Will the Real Information Architect Please Stand Up?

Gail Leija

November 17th, 2008

7pm-10pm

Gladstone Hotel, 1214 Queen Street West, Toronto (map)

Admission: Free

There has been a lot of discussion over the years about what exactly information architecture is. These “Defining The Damned Thing (DTDT)” conversations have been primarily around the What, rather than the Who. But who are these people? Where do they come from? Why are they often crossing over from other disciplines, abandoning the comforts of an established professional identity, to become the synthesizers, connectors and interpreters – sometimes referred to as glue people – whose reward for doing a good job is often that their contribution seems so inevitable that becomes invisible? And how long can they be satisfied with what is prematurely congealing into the role of “wireframer?” How can they leverage their previous experience, education and interests to offer more value to their projects and teams? And, finally, what is the career path for an information architect? What’s next after IA?