2019 IA conference

There is an absolute truth about AI and that is artificial is always a pale comparison to the real thing especially when intelligence is involved. If you’ve noticed in increase in attention from the SEO down the hall, it is because Google has determined that UX is the most SEO-proof ranking influence for search results. If you’re Stephen Hawkings (or Elon Musk and others), you believe that artificial intelligence brings…

Content design is the process of identifying and arranging content – words, images, charts, links, diagrams, etc. – that meets user and business needs. If you create information resources like websites, apps, or intranets for others to use, you’re doing this already. A critical first step in designing effective content is to figure out what you have, and if it’s any good. Content Inventories and Content Audits are the core…

A good taxonomy is one that meets the needs of its users. A great taxonomy is one that includes the needs of its users and business goals as a single strategy. Anticipating the immediate and long-term business goals of your organization along with the needs of end users is essential for product success and sustainability. This is true for e-commerce, government organizations, enterprise portals and other complex information environments. This…

We carry a screen with us at all times, yet technology is already moving beyond the screen. We must architect and design beyond screens to ensure we continue to serve in human centered ways, wherever, whenever and however interactions evolve. IA and Design leaders need to be at the forefront for the strategy for the intersection of people and technology, and we can be the leaders to take us beyond…

“Diversity is going to the party. Inclusion is being on the party-planning committee.” [Verna Meyers] Diversity and inclusion are imperative for anyone practicing information architecture. Categories, labels, and complex information spaces being built today will inherit value judgements by those who create them, impacting anyone else coming into contact with the frameworks that are built. On top of that, our society is changing as digital natives approach classification and naming…

Historically, design practices have focused on process, methods, and craft. But this limits design’s potential—design leaders can provide more value to their organizations by implementing robust DesignOps. In Design Operations Essentials, Dave Malouf will introduce participants to the three lenses of DesignOps, and how each one helps an organization increase the value it gets from its design practice. Participants will learn frameworks from strategic thinking and service design so they…

A recent paper submitted to the American Academy of Pediatrics concluded that the “good guys” in superhero films engage in more violent acts than the villains. Who decided which characters were good or bad? What ontological principals where used? Did they ask fans who they thought were the good guys or bad guys? Or did a small number of scientists define good and evil for themselves? The answers to these…

The talk narrates the path of design and construction of the first female UX community in Latin America and how, after co-creation sessions, was defined and started working on 5 mvps that are now the core projects of the community. These are: the monthy meetings, a women in UX interview, monthy workshops, mentoring program and an only UX women Directory.

We know a user experience focus improves sites, systems, services, products, places, and processes. However, when the UX is divorced from the overall CX (customer experience) even a great UX can lose its strength, its impact, its voice, its power, its income-generating potential, and even its self-worth. UXs and CXs are sometimes so disparate that the CX isolates the UX from its intended users. It can be challenging to bring…

It’s estimated that 1 in 12 men and 1 in 200 women have some form of color blindness, or color vision deficiency as it is more accurately known. While not considered a serious medical condition or a disability, color blindness can make aspects of everyday life difficult. One area of frustration for people who are colorblind is the use of color to impart information. Whether used in charts and graphs…

As organizations become more customer-centric, it’s time for designers to grow. Those who have demonstrated value are ready to become leaders and drive change within their organizations. But does leadership mean you have to stop designing? Absolutely not. As a leader, you’ll apply your skills and processes towards solving a new variety of problems, with amplified complexity. These challenges require insight into the organization and how it operates, so you…

A formerly secret IBM-funded research project 0f 1978 was the earliest interactive design in arts education and was among the last and least known projects from the legendary designers Charles and Ray Eames. The game led viewers to recognize the styles of Impressionist and Post-Impressionist painters through random selection, simple interactions, and feedbacks ranging from “good guess” to “no way” for the response to a given work in a given…

As waves of new technology continue to roll in, it’s critical now more than ever that we spend time and resources to understand the humans involved and their unique paths in life. However, the process of performing qualitative research to understand the essential “why,” is incredibly challenging. Successfully moving from research insights to action within the organization is even more difficult, but is the key to helping build a more…

Many of us were raised on human-centered design. Our practice is firmly rooted in methods such as personas and journey maps that help us get an understanding of who we’re designing for. HCD gave us a framework to tame complexity by putting humans at the centre of problems and designing around their needs. It has been great at streamlining users’ everyday activities, like navigating a city (Google Maps), socializing (Snapchat,…