My keynote address from the fifth Italian Information Architecture Summit, wherein I talk about what information architects do, why I consider myself one, and what the future may look like.

1. we
are
all
leonardo
now
summit
di
archite1ura
dell’informazione
2011
chris&an
crumlish
@mediajunkie
|
AOL

2. you
may
think
I
am
talking
about
this
guy

3. and
we
could
definitely
have
fun
with
that

4. and
we
could
definitely
have
fun
with
that

5. and
we
could
definitely
have
fun
with
that

6. and
we
could
definitely
have
fun
with
that

7. and
we
could
definitely
have
fun
with
that

8. and
we
could
definitely
have
fun
with
that

9. and
we
could
definitely
have
fun
with
that

10. and
I
also
could
have
meant
this
guy

11. and
I
also
could
have
meant
this
guy

12. and
I
also
could
have
meant
this
guy

13. and
I
also
could
have
meant
this
guy

14. not that leonardo either

15. actually
I
mean
this
guy

16. but
not...

17. but
not...

18. but
not...

19. but
not...

20. but
not...

21. but
this
guy,
the
architect
of
dreams

22. this
is
not
a
metaphor

23. this
is
not
a
metaphor

24. this
is
not
a
metaphor

25. this
is
not
a
metaphor

26. this
is
not
a
metaphor

27. this
is
not
a
metaphor

28. it’s
ok
to
learn
from
movies,
stories,
science
ficFon

29. it’s
ok
to
learn
from
movies,
stories,
science
ficFon

30. it’s
ok
to
learn
from
movies,
stories,
science
ficFon

31. it’s
ok
to
learn
from
movies,
stories,
science
ficFon

32. it’s
ok
to
learn
from
movies,
stories,
science
ficFon

33. what
does
he
do?
he
designs
imaginary
landscapes
with
structures
and
puzzles
and
rules
that
uFlize
our
exisFng
mental
constructs
to
do
with
Fme,
space,
place,
idenFty,
and
so
on,
but
he
is
also
able
to
break
those
rules
in
"magical"
ways

34. those
endless
stairs,
how
do
they
work?

35. those
endless
stairs,
how
do
they
work?

36. those
endless
stairs,
how
do
they
work?

37. btw,
the
architect
meme
is
popular

38. btw,
the
architect
meme
is
popular

39. btw,
the
architect
meme
is
popular

40. btw,
the
architect
meme
is
popular

41. btw,
the
architect
meme
is
popular

42. flashback

45. what does an
information architect
do?

46. 1. maps meaning

47. wurman
does
it

48. wurman
does
it

49. wurman
does
it

50. da
vinci
did
it

51. da
vinci
did
it

52. da
vinci
did
it

53. da
vinci
did
it

54. da
vinci
did
it

55. da
vinci
did
it

56. or...
data
viz,
vizthink,
info
design
Photo by jhritz

57. trying
to
explain
incepFon

58. trying
to
explain
incepFon

59. trying
to
explain
incepFon

60. trying
to
explain
incepFon

61. trying
to
explain
incepFon

62. me,
I
do
this

63. me,
I
do
this

64. me,
I
do
this

65. me,
I
do
this

67. 2. organizes
information

68. “classic”
web
IA
organizaFonal
schemes
(including
but
not
limited
to
navigaFon)
yes,
wireframes
and
sitemaps
MAYA’s
concept
of
the
middle
layer
between
interacFon
and
data
technical,
digital,
soQware
involved

69. “classic”
web
IA
organizaFonal
schemes
(including
but
not
limited
to
navigaFon)
yes,
wireframes
and
sitemaps
MAYA’s
concept
of
the
middle
layer
between
interacFon
and
data
technical,
digital,
soQware
involved

70. the
social
pa1erns
taxonomy

71. the
social
pa1erns
taxonomy

72. the
social
pa1erns
taxonomy

73. I
do
a
lot
of
this
too,
and
have
done
since
the
web

74. I
do
a
lot
of
this
too,
and
have
done
since
the
web

75. I
do
a
lot
of
this
too,
and
have
done
since
the
web

76. I
do
a
lot
of
this
too,
and
have
done
since
the
web

77. I
do
a
lot
of
this
too,
and
have
done
since
the
web

78. I
do
a
lot
of
this
too,
and
have
done
since
the
web

80. 3. designs
multidimensional
hyperconnected
conceptual spaces

81. call
it
pervasive
IA
if
you
like
cross-­‐channel
“real”
(built)
architecture
&
wayfinding
rule
making
game
design
space
as
metaphor,
mental
construct,
and
means
of
understanding
the
world

82. call
it
pervasive
IA
if
you
like
cross-­‐channel
“real”
(built)
architecture
&
wayfinding
rule
making
game
design
space
as
metaphor,
mental
construct,
and
means
of
understanding
the
world

83. this
is
how
you
use
the
social
design
pa1erns
set
of
rules
for
designing
social
spaces
much
like
an
architect
or
urban
planner
people
finish
the
job
(if
you’re
good)
christopher
alexander
isn’t
this
what
they
are
doing
in
incepFon?

84. that
word
“meaning”
again
Recently,
I
was
invited
to
work
on
Patch’s
social
strategy.
I
wanted
to
know
what
the
social
objects
were...
but
first
I
asked:
What
is
Patch
for?
What
does
it
do?
What
is
its
point?
What
does
it
mean
to
people?
What
does
it
say?

85. are these three ideas of
information
architecture
really different?

86. I
don’t
think
so...
but
what
do
you
think?
thank
you