The Architecture of Understanding

Peter Morville, a pioneer of information architecture and user experience, argues in this Northern User Experience 2014 talk that the UX community has been seduced by surface at the expense of understanding. We think we are designing software, websites and experiences, but we are really agents of change, and until we accept that mission we will keep repeating our mistakes.

He asks how teams can work together when divided by silos, and how they can innovate while blinded by cultural illiteracy. The things we make reflect the language we use and the ways we organize ourselves, so Morville calls on designers to stop chasing trends and start shaping strategy.

The talk is a spirited tour of information architecture, organizational strategy and systems thinking, drawn from his book Intertwingled, showing how everything is connected from code to culture. Its message is simple: the UX community can change the world, but only if it has the courage to go deep.