cards, revealing their mental models to inform the information architecture of digital products.
