The Informed Life

Latest Episodes:

Bob Kasenchak on Music, part 1 Jun 18, 2023

Show notes

Bob Kasenchak is a taxonomist and information architect at Factor. Bob’s background is in music, and this conversation delves into what information architects can learn from studying music. We recorded two conversations on the subject: this one focuses on the structure of music itself, and the second covers how we can make music more findable. Look for that one in an upcoming episode.

Show notes

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Are Halland on the Core Model Jun 04, 2023

Show notes

Are Halland has worked in digital product development, strategy, design, and communication for over a quarter of a century. During that time, he created the core model, a tool for designing websites and products that align business goals and user needs. He has now written a book about the core model, which is due to be published later this year. In this conversation, he explains what the core model is and how it can help us create more effective digital products.

Show notes

Are Halland - Twitter
Are Halland - LinkedIn
The Core Model
Gerry McGovern
Pareto principle - Wikipedia
Conceptual Models: Begin by Designing What to Design by Jeff Johnson and Austin Henderson
Designing Connected Content: Plan and Model Digital Products for Today and Tomorrow by Carrie Hane and Mike Atherton
Telenor Group
Esperanto - Wikipedia

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Dan Russell on The Joy of Search May 21, 2023

Show notes

Dan Russell spent 17 years working at Google, with a significant part of that tenure as a Search Anthropologist: “someone who tries to understand how people search, what kinds of things they seek, and how their tools influence their search process.” Dan is the author of The Joy of Search, which is the focus of our conversation today.

Show notes

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Sheryl Cababa on Systems Thinking for Social Change May 07, 2023

Show notes

Sheryl Cababa is the Chief Strategy Officer of Substantial, an experience design consultancy based in Seattle. She’s the author of Closing the Loop, a new book about systems thinking in design. The book emphasizes the role designers can play as catalysts for social change, and that is the focus of our conversation.

Show notes

Rosenfeld Media provided a review copy of Sheryl’s book.
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Jerry Michalski on Jerry's Brain Apr 23, 2023

Show notes

Jerry Michalski helps organizations become more trustworthy by exploring their language, processes, and intentions. That’s fascinating in itself — but I wanted to talk with him primarily because he curates an online resource called Jerry’s Brain, a deep repository of interconnected thoughts. He’s worked on Jerry’s Brain for a quarter of a century, longer than any other such experiment I’m aware of. So, I wanted to find out why and how he does this.

Show notes

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Andy Fitzgerald on Structured Content Apr 09, 2023

Show notes

Andy Fitzgerald is an information architecture and content strategy consultant. He works with mission-driven organizations to produce systems that communicate clearly, align business and user goals, and scale effectively. Our conversation today focuses on moving beyond the page as a metaphor for how information is delivered toward more flexible content structures.

Show notes

Andy Fitzgerald Consulting
Andy Fitzgerald, PhD - LinkedIn
Language + Meaning + User Experience Architecture
Dan Klyn
Richard Saul Wurman - Wikipedia
Headless content management system - Wikipedia
Taxonomy Boot Camp
The Intellectual Foundation of Information Organization by Elaine Svenonius
Mozilla Developer Network Web Docs
Schema.org
SKOS Simple Knowledge Organization System
Groucho Marx
End of Web Design by Jakob Nielsen (Jakob’s Law)
Hooked: How to Build Habit-Forming Products by Nir Eyal

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If you're enjoying the show, please rate or review us in Apple's podcast directory:
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Nicole van der Hoeven on Obsidian Mar 26, 2023

Show notes

Nicole van der Hoeven is a Developer Advocate at Grafana Labs. She is also a communicator, sharing what she learns through her writing, conference presentations, and YouTube videos. The latter are what brought Nicole’s work to my attention: she runs a YouTube channel focused on one of my favorite tools for thought, Obsidian. In this conversation, we focus on how Nicole uses Obsidian to “learn in public.”

Show notes

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If you're enjoying the show, please rate or review us in Apple's podcast directory:
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Hugh Dubberly on Design Models Mar 12, 2023

Show notes

Hugh Dubberly is the founder of Dubberly Design Office, an interaction design studio based in San Francisco. Hugh has a long trajectory in the design world. Before opening his studio, he did pioneering work at leading tech companies like Apple and Netscape. He is also a thinker and teacher of uncommon depth and breadth. He’s my colleague at the California College of the Arts, and I’m also lucky to call him a friend and mentor. I met with Hugh in his office to discuss his recent paper arguing against framing design as problem-solving, and that is the focus of this conversation.

Show notes

Hugh Dubberly - AIGA
Dubberly Design Office
Conceptual Models: Core to Good Design by Jeff Johnson and Austin Henderson
Bill Verplank - Interaction Design (YouTube)
How Smart, Connected Products Are Transforming Competition by Michael Porter
The product service ecology: Using a systems approach in design by Jodi Forlizzi (PDF)
MDes in Interaction Design - CCA
After the Bauhaus, Before the Internet: A History of Graphic Design Pedagogy edited by Geoff Kaplan
Why we should stop describing design as “problem solving” by Hugh Dubberly
Patrick Whitney - Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health
Double Diamond (design process model) - Wikipedia
Horst Rittel - Wikipedia
C. West Churchman - Wikipedia
Wicked problem - Wikipedia
Design Thinking by Peter G. Rowe
Russell L. Ackoff - Wikipedia
Herbert A. Simon - Wikipedia
The Sciences of the Artificial - Wikipedia
Axis Thinking by Brian Eno
The MAYA Principle: Design for the Future, but Balance it with Your Users’ Present - IxDF
Overton window - Wikipedia
Environmental Design - University of Colorado Boulder
Ulm School of Design - Wikipedia
The Infinite Conversation (AI-generated dialog between simulations of Werner Herzog and Slavoj Žižek)

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Carrie Hane on Content Models Feb 26, 2023

Show notes

Carrie Hane is an evangelist at Sanity, a cloud-based content platform provider. Carrie is co-author of Designing Connected Content, which advocates for content modeling as part of the digital design process. This is also the subject of our conversation.

A side note: Carrie is one of the keynote speakers at this year’s information architecture conference, which takes place in New Orleans from March 28 - April 1. I’ll be teaching an introductory IA workshop at the conference, so if you want to learn about IA and can get to the southern U.S. in late March, come see Carrie and me at the Conference. There’s a link below.

Show notes

Show notes include Amazon affiliate links. We get a small commission for purchases made through these links.

If you're enjoying the show, please rate or review us in Apple's podcast directory:
https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-informed-life/id1450117117?itsct=podcast_box&itscg=30200

Michael Becker on Knowledge Work Feb 12, 2023

Show notes

Michael Becker is the founder and CEO of Identity Praxis, a strategic advisory firm. He’s also a prolific communicator, having produced dozens of YouTube videos explaining how to use advanced knowledge management tools. In this conversation, we discuss Michael’s approach to knowledge work and how tools such as Tinderbox can help you think and work more effectively.

Show notes

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