Archive for August, 2007

Why become an Information Architect?

Monday, August 27th, 2007

I can’t remember where I heard it, but I was surprised it came from someone in the field. The sarcastic tone surprised me even more than the chuckles of agreement.

Hang on, I thought with astonishment, surely we’ve not reached the stage where we reduce ourselves to hackneyed self-criticism? In my experience, passion for their craft is common to every IA, and it’s one of the few careers you can’t really ‘phone in’. So, it’s taken me a while, but for the record here is my response.

[Note: Yes, some of what I'm talking about could be called interaction design, user experience etc. Change the post title if you like. I'll leave defining the damn thing to others.]

It’s creative
Every job has its drudgery. I’m sure some IAs would say that churning out wireframes comes pretty close sometimes, and certainly it can if you allow yourself to drift on autopilot. But any job that pays you to think and to listen, then to turn that into something meaningful, usable by everyone but retaining one’s own creative influence, is a rare thing.

It’s important
You’re making decisions that can have a lasting effect. We all know that bad site > unhappy users > no revenue, but IA can matter beyond the realms of the bottom line. I have true respect for IAs working, say, on medical information sites, improving access to information that can change (or even save) lives.

It’s varied
IA undoubtedly can lay claim to some of the largest changes of scale of any job in this domain. You may be looking at wide strategic decisions affecting thousands (millions, if you’re with the big guys) of people. Or you may be arguing whether 18pt leading is appropriate for this type, or whether icon A is sufficiently differentiated from icon B. I’ve spent mornings looking at numerous shades of pea green and drowning in a sea of RGB hex, followed by afternoons trying to convince others that semantic markup should be a central platform for our business.

It pays
Salaries are going up, and not showing many signs of abating. This is a specialised profession in great demand. Of course, we will have to wait and see how it survives the next tech dip, but even the IAI’s year-old figures are pretty impressive.

It’s part of something bigger
This, for me, is what seals it. The chance to help create the future of the web, to create a shared language of interactions, of new features and that wonderfully vague world of ‘cool stuff’. Things that will turn a sceptic into an ardent supporter. Sure, of course I’m here to make money for my employer, but ultimately I think I’m also here for the greater good – to make the web a better place. And because the industry isn’t at ‘idea saturation point’, in a small way I can help to shape the whole industry. How many accountants can say that?

Perhaps this all needs to be balanced with the negative aspects. Perhaps that’s another post. But try adding the prefix “Only you know” before any of the above headings for a flavour.

Tags: careers, informationarchitecture, ia

Posted in creativity, user experience | No Comments »

Transit(ory)

Friday, August 24th, 2007

Stuck on the Tube, I remembered I also had some cute transport-related links to share. So here they are.

Incomprehensible intersections – road design gone horribly wrong. I know the Americans denigrate the fine British roundabout, but at least we don’t often end up with monstrosities of this scale.
Airport – a neat little Flash animation made from AIGA’s public domain transport symbols
Thames Valley Police have set their computers to say “D’oh!” when they encounter an uninsured driver.

Posted in links | No Comments »

August link roundup

Sunday, August 19th, 2007

Draughts got solved – I do think AI is a ‘good thing’ but I think I liked the days where great mysteries were just that. I hope chess still has a few years left.
The Helvetica film is finally on at the ICA this month. Now I just need to find another typography geek to watch it with.
The best software for Mac OS – not just Quicksilver (which, yes, is essential).
Why full text feeds actually increase page views – a “duh” thing for most of us, but I fully expect to have to win this debate at some point in my career.
Minesweeper: The Movie – “Why are these mines even here?!”

Posted in games, links | 2 Comments »

Sonic Youth performance stats

Sunday, August 19th, 2007

Would love to see these Sonic Youth gig stats turned into some explorable interface. Any budding information designers with plenty of time on their hands?

Posted in music | No Comments »

Field Day

Monday, August 13th, 2007

Had to pass comment on Field Day. The weather was gorgeous, the lineup was excellent, but the whole event was pretty much ruined by amateurish organisation. It’s received a comprehensive slating on Myspace, and with good cause. 14 bar staff for 10,000 people does not a good ratio make, and even our backup plan of heading to the nearest pub until Electrelane failed, thanks to lack of re-entry. Still, not drinking meant I didn’t have to join the half-hour queues for the toilets.

I’m rather torn, because Liars, Battles, Electrelane and Bat For Lashes for £22 has be regarded as a bargain. I’m keen for the organisers to have another stab at things next year, and from their apologetic DiS interview I’m sure they’ll improve. I just think we deserved so much better, although I feel petulant for not having the grace to forgive.

There’s also a deeper concern. For some unexpected reason the last 5-10 years has seen festivals suddenly become the hot commodity. It wasn’t so long ago that Reading barely sold out, and you could get Glastonbury tickets at your leisure. Now, of course, one needs to plan weeks in advance to even get a ticket. With such massive demand, I do worry that promoters are simply jumping at the chance to make a quick buck by shoving some indie bands on stage in a country field. The punter seems to have been forgotten en route.

More events like Field Day and I forsee the pendulum returning the other way. Perhaps that wouldn’t be a bad thing.

Posted in music, personal | No Comments »