IAC23

Social Activities at IAC23

Some of the best memories that we have from past IACs don’t come from workshops and sessions, but rather from the social activities that allow us to build meaningful connections with our colleagues and explore the city. So make sure to check out the activities we have planned.

First Timers’ Orientation & Dinners

Wednesday, March 29, 2023
Orientation: 5:30pm – 6:00pm CDT, Location: Treme room at Intercontinental
Dinners: Reservations for 7:30pm CDT and later. Location: various restaurants

We’ve all been first timers’ at one time or another and it can be a little intimidating to walk into a room full of strangers for the first time. If this is your first time attending an IAC in-person, attending our first timers’ orientation and dinners on Wednesday is a great way to meet some friendly faces before the main conference begins. Get all the details on these events and mark your calendar.

Welcome Reception

Wednesday, March 29, 2023
6:00pm – 8:00pm CDT
Location: Frenchman room at Intercontinental

The Welcome Reception is the official kick-off to the main conference. It’s your first chance to reconnect with friends and acquaintances that you’ve only seen on the other side of a computer screen for the last 3 years and to meet some new faces.

IAC Walk and Run

Thursday, March 30, 2023
7:30am – 8:30am CDT
Location: Meet at the Main Entrance of the InterContinental Hotel

Our annual tradition of a 2-mile walk and a 3-mile run is continuing. Join your fellow conference attendees on Thursday morning for some fresh air and physical activity to get the first day of the conference off to a wonderful start. We will meet in front of the main entrance of the hotel at 7:20am and will depart at 7:30am. Don’t worry – we’ll be back with enough time for you to freshen up before our conference chairs take the stage for the first time at 9:00am.

Walk map — map for the iac23 walk hosted by Alesha Arp

map for the iac23 run hosted by Rebecca Harper — map for the iac23 walk hosted by Alesha Arp

Poster Night

Thursday, March 30, 2023
6:00pm – 8:00pm CDT
Location: Frenchman room at Intercontinental

After you’ve spent the first day of the main conference listening to our lineup of amazing presenters and getting inspired about your work, keep that energy going by coming to Poster Night. Check out what your peers have been working on and see what new ideas it might spark for you.

Game Night

Friday, March 31, 2023
7:00pm CDT – late CDT
Location: Melpomene room at Intercontinental

Another annual tradition is back. Come join your fellow conference attendees for a night of friendly competition on Friday evening from 7:00pm onwards. A selection of games will be provided and if you have a game that you would like to share with the community, please bring it along.

Karaoke Night

Friday, March 31, 2023
8:30pm CDT – late CDT
Location: Poydras, 3rd Floor at Intercontinental

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

Sponsorship types	Diamond $15,000	Platinum $10,000	Gold $5,000	Silver $2,500
Available sponsorships	2	4	Limited	Limited
Conference pre-roll video & talks (as part of plenaries / before keynotes)	30-second spot	30-second spot	30-second spot	Slide only
Web presence	Blog post + logo	Logo	Logo	Logo
Social media shout-outs and newsletter mentions
Total conference passes	6	4	2	1
Branded scholarship tickets	4	2	1	–
Booth				–
Branded bonus talks or workshop opportunity			–	–

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.

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!

Jeffrey Ryan Pass

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…

Carol J. Smith

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…

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…