Ethical issues and information architecture

Presented at: Oz-IA 2007. Sydney, Australia
Presentation date: September 23, 2007
Information architecture affects people – there’s no doubt about that. And in any practice that affects people, a range of ethical issues come into play. Each and every decision we make can help or hurt many – our users, clients, peers and even our profession as a whole.This presentation will examine some of the ethical issues that we face as information architects, including:

  • The myriad of effects of our design decisions on users
  • Working with clients and peers
  • The consequences of creating categories and classifying objects
  • What inclusive design really means
  • Personal beliefs and their role in projects
  • How can we design for sustainability

I’m not a philosopher, so this presentation will be very much from a practitioner’s perspective. It may even be funny!