Tag Archives: WIAD

WIAD Dallas event: big success

In case you were wondering where I have been for the early part of 2019, it’s been planning World Information Architecture Day in Dallas. After much hard work, planning and organizing, I can say that WIAD Dallas was a huge hit. I am very pleased with the outcome.

Jennifer Blatz UX Design WIAD Information Architecture Day
Not only did I organize WIAD Dallas, I also acted as the event’s emcee.

Planning and Organizing

Thankfully I did not pull this event together alone. I had a small group of volunteers and a co-organizer that helped me with the logistics. There are a lot of details that go in to organizing an event. And I am proud of myself for taking on such a challenge and surviving to tell the tale.

Lessons learned

I  worked on the planning committee for WIAD in Los Angeles in the past. I forgot how much work and event can be. Along the way this time, I did learn a few valuable lessons about process, organization, teamwork and myself.

Start early. Even though I got a lot of people interested in volunteering months in advance, it pays to get those people active in duties asap.

Share the duties. I took on too much for this event. I needed to delegate more of the responsibilities to the volunteers who where eager to actually pitch in.

Did I say start early? Get sponsorship locked down and payments submitted weeks, if not moths in advance. Secure the venue and give yourself time to check it out and make sure all is ok. Nail down the details of the meals as to not be worried about these details at the final hour.

Give the volunteers specific roles and tasks. If people are not responsible for a specific duty, they will not do it. That is why a lot of the small stuff fell on me to knock out for the event.

Relax. Everything will come together in the end. We got food ordered. We had a venue. We had a lot of RSVPs and a great turnout. Weather was great (last year we got hammered by rain.) And everyone seemed very pleased with the entire event. Well done you!

Jennifer Blatz UX design gets interviewed for ProjectUX podcast.
Jeff Whitfield of the Project UX Podcast interviews me to get my perspective on organizing WIAD.

Accomplishments

  • I survived!
  • I raised about the amount of sponsorship that had been raised the previous years. Last yeah all funds came from on source. This year we had support from over 10 companies, recruiters and community groups.
  • I secured 7 high-profile and reputable speakers that talked about a variety of topics and shared valuable insight. Our fabulous speakers covered several different topics from research, to empathy, to content to Slurpees! Yep Slurpees.
  • We doubled the attendance from the previous year.
  • We had some pretty cool sponsors like 7-Eleven donated breakfast and brought a ton of cool food and drinks.
  • We had fun swag and great raffle prizes to give away like a BigD ticket, plenty of Amazon gift cards and cool UX books.
  • People seemed pleased with the diversity of the speakers’ topics.
  • Overall, attendees were happy with the day.

Whew! So now that I’ve had a little time to recover and play catch up, I am finally sharing my experience with you. Thank you for all who helped me make WIAD a success. It truly does take a village, and I am lucky to have suck a cool UX village of support.

Check out the details of the WIAD Dallas on the website.

Listen to the Project UX Podcast where Jeff interviews most of the speakers and organizers.

speakers at WIAD Dallas
Speakers at WIAD included (left to right) Lana Gibbons, Ben Judy, LaBoria Willis, Brian Sullivan and Loretta Hudelot. Courtney Cox Wakefield and Jon Sandruck not pictured.

WIAD DFW 2018 was a success

Jennifer Blatz UX Design World Information Architecture Day WIAD DFW
I was lucky to be a part of this fabulous crew to help plan and organize WIAD 2018 in Dallas.

WIAD, or World Information Architecture Day is an annual event held around the world. This year’s event, which took place on February 24, took place in 56 locations in 25 countries.

This was not my first WIAD rodeo. A few years ago, I acted as the project manager for the WIAD event that took place in Los Angeles.  Planning an even like this is a lot of work, but it’s very rewarding once the event wraps.

For the Dallas area WIAD event, I acted as the Chief Social Officer. What does that mean> I was a lean, mean Tweeting machine. ha!

Jennifer Blatz UX Design social media for WIAD_DFW
WIAD DFW Twitter account was on fire the day of the event.

I had the honor of tweeting leading up to the event as well as documenting all of the highlights on the day of the event. We got a lot of retweets from our sponsors and attendees. Though our attendance was less than anticipated due to a huge rain storm that certainly deterred attendees, those who did brave the storm seemed to enjoy the event and said that they learned a lot.

Overall I would say that they day was a grand success. For me, I enjoyed meeting my fellow volunteers and making new friends and connections. I also enjoyed hearing the speakers and seeing the attendees enjoy the topics as well. Events like this are a great reminder of how wonderful the UX community can be! I certiainly hope I can participate again next year. If I have anything to do with it, I will.

WIAD 2016

WIAD World Information Architecture Day Los Angeles 2016 attended by Jennifer Blatz, UX designerToday, I attended my third WIAD or World Information Architecture Day, established by IAI Information Architect Institute.  A couple of years ago, I acted as Project Manager for Los Angeles’ WIAD. So ai map to see that the torch has been carried and this event is back in the Los Angeles community. It’s a great opportunity to hear some of the industry’s well regarded IA experts, to meet other great people in the field, and hopefully to get fired up and inspired. What is WIAD? According to the website:

World Information Architecture Day 2016 is a one-day annual celebration of this phenomenon. Hosted in dozens of locations across the world by local organizers on February 20th, we focus on telling stories of information being architected by everyone from teachers to business owners; technologists to artists; designers to product managers.

With representation from all over the world, we believe that the power of similarity and the beauty of difference between stories will inspire those who work in information architecture, as well as those who may be new to it. We aim to teach, share, and have fun — all through the lens of Information Architecture (IA).

I would like to share some of my notes and highlights from today’s fabulous event.

  • If you’ve ever wondered where you are on a website, than that is an issue of IA.
  • An aspect of “play studio” is to pick a behavior and design for it.
  • Shift from a designer to a facilitator.
  • Research is becoming more collaborative.
  • Design work is not precious. So it’s good to work on low fidelity objects to keep that true.
  • Design work is not about ornamentation, it is about implmentation.
  • Think about creative solutions rather than what requirements are supposed to be delivered.
  • Designers need to be more collaborative and not worry about people (who are not designers) stepping on their toes and entering their “craft.”
  • Put the work out early to get user feedback, knowing it is an iterative process.
  • Try creating ad hoc personas when you don’ have time to create full-fledged personas.
  • Know your audience. This is so often forgotten. Keep in mind what your user’s current needs and behaviors are. Don’t lose site of who you are designing for.
  • Know when it is appropriate to work with an established design pattern and not reinvent the wheel.
  • Take the information you have gathered in research and shake things up when you need something different.

    WIAD World Information Architecture Day Los Angeles 2016 attended by Jennifer Blatz, UX designerWIAD World Information Architecture Day Los Angeles 2016 attended by Jennifer Blatz, UX designerWIAD World Information Architecture Day Los Angeles 2016 attended by Jennifer Blatz, UX designer
    WIAD World Information Architecture Day Los Angeles 2016.
  • Some corporations appreciate hiring people who will rock the boat and provide a diverse outlook to the company. Get hired to make a change in the corporate structure as well as the product that you will build.
  • Some companies will avoid innovation because of risk. This leads to fast following.
  • Tell the story | Develop the culture | Be the voice of the customer.
  • Innovation requires atriculation.
  • When you work on a design solution, what will people think, feel, do and become?
  • UX designers have great skills like: inter-discipline, like people, empathy and listen to others.
  • Think like a founder, not a designer.
  • Designers inherit problems, founders define them.
  • Design THE business, not for it.
  • Do you expect the world to anticipate your needs? Because you should.
  • The problem you have been given is not the right problem. Discover the right problem.
  • Every designer should have some skill in leadership.
  • What motivates a designer is a frustration with the world and a desire to improve it.
  • As a designer, you see something better.
  • Consider delivery mechanisms that extend your core experience.
  • Leverage what people love, address what they don’t.

WIAD 2016 attended by Jennifer Blatz, UX designer.

Complexity is not the problem
Ambiguity is
Simplicity does not solve ambiguity
Clarity does

WIAD (World Information Architecture Day) participation was great

About a month ago, I had the privilege to not only participate, but also help organize a global conference on a local level. It was an invaluable learning experience for me. I made new contacts, gained new skills and helped produce an event that would best be described as a success.

Takeaways:

  • Weekly meetings keep the group on track.
  • Always communicate with the group so everyone is on the same page.
  • If you think you are planning early enough, you probably are not. Work ahead of schedule.
  • Holidays and time off make keeping things moving difficult.
  • Anticipate problem and plan for them in advance.
  • Secure the venue ASAP because so many other factors are determined by booking the venue.
Work groups at WIAD
Organizing an event like WIAD taught me the value of collaboration and team work.

 

 

WIAD: World Information Architecture Day

World IA Day is about bringing the information architecture community together. Los Angeles was selected to participate in this global event that took place in 24 cities, 15 countries, spanning 6 continents. Our local event hosted over 170 attendees, and there were nearly 3,000 participants globally, all one the same day!

My role as Project Manager is the overall responsibility for the successful planning, execution, monitoring, control and organizing teams and over 30 volunteers, participating in the development of this conference. http://worldiaday.org.

As the part of Project Manager for WIAD, I organized the Los Angeles chapter of the world-wide event
As the part of Project Manager for WIAD, I organized the Los Angeles chapter of the world-wide event. Groups post notes as part of a brainstorming session.