We just got this email on our list, but in case you missed it (or aren’t subscribed to the asist-ubc@interchange.ubc.ca list) here’s something interesting happening in Vancouver this month:

Hi UBC ASIST,

I’ve started an IA Meetup group. Our first meeting is January 30 on Commercial Drive, 5:30-7:30.
You can find more details here.

It would be a great place for students those wanting to learn more about information architecture. I’m an ASIST member, an information architect, and working on my MLIS (though not at UBC). I hope you’ll come join us. Bring any questions!

Theresa Putkey

Sadly, I’ll be in a Management course that evening, but I hope someone goes representing us and reports back.

Those of you bloggers must be familiar with Creative Commons. If you visited the website recently, you’d notice that it has been redesigned. A couple of IA-related changes to the website are new navigation tabs and a completely revamped projects page. Their blog has more info about the newly redesigned site.

Amazon.com is remodeling their site, citing the diversity of their merchandise – over 40 departments and not only books – as the main reason. Their task analysis reveals what customers do on their website: shopping, searching, saving and buying. Take a look at their Quick Tour of the new remodel – what do you think?

Thanks to Steven Cohen for the news tip.

From a restaurant menu to a subway sign in New York City, information design and architecture is everywhere around us. Some are beautifully designed, some are just clueless. Enjoy these photos on Flickr, where Benjamin Fischer has been collecting interesting images of “Everyday Information Architectures“. Do you have some too?

An interesting case study and checklist by Helen Lippel about the use of A-Z Index at the BBC website – read the full article here:
The ABCs of the BBC: A Case Study and Checklist

The 2005 story includes a brief description on personas and design concepts for the project, as well as an “eight-point checklist for creating terrific A-Z indexes”.

Thanks to a tip from SIG-IA Digest.