[Sigia-l] IA Practice Maturation

[eric mahleb]

Based on the latest postings by the "European" side
(half of whom seem to be American expats or anyway),
it seems like we all agree on the fact that
continental Europe is lagging behind.

Re. James's comment about IA vs Design (and i do not
want to bring back a topic which was well exhausted on
this list a couple of months ago). I feel this is a
direct result of IA and Usability being still fairly
unknown and misunderstood. I remember at RAZF SFO 3
1/2 years ago when we brought our first IA (from the
New York office btw, re. that East-West coast
thingie). While the need for IA and Usability was
never questioned (at least not heavily), it took quite
some time for many graphic designers to let go and
share the responsibility with these new "designers"
who suddenly had something to say about almost
everything....
This is where we are here at the moment. Even worse.
We still have all the explaining to do

Finally, most of the activity around IA and Usability
in Europe seem to take place in London. So it is no
surprise that all the good IA minds of Europe will
converge towards that direction for whatever need they
may have: conferences, classes, seminars, even
jobs...I am myself considering moving there in order
to be closer to the "action"

cheers


--- James KALBACH <kalbach at scils.rutgers.edu> wrote:
> I agree with Eric's take on the state of IA in on
> the Continent.
> Here in Germany I unfortunately don't enjoy anything
> close at a "matured" profession. IA in .de is just
> in its infancy. 
> 
> Overall there is a lack of understanding where IA
> fits in to
> a design process. Though you might come in contact
> with European
> IAs who have a deep knowledge of the discipline, I'd
> bet their
> daily experiences when *practicing* IA are much
> different than
> in the US.
> 
> One hurdle I perceive in .de is a misunderstanding
> (rejection?)
> of user centered design. Over here Design (with a
> capital "D")
> is determined by the Designer. Top-down approach.
> Punkt. 
> Participatory design methods, for example, undermine
> the 
> Designer's authority and control.  (I'm using Design
> in the
> broadest sense here - graphic, product, or
> otherwise.)
> 
> Clients generally understand IA and see the need for
> it, which
> is a good thing. Still, the painful turf wars
> between design
> and IA, for example, are prevalent, I'm sorry to
> report. The 
> "sharing all of our ways of practice" at the
> conference in Baltimore 
> isn't the norm in Germany.
> 
> Folks like Peter Bogaards and Eric Reiss perhaps
> give momentum 
> to IA on the Continent, and of course England has a
> strong IA 
> culture. But my experience in Germany now is
> probably
> similar to practicing IAs in the US a few years ago.
>  I find
> myself engaging in quite a bit of IA evangalism,
> too.
> 
> Victor's point about the language barrier partially
> valid.
> German IAs can certainly get through an English
> source without
> difficulty. But if an understanding is there that
> can be applied?
> 
> Things are changing slowly though: I was happy to
> see 
> a few pages devoted to IA in a newly published
> usability book in 
> German. The authors explain Jessie James Garret's
> "visual vocabulary" 
> in some detail. (Otherwise I didn't like the book,
> BTW :
> http://www.amazon.de/exec/obidos/ASIN/3540419144/).
> 
> Just my 2 Euro Cent.
> 
> Jim
> 
> razorfish, Germany
> 
> Content Management Symposium, Chicago O'Hare
> Marriott, June 28 - 30.
> See http://www.asis.org/CM
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