Real world quiz of information architecture:

Extract meaning from the following:


0410001323
EXP:041002


While some context can be gleaned just from the bottom line, the information it provides is highly ambiguous (it could be interpreted at least 6 different ways). Adding the context of the upper line and the fact that it was found on a Crystal Geyser water bottle reduces it to about 2 interpretations, and that I bought it today in the United States from a vendor with high throughput pretty much narrows it down to one most likely interpretation (Expires April 10th, 2002), but it's an example of how people can overcome bad IA, not an example of good IA.

It's interesting to think how much effort went into designing the bottle and the label, and how little went into devising an understandable format for the expiration date.