The World Information Architecture Day is a worldwide celebration that connects more than 63 cities across 28 countries every February. It is a full day of lectures and activities with Analysts, Architects, Content Strategists, Designers, Developers, Product Managers, and Students to discuss and shape the form of Information Architecture techniques and trends for the years to come. This year, the event will be held at the ITESM on the last Saturday of February – the 23rd.
Ok you told me about the WIAD... but what else should I know about the event?
 | The WIAD story in Mexico started in 2015, and Base22 has been directly connected to the initiative since 2017. The biggest Information Architecture company in Mexico is the main supporter, which is free for all attendants. The logistics and venue are mostly covered by Base22 and the ITESM. Besides that, the WIAD relies on a group of important volunteers. The event is dedicated to the empowerment of local leaders and practitioners of Information Architecture. The focus is to develop an ecosystem that leverages the global growth of the practice as a community, valuing diverse thoughts and thinkers, and helping them to raise their voice. World IA Day is jointly produced by a network of global, regional, and local volunteers with support from the Information Architecture Institute. |
Why we love WIAD
The World Information Architecture Day is an opportunity to discuss where we are going with our practice and most important, to hear how the Academy prepares our students and what is the perception within the Industry about what is really necessary to deliver solutions related to classification, labeling, vocabularies, taxonomies and more. Community and the Market joins this discovery ship that is fueled by volunteers, and Base22 believes it is vital to support such an outstanding initiative.
Base22 already sponsored this event in 3 different cities in Mexico: Puebla, Monterrey, and Mexico City, and the support transcend this unique day. As a preparation for what is about to come, we connect and partner with universities to understand the challenges they face, sharing the expertise on what is being required to reduce the adaptation curve when students leave the university and join the market. Every event is followed by training on Information Architecture topics so students may enhance their knowledge of the field with the expertise that Base22 offers while working with Fortune 100 companies.
The most important drivers are the students and practitioners' happiness while attending the event and their interest in understanding a topic that is often undervalued while deciding their careers. During a lecture or a coffee break, interaction shows that the power of human connections - local and global - may push the envelope and strengthen even more a practice that has more than 40 years and needs these types of events.
Connecting the Academy, the Industry, the Community, and the Market is what Base22 does while supporting World Information Architecture Day.
Our first WIAD was back in 2017
Base22 was the main supporter of the 2017 edition and sponsored 3 different cities in Mexico: Puebla, Mexico City, and Monterrey. With a lineup that had Ben Shoemate and Christina Wodtke as main speakers, Base22 connected all three cities in an event across the whole of Mexico, impacting 400 attendees in all 3 locations.
Ben Shoemate explains what IA is for the audience. |
ITESM teachers answer questions from the audience. |
What about 2019?
This year, as we head back to the ITESM, not one but two Base22 team members are taking the stage! Cody Burleson, Solution architect, and Priscila Mendoza, Information Architect, will share what Base22 believes about IA and how we inform our projects through IA.
The WIAD theme for this year is Design for the Difference. We will discuss how we should work to deliver experiences, environments, services, and systems that impact millions of people using technical and ethical skills to "do good” and "do not harm."
As Architects, we have the responsibility to evaluate the consequences and impact our design decisions to serve humanity and society as a whole. The key is research to understand the user, the context, and accountability for designing focused on diverse user needs within communities, in our own domains, and globally.
Want to know more about the event? Visit http://monterrey.wiad-mexico.org or drop us a note! We would love to talk about Information Architecture and how it can help the Digital Transformation Journey at your company.
The image in this article was taken by Max Langelott. It is The Library of Stuttgart in Germany.
