IAC: Information Architecture conference

IAC: Information Architecture conference

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IAC23

Sponsor IAC23

Sponsor the world’s leading gathering for academics and practitioners of information architecture, while helping to create a truly unique conference. Reach an engaged community of decision-makers and influencers. Align your brand with socially conscious practitioners and leaders in information architecture, user experience, and digital design.

Be part of the 24th annual gathering of information architects, user experience designers and researchers, content strategists, and engineers. The IA conference – the premier conference to learn about and discuss the intentional design of rich information environments.

Download Sponsorship Brochure

With over 300 expected attendees, an engaged social media following, and over 1 million social media impressions, it’s the perfect opportunity to showcase your product, service, or business. 

The conference includes talks, posters, workshops, and networking opportunities. Attendees pick up timely insights and practical lessons that can be used immediately at work.

Benefits of sponsoring the conference

Audience

Reach diverse group of practitioners and generate leads

  • Content Strategist / Designer
  • Conversation Architect
  • Customer / Digital Experience Manager
  • Data Engineer / Data Scientist
  • Design Lead
  • Digital Strategist
  • Experience / Interaction Designer
  • Founder / CEO / CIO
  • Information Architect
  • Instructional Designer
  • Product Designer / Owner / Manager
  • Researcher / Ethnographer
  • Socio-technical Researcher
  • Students (grad, undergraduate, HS)
  • Taxonomist / Ontologist
  • User Experience Designer
  • UX Manager / Director
  • Visual Designer

Impressions

Increase awareness of your brands

  • ~1,000,000 total impressions on Twitter
  • 328,000+ during the 5 days of the conference
  • 714,000+ in the year leading up to the conference
  • 11,000+ Twitter followers
  • 5,300+ subscribers on mailing list
  • 300 expected attendees

Engagement

Access and engage with the community

  • Recruit top talent
  • Deliver branded talks, workshops, emails, or social media posts
  • Build relationships with attendees through sponsored events and initiatives
  • Create your unique experience with the IAC community

Your sponsorship enables 

Expanded diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) programming

Sponsor DEI efforts and enable underrepresented communities to impact the field and practice of IA. Your sponsorship empowers us to include people who otherwise could not afford to attend, such as those whose employment has been affected by COVID-19 or other circumstances.

Student scholarships for traditionally under-represented communities

IAC’s Scholarship Program has offered 30 full scholarships to people of color since 2018. Your sponsorship allows students to continue to participate in the conference. We are reaching out to Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) to increase student participation.

World-class programming and conversations.

As the premiere conference of information architects and user experience professionals, your sponsorship enables new speakers to join the conversation.

Let’s work together to get the visibility and recognition that works for you. We can design a package that leaves an impression with attendees and supports the creative atmosphere of the conference.

Your backing can support:

  • DEIB Initiatives including Scholarships for student and professional attendees
  • Events, special guests, breaks, and more…
  • Movement: IAC is the home of Polar Bear Yoga, the Polar Bear Run, and the Polar Bear 2k Walk!
  • Attendee programs such as professional headshots, the IAC Career Center, portfolio reviews, mentoring, and more…
  • Provide IAC23 speaker and volunteer gifts, swag, logistics and more…

Do you have a great idea to make the event even better? Do you want to give an open-ended contribution that our volunteer organizers can put to good use? Let’s talk!

Sponsorship Packages

How to sponsor the conference

Let’s collaborate and get creative.

All sponsorship opportunities can be customized to fit your needs and budget. Get in touch and we can help your vision come to life. We also accept in-kind donations such as books, subscriptions, licenses, swag, etc.

Let’s work together to create the visibility and recognition that works for you. See our sponsorship package (PDF) for details.

Download Sponsorship Brochure

How your backing supports the conference:

  • Sponsor an event or series of events
  • Award branded scholarships for student attendees 
  • Fund branded tickets for those whose employment has been affected by COVID
  • Provide captioning, transcription services, and audio/video recording 
  • A virtual lounge or product workshop for attendees with your brand, front-and-center
  • Branded appreciation gifts for volunteers and speakers 
  • All sponsorship opportunities can be customized to fit your needs and budget.

Get in touch so we can help your vision come to life.

Contact us today

Vanessa Foss

Kunverj

6103 Blue Sage Lane

Upper Malboro, MD 20722 USA

Phone: +1 (301) 503-0993

Fax: +1 (301) 542-0049

IAC23 for Everyone

IAC has always worked hard to welcome participants with special needs including sign language interpreters for keynotes, audio/video captioning for session recordings, special meal options for those with dietary restrictions, quiet/prayer rooms and lactation rooms, as well as student diversity and professional equity scholarships. 

For IAC23 we’re introducing even more programs to ensure that the 2023 IA conference is the most welcoming, diverse, and inclusive yet:

  • Pilot: ODA Country Pricing
  • Pilot: Non-Native Speaker Support
  • GSA Room Block

Pilot: ODA Country Pricing

In an attempt to engage the information architecture community around the world, and to level the playing field for IAs from poorer countries, IAC23 is piloting a program to provide discounted registration for participants from countries with a lower gross national income (GNI).

The first 50 individuals residing in countries that fall on the current Official Development Assistance (ODA) recipient list will be able to register for IAC23 at our lowest (student) rate; a savings of $525 off a standard registration. 

Learn more on the IAC23 Registration Info page.

Pilot: Non-Native Speaker Support 

While IAC is an English-language conference, we have attendees and speakers from around the world, including from many non-English-speaking countries. For IAC23 we are piloting a program to provide English-language presentation support to speakers and workshop facilitators from Central America, the Caribbean, and South America.

Eligible speakers will be paired with native Spanish and Portuguese speaking mentors that have extensive experience presenting at (and helping organize) IAC, as well as the IA Summit before it.

We are currently unable to offer this same support for the proposal submission process, however you can use the “Anything else we should know?” field in the proposal submission form to let us know that you are not a native English speaker; the curation team will review your proposal accordingly. And if your proposal is accepted, we’ll pair you with a mentor.

Learn more about submitting a proposal for IAC23.

GSA Room Block

Many government (local, state, federal) employees as well as academics have strict allowances (per diems) for lodging, meals, and incidental expenses while traveling on government (or government sponsored/subsidized) business. 

Each year, the U.S. General Services Administration (GSA) establishes per diem rates for the following year. The 2023 GSA Per Diem rate has now been published and IAC is pleased to announce that we’ve secured a block of 10 rooms at the GSA-established lodging rate.

Additionally, refreshments are provided throughout the day during the main conference and at least one meal is provided (either a banquet lunch or dinner). This is included within the price of registration allowing GSA per diem participants to stretch their daily meal allowance.

If you qualify for the GSA lodging rate, please register for IAC23 then contact meetings@kunverj.com to request a GSA rate room. Our event planning partners at Kunverj will be able to assist you. Please do not book directly through the IAC23 website or the InterContinental New Orleans.

Sponsor Inclusivity

IAC has numerous sponsorship levels and packages, some of which directly map to accessibility, scholarship programs, and speaker support. Our sponsorship team can also work with you to customize a sponsorship focused on our diversity and inclusivity efforts, or any other aspect of the conference. Learn more on the IAC23 Sponsorships page or contact us at info@theiaconference.com for more information.

Apply to be the IAC23 Student Co-Chair

Be the IAC23 Student Co-Chair

The 2023 IAC conference (IAC) is looking for a student co-chair. This page describes the role  and responsibilities. We welcome all types of students. If after reviewing this page, you are interested in being the IAC23 Student Co-Chair please apply using the form towards the end of this page.

About IAC23

The IAC conference is the leading gathering for academics and practitioners of information architecture. Since 2000, our community of information architects, user experience designers and researchers, content strategists, and engineers have met to learn about and discuss the intentional design of rich information environments. 

A dedicated team of volunteers from the IA community, along with Kunverj, a conference planning organization, produce the is annual conference. The IAC is organized and managed by a team of co-chairs, composed of three professionals and one student. The student co-chair is expected to devote 5-8 hours per week to the IAC during the academic school year leading up to the event, and to be in attendance during the week of the pre-conference and conference. Active months are October through April.

Student Co-Chair Responsibilities

Our student co-chair program supports our community goals to:

  • foster engagement with students from diverse backgrounds 
  • promote information architecture as a discipline to students, career shifters, and emerging professionals
  • facilitate professional development to produce future leaders for the IAC and the broader practice of information architecture

The student co-chair is expected to:

  • serve as a representative of student perspectives, ensuring they are reflected in conference planning and program curation 
  • establish liaison relationships with their own and other academic programs to promote and encourage sponsorship and subsidies for student attendance to the conference
  • serve as an ambassador, encouraging student participation and welcoming students who engage with the event
  • support the overall conference by:
    • reviewing website content, supporting overall conference planning and 
    • career Center & Mentoring Directors (with Experience and Content Co-Chairs)
    • scholarship Coordinator (with Experience and Content Co-Chairs)
    • additional Student Volunteers as identified

Benefits of Participation*

  • mentorship from industry professionals
  • conference planning experience
  • networking opportunities
  • infinite IA Street Cred
  • full IAC23 conference registration fee covered
  • transportation to New Orleans including round trip economy airfare (or equivalent transportation) and hotel stay during conference

*This is a volunteer, non-compensated position. 


Our Ideal Candidate is:

  • a proactive, proven leader
  • passionate about information architecture
  • currently studying in a relevant field – We welcome applicants from a wide range of study disciplines, including traditional fields such as information architecture, user experience, library science, technical writing, and human-computer interaction, to adjacent or emergent fields such as anthropology, psychology, sociotechnologists, technical ethics/philosophy, etc. 
  • has previous service experience (clubs, organizations, non-profits)

Application/Selection Process

  • the deadline to apply is October 10th, 6pm PST. 
  • three finalists will be selected to advance and meet with the conference leadership team. Finalists will also be asked to provide at least one personal reference.
  • we will announce our 2023 Student Chair by October 19th.

How to Apply

Applications for the IAC23 Student Co-Chair have closed.

UPDATE: We have a Student Co-Chair! Meet Bill Guo

Learn More About the Conference

The theme of IAC 2023 is Change & Resilience. Much has changed in the world since our community last met in person in 2019. Every industry and organization, not to mention humanity as a whole, had to adapt to survive during the global pandemic. So it is fitting that in 2023, we will be examining how institutions and organizations, and the people who run them, deal with change, and how our capacity to manage adversity and thrive in altered circumstances determines our success. Learn more at www.theiaconference.com. 

Meet the IAC23 Co-Chairs

The IAC23 Co-Chairs and Their Priorities.

IAC23 planning is underway led by our 2023 Co-chairs:

  • Jeff Pass, Curation Chair
  • Carol Smith, Experience & Content Chair
  • To-be-named, Marketing & Sponsorship
  • Bill Guo, Student Chair

The Information Architecture conference (and Information Architecture Summit before it) has made significant contributions to the field of information architecture and many related fields and disciplines. It is one of the oldest annual  gatherings in the technology industry and, over the past 24 years, has helped launch careers, establish thought leaders, and produce volumes of work, as well as voluminous works on the field. 

As we move towards the quarter century mark gathering as a community, the IAC23 Co-chairs are committed to making our return to in-person a reminder of the importance and value of this community and its critical work. 

Important note: We are excited about holding IAC23 in New Orleans, especially after having to shift IAC20 from NOLA to virtual. We are angered and deeply concerned by Louisiana’s denial of full reproductive healthcare to Louisiana residents. In response, the IA Conference will make a strategic donation to an organization that supports, promotes, and/or provides full reproductive services to Louisiana residents.

Get to know our IAC 2023 Co-chairs!

Headshot of Jeff Pass, a middle-aged, bald, bearded white male wearing glasses, a shirt, jacket and pocket square, with a squinting smile.

Jeff Pass

Jeff Pass has spent the past 23 years as a federal contractor working on dozens of high profile sites including COVID.gov, COVIDtests.gov, USPS.com, HealthCare.gov, CFTC.gov, and MyHealth.VA.gov. 

Jeff served as the Diversity & Inclusion co-director for the inaugural IAC and has been an organizer/volunteer ever since. He got his start at the IA Summit in New Orleans in 2012, helped draft the original IA Summit code of conduct and has helped iteratively update it for IAC. He is excited for IA Conference to return to an in-person format.

Visit Jeff’s page to learn more…

Headshot of Carol Smith, a middle-aged, curly haired white woman, wearing glasses and a wry smile.

Carol Smith

Carol Smith is a senior research scientist in human-machine interaction at the Carnegie Mellon University (CMU) Software Engineering Institute in the AI Division, and an adjunct instructor for CMU’s Human-Computer Interaction Institute. She leads research and development focused on making responsible AI by improving interactions with the nation’s AI systems, robotics, and other emerging technologies.

Visit Carol’s People page to learn more…

Headshot of Bill Guo, a young Asian man with straight hair, wearing glasses and dark shirt, with a gentle smile.

Bill Guo

Bill Guo is an undergraduate student from Shanghai (China) finishing his senior year at Carnegie Mellon University (CMU), where he studies human-computer Interaction (HCI) and learns about the significant impact of artificial intelligence on the many aspects of people’s lives and society. He believes that with growing impact comes a greater need for advancing responsible technology and reliable IA that could lead us towards a more just and equitable world.

Bill currently leads the CMU User Experience Association (UXA), a student organization dedicated to supporting students’ interest in UX academically, socially, and professionally. He is excited to create an inclusive experience for students and everyone else at IAC23.

Visit Bill’s People page to learn more…

Submit a proposal for IAC23

Important note: the IAC23 workshop and talk proposal window has ended, however you can submit poster proposals until January 27, 2023. Learn more about poster presentations or…

Submit a Poster Proposal

The first step to becoming a session speaker at IAC is to write a proposal for the talk or workshop you would like to conduct. These short descriptions help our curation team understand the topics you are planning to share with the community and allow us to put together a dynamic and diverse program for conference attendees. (Posters submissions are managed through a similar, but separate process). We encourage submissions from all and look forward to hearing from the diverse communities working with and architecting information environments today.

What we look for

IAC23 will examine how our industry, organizations, institutions and personal work deal with change. Learn more about the IAC23 theme, Change & Resilience.

We appreciate submissions that fit the conference theme, and topics that will engage our community. Common topics from years past have included: 

  • Approaches for modeling large-scale information environments
  • Best (as well as ethical and socially responsible) practices for IA
  • Bridging academia research and real-world practice
  • Connecting information architecture with related fields and domains
  • IA at scale (from small engagements to the enterprise)
  • IA tenets (revisiting classic tenets and exploring new ones)
  • Relevant case studies

Deadlines

IAC23 workshop and session proposals were due by Sunday, October 30, 2022, AOE (UTC-12). UPDATE: Workshop and session proposals are now closed.

Poster session proposals are due by Friday, January 27, 2023, AOE (UTC-12).

Note: once again we are using START/SoftConf to manage proposal submissions (the application is not accessible – please contact us if you encounter issues). For your convenience, you can download this IAC23 Workshop & Session Proposal Form Template to use when composing your proposal(s); it matches the START/SoftConf form.

Proposal types

Curation for IAC involves two types of content – workshops and sessions. Workshops occur prior to the main conference and give you a chance to present over either a half or full day. Conference sessions are presentations of various lengths from short lightning talks to full 45 minute presentations, and include poster presentations.

Workshop and session submissions undergo a peer review process before final selections are made by the curation team. Poster submissions are reviewed and selected by the Poster Session director. All proposals, workshops, sessions, and posters, all fall under the auspices of the IAC Code of Conduct.

Workshops

  • Half day workshop: offer a four-hour time slot for participants to learn, practice, and grow.
  • Full day workshop: ideal for in depth topics and for allowing plenty of time for attendees to get hands on with a subject.

When developing half- or full-day workshops, be sure to factor in time for breaks. Also consider shareable materials which can be made available to attendees either before or after your session.

Workshop Benefits

Workshop facilitators enter into an equal partnership with the conference and share 50% of workshop income once it reaches the break even point. They also receive main conference registration at the lowest rate (approximately 40% off standard registration). 

UPDATE: Workshop proposals are now closed.

Sessions

  • 7-minute lightning talk: Ideal for a topical overview or summarizing a key facet of an idea. These talks spark conversation.
  • 20-minute session: Ideal for big ideas in a concise form, delve into a topic or explore the boundaries of emerging trends.
  • 45-minute session: Ideal for complex ideas that need extra examples or details to be understood, or for sessions with multiple presenters. Reframe material and ask deeper questions, explore a framework, or invite participation as part of a roundtable.

Session Benefits

Selected 7-minute lightning talk presenters receive a $100 discount off main conference registration.

Selected 20-minute and 45-minute session presenters receive:

  • Free main conference registration 
  • 1 complementary night at the conference hotel during the main conference
  • $150 per session

UPDATE: Workshop proposals are now closed.

Poster presentations

The Poster Session is a long time tradition at IAC. Posters are shared in a common space during an extended session. IAC attendees visit individual posters and chat with their creators. Posters and the Poster Session are great for getting to know the community, especially for first-time presenters. Assume that you’ll be giving repeated short introductions and also engaging in natural conversations about your topic.

Note: poster submissions are handled through a separate proposal form and curation process.

Poster Benefits

Selected poster presenters receive a $100 discount off the main conference registration.

Submit a Poster Proposal

Resources for writing a great proposal

The following is a tried and true list of external resources to help create a great proposal:

Sponsor IAC

Thanks to this year’s sponsors!