IDEA2008: Cross-disciplinary Design Conference, Chicago, IL, October 7-8

Take a look at my Dopplr page and you’ll see that I’ll be doing a lot of traveling between now and May. One of the trips I’m most excited about is to Chicago next month for the IDEA conference. Unlike many conferences that appeal to user experience designers, this one is considerably broader in the what’s covered while simultaneously being more intimate (fewer than 300 people in attendance).

I wanted to tell you all about it for a few reasons: a) I admire the Information Architecture Institute (IAI), the organization that’s putting it together; b) the speaker line-up is pretty phenomenal; and c) I love Chicago this time of year.

This will be a unique opportunity to meet some major players in the field in a significantly smaller setting. We’ll challenge ourselves to think much deeper about a variety of information problems during the day, and then enjoy the sights and delicacies of Chicago at night.

I know that budgets are tight, but this conference won’t break the bank: $550 for non-members of IAI, and $450 for members (and it only costs $40 to join!).

I’d love to see you there, so please consider registering. Don’t wait until the last minute to book flights and hotels as prices just go up. Take a moment to do it today.

Thanks for listening to my pitch. Hope to see you there!

IDEA2008 is the Information Architecture Institute’s conference on Information: Design, Experience, Access. This conference inspires and motivates professionals across multiple disciplines to blaze new trails in addressing design and information challenges of today’s always-on, always-connected world.

Who is speaking?

• David Armano: Micro-Interactions in a 2.0 World
• Alberto Cañas: Cmap Tools: From Meaningful Learning to a Network of Knowledge Builder
• Chris Crawford: Linguistic User Interfaces
• Bill DeRouchey: The Language of Interaction
• Jason Fried: Getting Real
• Jesse James Garrett: Aurora: Envisioning the Future of the Web
• Aradhana Goel: Emerging trends | Design thinking | Service innovation
• Dave Gray: Books and Browsers
• Andrew Hinton: You Are (Mostly) Here: Digital Space and the Context Problem
• Jason Kunesh: Design Context Clues
• Elliott Malkin: Information in Space
• Edwina von Gal: Mixing Messages

Who should attend?

Anyone who is involved with creating products and services which require users to engage in complex information spaces:

• Information architects
• User experience designers
• Interaction designers
• Web designers
• Information designers
• Game designers
• Designers in general, really!
• Marketing professionals
• Students of these disciplines

Because it’s a single-track conference, IDEA is also a great place to network. If you need to hire professionals from any of the above disciplines, or if you are looking for a new career challenge, you must come to IDEA.

What: The IA Institute’s IDEA (Information: Design, Experience, Access) Conference
When: October 7-8, 2008, Preconference Workshop October 6, 2008
Where: Chicago, IL, at the historic Harold Washington Library Center

Conference Website: http://ideaconference.org
Registration: http://ideaconference.org/2008/register.html
Speakers & Program: http://ideaconference.org/2008/program.html
Sponsorships: http://ideaconference.org/2008/sponsors.html

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