Where: Asilomar Conference Grounds, Pacific Grove, CA
When: October 1-3, 2004
This weekend retreat is an opportunity for IAs from around the globe to come together in an informal and beautiful setting to discuss and share ideas about the future of Information Architecture. Where are we heading? What is the career path for an IA? What is on the horizon for the next 5 years and how do we plan to approach it?
Supported by IA organizations such as AIfIA and local companies like PeopleSoft, we will be gathering for a weekend to talk with one another, share ideas, peek into the future and see what it holds for us. If you want to help shape the direction our field is taking, get to know other Information Architects, and enjoy a beautiful place near the Pacific Ocean, this is the weekend for you. It will be a IA cocktail hour that goes for an entire weekend, sprinkled with a few presentations and occasional deer leaping across the grounds.
Rather than have everyone preach to each other, it should be a time to make connections, and problem solve together, as a true retreat should be. So far we have Margaret Hanley speaking on career opportunities for IAs, Jess McMullin unveiling trends that will shape the next five years in IA, Peter Merholz pondering the relationships of comics, urban planning and emergent phenomenon to IA and Victor Lombardi offering design patterns for design management.
This is a small gathering -- only 40 slots are available! It's an unprecedented opportunity to have real conversations in an intimate setting. To sign up now fax the completed Attendee Information form [ http://aifia.org/documents/future_of_ia_2004.pdf ] (25kb PDF) to the Asilomar Conference Grounds.
Note: this registration takes care of all meals from Friday night to Sunday lunch, as well as accommodation. No extra fees are collected by the association-- this is by us, for us!
Want to do more than just attend?
Would you like to present? Lead a workshop? Please send us a short (1 paragraph) description of the breakout session or workshop you would like to lead. The committee will review, and work toward putting together a program that will wow and titillate. Here are some ideas we've come up with, but don't necessarily have leaders for that might stimulate your thoughts:
* Collaboration models: How do we work better with our peer designers and developers? What is the IA's role in the organization?
* Cultural perspectives: How will information use be different in Africa vs. San Francisco in 5 years?
* Is ROI really relevant?
* How do you get access to the C-level folks? What do we have to say to them?
* Is the web ready for a paradigm shift? Will it be social networks, new search techniques, or...?
* How do we market our skills to the world? How do we communicate our business value?
* IA Published magazine: Could AIfIA or Boxes and Arrows take this on? Would this be a good way to making us an "established" field? What other things could we do to push the next realm of marketing?
Descriptions are due August 16th, 2004. Send them to retreat@boxesandarrows.com.
More information is available at [ http://aifia.org/news/000374.php ].
