Values in Information Architecture: The 8th Academics & Practitioners Roundtable at the 2020 Information Architecture Conference
Does information architecture have core values? Should it? What would those values be?
In recent years, ethics, inclusivity, and social responsibility have come to the fore as key issues in the information architecture, UX, and design fields. As practitioners, we want to uphold our ideals while balancing the demands of industry and the needs of diverse stakeholders. We are challenged to establish an identity for information architecture as a mature, ethical, and responsible field. This requires us to reflect, personally and collaboratively, upon the values that shape our practice.
Open to anyone with an interest in information architecture, the IA Roundtable is an annual event that aims to shape the discipline of information architecture by gathering practitioners, researchers, and educators to discuss critical aspects of our discipline and share what is discussed with the IA community. Join a dynamic collection of adventurers, thought leaders, and other curious folks for a lively, highly participatory roundtable.
This year’s IA Roundtable will focus on the topic of values in information architecture. We will use a short series of lightning talks and exercises to ground ourselves in relevant frameworks, perspectives, and experiences. The group will then work together to make sense of this topic and co-create shareable artifacts that support wider conversations about values in information architecture.
For those who want to take the results even further, we invite you to an informal strategy session and “make-a-thon” on the following day, Wednesday, April 15, from 9am to 2pm (exact times and location to be announced). Based on Tuesday’s Roundtable, we will create posters for the IA Conference Poster Night and discuss other ideas on how to extend conversations like this one into the world beyond the walls of the conference.
Join us and bring creative new ideas to life that you can develop, apply, and promote in your own practice! See http://iaroundtable.org for more details about this year’s topic, call for lightning talks, and the history of previous IA Roundtable events since 2013.
