Foreword
ITâS IMPOSSIBLE TO UNDERSTAND context. Thereâs always something weâre missing. Not long ago, during a rim-to-rim hike of the Grand Canyon, I was thinking deep thoughts about two-billion-year-old rocks. They made me feel small. Although weâre more stable than a tornado or a sandbar, we belong in the same category. We are delicate, imperfect patterns that come and go in the blink of an eye. Yet, weâre also more ancient than rocks. We are made of stardust, indestructible matter as old as the universe.
Thatâs when I heard the rattle.
Lost in thought, I nearly stepped on a snake. In unfamiliar territory, itâs impossible to understand context, but itâs still vital that we pay attention.
In the 1990s, I helped to grow a company called Argus. Over the course of seven years, we pioneered the practice of information architecture and bootstrapped our way from two to forty souls. Unfortunately, when the tech bubble burst at the end of the decade, we sunk the ship. We didnât see it coming. Later, while packing books into boxes, I suddenly realized what Iâd lost. It wasnât just a company; Argus was a part of me. Weâd built an organization of people, systems, and information that embodied and extended ourselves. Thatâs the thing about context. Itâs impossible to see until itâs gone.
A year after we closed Argus, I met Andrew Hinton. A group of us were gathered on the beautiful conference grounds of Asilomar to discuss how we might advance the practice of information architecture. At the time, our work was tied to websites, but Andrew told us to embrace âthe structural design of information environments.â So, we wrote those words into the bylaws of the Information Architecture Institute and into the new edition of the âpolar bear book,â and that became the definition of information architecture thatâs celebrated by thousands of people in dozens of countries each year on World IA Day. Our words and actions have unforeseeable consequences beyond our current context.
Thereâs a new ship in town by the name of TUG. Itâs reframing information architecture. The Understanding Group was founded by Dan Klyn and Bob Royce, and Iâm a strategic advisor. Itâs the perfect place for Andrew to be an information architect. He gets to tackle massive projects while surrounded by amazing people. And heâs able to continue what he began in Asilomar: building out the âarchitecture schoolâ of information architecture.
In articles and talks and in this book, Andrew is helping us all to realize that weâre not designing software or websites. Because âlanguage is infrastructureâ and âthe map is the territory,â the things we build and inhabit are âplaces made of information.â From the perspective of experience, these digital ecosystems are as real as the Grand Canyon. This unfamiliar territory can engage, inspire, or overwhelm. Itâs easy to become lost, and there are snakes. Thatâs why this book is important. Itâs a map for mapmakers. It wonât explain everything from here to there. Thatâs impossible. Still, if youâre brave enough to hike its crags and canyons, you will be better at making places and understanding contexts. This book is not a straightforward journey, nor is it short, but itâs one I highly recommend.
âPETER MORVILLE
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