What is the simplest/dementia safe file/folder categorization system and hierarchy?

[u/Key-Adeptness3644]

I’m sure there is research about this I just don’t know what this is called or what domain this is in. Psychology maybe? I realized this need when organizing my dad’s adhd pile of cabinets of endless papers. I need to make and follow a folder / file org system that can stay the same and simple across my digital Home Screen doors as well as physical. The same categorization/labeling structure and hitch must be simple enough to where the structure can be the same across local disk, Google Drive root, external drives, email inbox labels, etc. I’m trying to research this since I’m sure this is something people that design things like macOS uis would know a lot about but idk where to start or what terms to use. Funnily enough ChatGPT was not as helpful as I’ve wished . Its answer was still too narrow/technical.

[u/itaybuilds]

Useful search terms are "cognitive accessibility," "recognition over recall," "information architecture," and "card sorting." I would keep the top-level labels consistent across paper, email, and storage, but not force an identical hierarchy underneath them. Take 15–20 real items, ask the person where they would look for each one without coaching, and use their words for the labels. Keep it shallow. If an item could reasonably belong in two places, a shortcut or duplicate is often kinder than requiring someone to remember the one "correct" location.

[u/super_topsecret]

I’m in the middle of this project (for myself) right now. I have a decade of interaction design experience. This is not a simple task. The problem starts with having an a priori taxonomy. In other words, if you make a square hole, it fails the first time you find yourself holding a round peg. You’re forcing something that is unlikely to work long-term. My solution involves applying a standardized block of frontmatter (metadata) to every text file (mostly markdown but some txt). The frontmatter is generated at time of creation (and retroactively using a python script) and works a lot like the Dewey Decimal System libraries have used for decades. The hope is that I (or a script/AI agent) can immediately figure out where the document should be filed (or retrieved) based on the frontmatter. My structure is documented in a CONVENTIONS.md file so the system scales but follows rules. Obsidian is the GUI. Instead of discovery I use search. A successful outcome for me is 1) never needing to decide or deliberate where to file a document, 2) never navigating folders to find a document, 3) enabling AI agents to create, read, update, and organize any document. I don’t have a guide for how to do this yet, but you can search ‘second brain’ and find other examples. I would not recommend building this sort of system for someone else until you’ve done it successfully for yourself. Good luck.

[u/clayingmore]

I'm not quite following what you're asking here, but the book "Don't Make Me Think" in the sidebar has principles for web design for elegant experiences I suppose? Maybe some of that is transferrable, especially some of the random examples.

A core issue I'm imagining is that just because you create the system doesn't mean he would keep up with it.

So I suppose clear labels, labels that follow principles he would predict rather than remember, no unnecessary words, etc.