# Home Celebrating Information Architecture in London since 2016 ## Welcome to World IA Day London! World IA Day has been celebrated in London since 2017, bringing together information architects, UX designers, content strategists, and digital professionals to explore the latest trends and practices in information architecture. *** ### šŸ—“ļø WIAD London 2026 Slides and recordings on Noti.st 2026 event details *** ### šŸ–„ļø 2025 Recap Thank you to everyone who made World IA Day London 2025 at [Government Digital Service](https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/government-digital-service) (GDS) a success! Over 80 community members joined us for an evening of learning, sharing, and celebrating information architecture. #### 2025 global Theme: Challenges of Change {% embed url="" %} 2025 slides and videos
WIAD London at GDS

WIAD London hosted at GDS

> **"I had a great time attending World IA Day London last night. Seeing several familiar friendly faces I'd not seen in years, and a sense of a revitalised movement for information architecture."** > > ā€” [Paul Rissen](https://www.linkedin.com/posts/r4isstatic_i-had-a-great-time-attending-world-ia-day-activity-7305512702674685952-_FgR/?utm_source=share\&utm_medium=member_desktop\&rcm=ACoAAAF2n8MBkzUnewM9f_pUbNs18VAEhoHJaQ8), Lead Product Manager at Which? ## Previous events * [London 2021](/events/london-2021) * [London 2017](/events/london-2017) [View all events](/events/events) ā†’ *** ## **Part of the Global Network** World IA Day London is part of a global celebration happening in 20+ locations worldwide. * [Find other locations](https://www.information-architecture.world/worldiaday/locations) * [About World IA Day globally](https://www.information-architecture.world/worldiaday) * [World Information Architecture Association](https://www.information-architecture.world/) # Events Explore the history of World IA Day London since 2017. Browse past speakers, topics, and community highlights from our IA events. | Event year | Lead | Date | | ---------------------------------- | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | -------------- | | [London 2026](/events/london-2026) | [Rik Williams](/community/rik-williams) | March 10, 2026 | | [London 2025](/events/london-2025) | [Rik Williams](/community/rik-williams) | March 11, 2025 | | [London 2024](/events/london-2024) | [Rik Williams](/community/rik-williams) | March 5, 2024 | | [London 2023](/events/london-2023) | [Rik Williams](/community/rik-williams) | March 4, 2023 | | [London 2021](/events/london-2021) | [Mike Atherton](/community/mike-atherton) | Feb 27, 2021 | | [London 2017](/events/london-2017) | [Johanna Kollman](/community/johanna-kollman), [Mike Atherton](/community/mike-atherton) | Feb 18, 2017 | # London 2026 In the age of AI, more content isn't the same as more meaning. Our 2026 theme explores what it takes to structure information people can actually understand and... trust. ### Slides and recordings on Noti.st ***Designing for Meaning: Purpose, Experience, and Everything in Between*** Information architecture has always been about more than navigation and labels. It's about whether people can make sense of what they're looking at ā€” and whether the systems we build serve human purposes or just generate noise. This year's global theme puts that question at the centre. We organise content so people can understand it. We build structures that connect people to information that matters. We work in the space between intent and reality ā€” and that work has never been more important. ### **Why now?** Generative AI is producing content faster than ever. But speed isn't meaning. As the systems we work with get more complex, the distinctly human skills of IA ā€” structuring for clarity, designing for inclusion, building for trust ā€” become more critical, not less. ### **Who's it for?** Anyone who cares about how information is organised and understood. IAs, content designers, user researchers, interaction designers, service designers, developers, product managers, technical writers, educators, students ā€” if information is part of your work, you belong here. ### **When and where?** * Tuesday 10th March 2026 * 1800 to 2020 GMT * Virtual ### **Speakers**
Cover image
Top insights from Knowledge Graph Insights/pages/6XKtdmXRUfkmvjFavEU5Content architect, podcast host, community event organiser/files/v5OhEzNbAG2cwWil6G9U
The meaning of public services/pages/87Jsds6GYWZ1v8WqoJPCLead Content Designer (structured content and information architecture) at The Scottish Government/files/SvNgwO5VoxgDy81W1sLt
Content as Linked Data: Growing a spine to carry meaning at scale/pages/aDAKj7WXq3HdDxgkU6kqFounder & Owner at The Content Engineering Agency /files/DTXwywAL0WNpsFzWzd3s
Discoverability by Design: Data, Information and AI/pages/V4L7gBwZwWFX6DXREL0gChief Data Architect at Government Digital Service (GDS)/files/sKRZ90EILaq9rD0OPg2R
Discoverability by Design: Data, Information and AI/pages/UHH7MEdDAKOSdMpmnlw8Senior Knowledge, Information and Records Management Policy Lead at Government Digital Service (GDS)/files/Lh1zjxIpYLTynV2meDrf
What is a Game to You?/pages/EPOoyeOfhm1faTVHFgV0Master's student at City St George's, University of London/files/uXnukhcQMdeXvll7sRTx
### Sponsors
Cover image
Government Digital Service (GDS)GDS is the digital centre of government. We serve the public, central government departments and the wider public sector. /files/QnuCuIPinSZTaJAEAvuo
The Research ThingUX research events curated by/for user researchers./files/rG3LXa1tsLJVYFYm6sq4
### Organisers
Cover image
/pages/Nzge74YLpgoOzOvDACqhOrganiserGovernment Digital Service (GDS)/files/I8WGCsZgLz9iVigr57Lz
/pages/NT5I0vzVFPXVktNZ9QbkOrganiserDepartment for Business and Trade (DBT)/files/McX1GZb5565zcONKLMTo
/pages/qIUPbEC1mChPY75qDhMEOrganiserGovernment Digital Service (GDS)/files/HAQOLK0rBnfw4B0jyIto
# London 2023 World IA Day London 2023, Venue. Explore past content. {% hint style="warning" %} Event ended. {% endhint %} Join the the UK / London information architecture community for a one-day, fully remote event featuring guest speakers, and networking! ## Event recap Talk recording and slides from WIAD London can be found on [Notist](https://noti.st/events/Q0layU/wiad-london-2023). ## Date and time Saturday, March 8, 2025 - 8:30am to 4pm Pacific ## Location Supercool venue name\ Venue Avenue Map directions | Venue details STATIC MAP IMAGE *** ## Wayfinding and Navigation, our 2023 theme! Wayfinding is a fundamental human activity and an integral outcome of good information architecture. It helps us to know where we are and to recognise where we could go. Having many choices can be an opportunity, but it can also cause anxiety. Therefore, we are in need of wayfinding systems that support us on our journey. Information architecture gives us ways to understand, filter out the noise, and focus on the important parts to help us get our bearings. It creates environments that are accessible, sustainable, and extensible. All in all, information architecture empowers us to find our own way in our own time by considering our experiences, expectations, and situations. *** ## Speakers
NamePhotoLinkCover image
/pages/cutpevegFi1PiZ6Ij4cu/files/fprlF3CF5DRy9BSc2Ltg/pages/cutpevegFi1PiZ6Ij4cu/files/cni7bdVVaHiIS1mJ3Lqn
/pages/AZiCsqVXUJLWwxbS85iq/files/GKbLtmhcDXABxdQ8yBAu/pages/AZiCsqVXUJLWwxbS85iq/files/uGscleLLldZrumFMS13U
/pages/FAgtlLbTFZ9oxy7p7UMP/files/pEsAaIAnOR3WuAwWVxHf/pages/FAgtlLbTFZ9oxy7p7UMP/files/yc9uMvhbAVsKTSZf5kbD
*** ## Program schedule ### **Menu design for inclusive gameplay experiences** Developments in video game accessibility have increased rapidly within the last decade. Many games now ship with a raft of features and settings designed to help players with mobility, sight, hearing and cognitive accessibility needs. Removing barriers to play is an important pillar of our work at PlayStation Studios. Whilst usability has long been established as an integral part to game design, the settings menu within the game - once something seen as purely a container for basic visual and audio settings - is now a vast directory of complex settings and features that can drastically alter the gameplay experience. As such, game developers must consider the usability of their menus and systems. This talk will focus on research efforts to help identify how video game developers can increase discovery and comprehension of their game settings to ensure all players are able to navigate and use features that have the potential to remove barriers to play. Presented by: [John Dickens](/community/john-dickens), User Researcher, **Sony PlayStation** ### **How ORCA can help orient and guide your users** ORCA (Objects, Relationships, Calls-To-Actions and Attributes) is an Object-Oriented UX (OOUX) methodology that helps teams design thorough information architectures. Thorough IAs that inherently include strong orientation and wayfinding! Upma will walk you through the method and point you toward more resources so you can start using it today. Presented by [Upma Singh](/community/upma-singh), Senior Experience Designer, **EPAM Systems** ### **Large Language Models and the future of digital assistants** Large Language Models are set to revolutionise conversational services such as chatbots and voice assistants but harnessing is far from Simple. Tom will talk about techniques for getting them to do what you want, how to mitigate bad behaviours such as hallucinations and the potential for the future. Presented by [Tom Hewitson](/community/tom-hewitson), Founder, labworks.io *** ## Sponsors supporting London 2023
NAMELINKLOGO

Government Digital Service (GDS)

GDS makes digital government simpler, clearer and faster for everyone. GDS:

  • maintains a clear, easy-to-navigate and welcoming front door to government
  • builds common platforms to help departments make better digital services
  • uses our unique position at the centre of government to join the dots
https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/government-digital-service/files/QnuCuIPinSZTaJAEAvuo

The Research Thing

The Research Thing curates UX research events by/for user researchers.

https://www.meetup.com/researchthing//files/rG3LXa1tsLJVYFYm6sq4

UXPA (UK)

User Experience Professionals' Association (UK) is a not-for-profit dedicated to promoting user-centered design and supporting UX practitioners.

https://uxpa-uk.org//files/QbPOVVvImzvWUQDp25Mx
*** ## Our team
NameRoleProfile pictureLinkCover image
/pages/Nzge74YLpgoOzOvDACqhLead Organiser/files/ZfPLyo59479gAumln8ku/pages/Nzge74YLpgoOzOvDACqh/files/I8WGCsZgLz9iVigr57Lz
/pages/vzSSwjgOYtQ76Qgl40glOrganiser/files/RvjaJly6VXnHw8YIcPwn/pages/vzSSwjgOYtQ76Qgl40gl/files/bGUSsKaYXVM5RWcNKuA5
# London 2021 Spend your Saturday discovering the tricks and techniques used across industries to make sense of information. {% hint style="warning" %} Event ended. {% endhint %} #### For 2021, the theme is **curiosity**. Spend your Saturday discovering the tricks and techniques used across industries to make sense of information. Our talks this year are: **Beyond Silos: Service Design Practices in UX Architecture**\ Poorume Yoo, BBC **Use Design Thinking to Maximise the Value of Your MVP**\ Ioannis Nousis, Google **From Chaotic Content to the Well-tempered Content Graph**\ Ian Piper, Tellura Semantics **Systems Thinking in Practice**\ Bryn Ray, American Express **Adopting CI/CD for Documentation Release**\ David Bailey, Synk **Content is Context: Avoiding Cultural Assumptions**\ Frances Gordon, Simplicity **Zenko Mapping**\ John Willshire, Smithery **Tomorrow's Architects**\ Peter Morville, Semantic Studios ## **Event date** Sat, 27 February 2021, 10.00amā€“4.45pm ## Location Online, streaming via ## Program/Schedule ### Conference starts Join us on vi.to for a day of presentations and discussion. ### Beyond Silos: Service Design Practices in UX Architecture Working in one product allows designers to build a strong understanding of a specific area. But it can also silo knowledge and encourage a product-specific mindset to develop, which makes it harder to create collaboration opportunities to find a solution together. The BBC UX Architect (UXA) team uses a service design approach to stay curious with a holistic view beyond the silos. As a new joiner, I experienced a dynamic change of the teamā€™s challenges, know-hows, and impact. Iā€™ll share how service design creates new connections between products and stakeholders that brings business impact. Presented by [Poorume Yoo](/community/poorume-yoo), BBC ### Use Design Thinking to Maximise the Value of Your MVP In todayā€™s world of tech, we spend so much time and money building MVPs and forget that we can learn what we need by faster, more effective means. Ioannis Nousis, Interaction Designer at Google discusses how we can maximise the rate of learning by minimising the time to try things and build products that have product-market fit and a lower chance of failing. Presented by: [Ioannis Nousis](/community/ioannis-nousis), Google ### From Chaotic Content to the Well-tempered Content Graph Organisations often suffer from the twin problems of how to find information and how to re-use it. Traditional approaches are increasingly inadequate as products become more complex. I'll show how to address both of these needs by using structured content, based on a content model. Using classification and structured taxonomy, we arrive at the content graph. Bringing order to content systems is a large step. I'll share a 5-step plan to help you get from here to there. Presented by: [Ian Piper](/community/ian-piper), Tellura Semantics ### Systems Thinking in Practice An introduction to using systems thinking to improve information architecture scaling in bureaucratic environments. The presentation includes a general introduction to system thinking, practical advice on how to apply it when designing information architecture, and guidance on using it to deliver change. Presented by: [Bryn Ray](/community/bryn-ray), American Express ### Adopting CI/CD for Documentation Release Release documentation is often written late in the development process; we think we can't start to write content until the software is stable, tested and ready for release. But that's the worst time to access SMEs, do the research, and write good-quality content, as we create content in a rush, or release it late. Itā€™s a lose-lose scenario for both writers and reader**s.** If we look at code development, we see that Continuous Integration (CI) and Continuous Delivery (CD) practices solve a similar problem. David will describe how he is adopting a CI/CD solution for documentation management, by "shifting down" to turn everyone into writers, and by "shifting left" to write documentation earlier. Presented by: [David Bailey](/community/david-bailey), Synk ### Content is Context: Avoiding Cultural Assumptions Simplification is good, but does the simple approach introduce bias? Let's look at 3 common cognitive biases and how they can affect getting the right content to the right people at the right time. We'll look at how other cultures receive and consume information to ask - how do we conceptualise content for the world of tomorrow? Presented by: Frances Gordon, Simplicity ### Zenko Mapping A strategic planning framework for the rest of us. Where time flies like an arrow through the double diamond, Zenko Mapping respects that impactful projects donā€™t always move in a straight line. Inspired by Japanese folklore and Steward Brandā€™s pace layering ideas, John Willshire has developed a practical model for organising people and spaces as learning develops from sketch to scaffold to structure. Whether youā€™re wrestling with information, product or organisational challenges, this method helps you make progress visible, spotlight issues ahead and make sure youā€™re always doing the next right thing. Presented by: [John Willshire](/community/john-willshire), Smithery ### Tomorrow's Architects We think weā€™re creating products, services, and software. But weā€™re not. We are agents of change. Our systems shape belief and behaviour at scale. Experience isnā€™t enough. Methods, metrics, culture, and governance are shifting. To realise the future, we must get better at planning. In this spirited talk about the design of paths and goals, Peter Morville builds upon his famous ā€œpolar bear bookā€ to reframe vision, strategy, process, and the information architecture of time; and draws from his latest book *Planning for Everything* to reveal four principles and six practices essential for shaping the future. Presented by: [Peter Morville](/community/peter-morville), Semantic Studios *** ## Speakers
SpeakerAffiliationTalk titleProfile pic
/pages/SOaXgoccaXr3awllZa5WBBCBeyond Silos: Service Design Practices in UX Architecture/files/MzKyJB9NgbLm0qMSry6Z
/pages/8AlQRgZ9WrbeLySbes2OGoogleUse Design Thinking to Maximise the Value of Your MVP/files/naGJemeGcNzhN9dQ1D3C
/pages/4nrqw8KEhzkBkQI9o4WdTellura SemanticsFrom Chaotic Content to the Well-tempered Content Graph/files/WQ2gXhgUP7oCY5Ef8JkQ
/pages/a0xgF3IAnHkIXsX9Dft4American ExpressSystems Thinking in Practice/files/TkQVrTphhVJCazg1WwwG
/pages/WrBzWcItxLxvqu5qkxteSynkAdopting CI/CD for Documentation Release/files/ldr8uSdkoP1t4a2iOC5z
/pages/IQUAc2dEmAW2tZlz6eEpSimplicityContent is Context: Avoiding Cultural Assumptions/files/dQcU4zD70xDpT7AyitGQ
/pages/LMsPzN9bASYHIvAt0HbCSmitheryZenko Mapping/files/W9OZDTbEyiYmSLJ5rIQX
/pages/85EVBYAtybY5owdccFg9Semantic StudiosTomorrow's Architects/files/eMt4Hwv71vYTkE58LIyA
*** ## Team
NameProfile
/pages/7vNocNL45hZDBSFzPWgd/files/Rk6qbtAH0xtBTAY6SJdJ
/pages/khlt2PvKeZlW7iRN9rg7/files/nsFxq5e4E2dHLFKHQDBw
# London 2017 World IA Day London 2017, Venue. Explore past content. {% hint style="warning" %} Event ended. {% endhint %} ## What's new this year Our 2016 event followed a traditional format of 30 min talks, and post-conference conversations in the pub. This year, we are keeping the talks, the pub, but we are adding more coffee to the mix, and, most exciting: workshops! The theme of this year's World Information Architecture Day is **Information Strategy and Structure**. In todayā€™s world, organisations are required to rethink how to architect and manage information to maintain a competitive and organisational edge. Many are embracing strategies that are more flexible, moving away from isolated systems and departmental silos. These organisations recognize the need for information to be structured so that it is clear, usable, findable and understandable. But, the need for information strategy and structure extends beyond the enterprise. Whether information is architected to inform algorithms, to bring awareness to important societal challenges, or to clearly communicate available resources to help those in need; information strategy and structure plays an important role in our everyday lives. ### **Code of Conduct** The World IA Day team is dedicated to providing a safe, enjoyable and harassment-free experience for everyone, regardless of gender, age, sexual orientation, disability, physical appearance, body size, race, or religion (or lack thereof). By attending World IA Day you agree to abide by the policies set out in our Code of Conduct. ### **Get in touch - we are looking for sponsors!** If you are interested in sponsoring, or have any questions, please get in touch at ## Venue, parking and transit City, University of London\ Northampton Square, EC1V 0HB ## Program / Schedule ### 09.30am - 10.00am: Registration ### 10.00am - 10.15am Welcome to WIAD 2017! ### Nick Marsh: **The Information Architecture of Personalised Storytelling** 10.15am - 10.45am We've been telling universal stories to each other since the beginning of time. We've been telling personal stories, one to one, for just as long. But only recently has it been possible to tell personal stories to millions of individuals. In this talk Nick Marsh will share what he has learnt about how to structure and design personal stories, unique for each individual, from his time as Head of Product at Lost My Name, a leading personalised book company based in London. ### Helen Lippell: **It's your first day in a taxonomy job. Now what?!** 10.50am - 11.20am Get some tips from a fellow taxonomist on how to get stuck into a new taxonomy job. Whether you're lucky enough to be creating a brand new taxonomy, or you're picking up the reins from someone else, get advice on getting up to speed quickly and making a difference. I can't tell you where the toilets and the coffee machine are, but this is the next best thing. Presented by [Helen Lippell](/community/helen-lippell), Taxonomy, Metadata & Search Consultant {% hint style="info" %} ### 11.20am - 11.35am: Morning Coffee Sponsoring our coffee break gets your brand seen by everyone. {% endhint %} ### Matt Hollidge: **Flatland** 11.35am - 12.05pm For architects of information and UX professionals the majority of our work is surprisingly confined to the ground floor; we are champions of the digital bungalow, ushering users through delightful experiences like Daleks of the sixties unable to climb the stairs of possibility. Inspired by the history and future of the elevator and how its invention transformed the Manhattan skyline; is the future of content structure on a third axis and could we propose a paradigm of depth that charts the topography of experience as we navigate increasingly connected, content rich environments in three dimensions? {% hint style="info" %} ### 12.10pm - 1.30pm: Lunch Sponsoring lunch associates your brand with the best part of the day. {% endhint %} ### 1.30pm - 4.30pm: Workshops Spend the afternoon attending one of 6 in-depth workshops. ### **Paul Rissen: Beyond the Hero's Journey - The Architecture, Structure and Strategy of Narrative** Storytellers are adept at structuring information, and deploying strategies to achieve particular effects in their audiences. Whether it's through the use of split screen, flashbacks, or even a good old whodunnit, these techniques are key to keeping an audience engaged and informed. We'll examine a number of elements of storytelling craft, exploring the effects each technique helps achieve, why, and how you might use them to improve the products, services and experiences you work on. ### **Rahel Anne Bailie**: **The Secret Lives of Structured Content** Structured content is powerful. Structure lets content perform at optimal levels, delivering from multiple content sources, to multiple audiences, into multiple channels, through multiple interfaces, and often with more complexity. As we're challenged to meet the needs of more market segments with personalised content in an increasing number of contexts, it's critical to understand how much structure to apply, and how to make that structure stand up under the stresses of complexity and scale. This workshop will cover the processes for structuring content, and demonstrate the benefits that accrue as the sturdiness of the structures increase. ### **Sophie Freiermuth: Information Architecture Lean Coffee** If you'd like to get together with other attendees to discuss all topics IA, ask questions, or get advice, this is the workshop for you. Sophie will facilitate this workshop using the Lean Coffee format, so you'll be walking away with a new facilitation technique for your toolbox. Bring suggestions for topics you'd like to discuss or things you'd like to share. Lean Coffee is a facilitation technique for a structured, but agenda-less discussion. Participants gather, build an agenda, and begin talking. The Lean Coffee format is both easy to follow and effective at facilitating learning and collaboration through group discussions. ### **Jenny Egan & Paul-Jervis Heath: The information architecture of physical spaces** In this workshop, Paul-Jervis Heath, founder of design consultancy Modern Human, and Jenny Egan, designer at Modern Human, will explore the crossover between physical and digital spaces, considering the elements of organising information, navigation, and wayfinding. Using a public space as an example, attendees will apply IA skills hands-on. Through a series of projects designing physical spaces, Paul, Jenny and their colleagues at Modern Human have developed a deep understanding of designing intelligent physical environments. Their human-centred design process combines ethnographic design research, interior design, architectural design with experience design and service design to create smart environments. Their work has included designing retail environments that seamlessly integrate digital retail technology into the shopping experience, libraries, museums, and workplaces of the future. ### **Luisa Sousa, Jo Chambers, Dan Tallis & Rob Scott: Diagrams, maps and models** Drawing a diagram of a system or information architecture is one of the most important skills an IA can develop. Whether youā€™re describing a structure, explaining a domain or following the path of an experience, being able to visually represent the otherwise abstract end of UX design brings value to projects and coherence to teams. In this workshop three members of the user experience architecture team at the BBC will help you explore ways of drawing systems, structures and experience. * Learn and share the best ways to represent structures and systems * Explore the difference between describing structures and the experiences that contain them * Gets tips on the tools, techniques and process to visually represent relationships and systems In the workshop weā€™ll explore a range of techniques. It will help if you come along with a product, project or design challenge in mind. It will also help if you come with own ideas and experiences about what kind of diagrams, maps and models work best for you. ### **Stephann Makri: Architecting Serendipity - designing for discovery and discoverability** Information Architecture is not only about ensuring and enhancing findability, but also discoverability. Coming across information serendipitously can propel people in unexpected and useful directions, surprising and delighting them along the way. But it is difficult to 'architect' serendipity in digital information environments; the very act of building it into digital products and services can potentially destroy its unexpectness or usefulness. Given this paradox, how how can we best design for discovery and discoverability? In this workshop, you'll explore the current design space by: * Discussing these questions in the context of academic research into serendipity and information discovery * Critiquing examples of existing digital information environments designed to facilitate serendipity. You'll also explore the future design space by: * Creating a low-fidelity prototype of a digital information environment (mobile/desktop site/app) that aims to help users discover useful information, people, places or products unexpectedly * Formulating serendipity-related design guidelines based on your discussion, criquique and design activities. ### **Giles Colborne: IA vs Algorithms** 4.30pm - 5.15pm: Closing Keynote Are we about to be made redundant by a new wave of user experiences where algorithms create the value and flow? In this talk, Giles will be talking about designers at cxpartners, AirBnB and Spotify create user experiences with algorithms at their core; why algorithms are the new 'usability failā€™; and exploring our role and whether we will continue to be able to bring humanity to a future thatā€™s governed by machines. {% hint style="info" %} ### 5.15pm - 5.30pm Wrapup and Party Directions {% endhint %} {% hint style="info" %} ### 5.30pm - Late After-party {% endhint %} ## Speakers
NameCover image
Helen Lippell/files/YNYfkiWgjjybugphKZJz/pages/8L5TveDoc620QZyEL7In
Rahel Anne Bailie/files/BHUwVamPatM38cMP224D
# Our team Our events are made possible by passionate volunteers, knowledgeable speakers, and dedicated organizers who contribute their time and expertise to advance the practice of IA. {% hint style="info" %} You can feature the current team here as well as on the event detail page. Ideally, this page is focused on the current team so past organizers and volunteers can be found on the event details. {% endhint %}
NamePhotoLink
Rik Williams/files/I8WGCsZgLz9iVigr57Lz/pages/Nzge74YLpgoOzOvDACqh
# DUPLICATE THIS BIO
Short bio ### Community Involvement * YYYY, Speaker, "TALK TITLE" ### Connect * Website: * Instagram: * LinkedIn: * Twitter/X: * Bluesky: # Jody Parker Speaker Senior Knowledge, Information and Records Management Policy Lead at Government Digital Service (GDS)
### Talk at [London 2026](/events/london-2026) #### Discoverability by Design: Data, Information and AI As our organisations drown in data and content, meaning is the real bottleneck. This session brings Jody Parker, UK Govt KIM Lead and [Jenny Brooker](/community/jenny-brooker), Chief Data Architect together to explore shared content heaps, lifecycle challenges and how AI is blurring the boundary between data and information. A fastā€‘paced discussion on discoverability and how AI is making metadata sexy again. ### Biography As Head of Government KIM at Government Digital Service Jody leads crossā€‘government work to shape information and records management practices for the digital age, including the use of automation, AI and machine learning to tackle digital heaps. Jody brings a productā€‘led approach to policy, combining user research, analysis and collaboration with departments and professional communities to produce policy that works in practice. A core part of her current role is supporting and strengthening the government KIM profession so that policy, practice and delivery are better aligned. Jody is the Government KIM Profession discipline lead for Information Architecture. ### Connect * LinkedIn: # Shruti Vinodh Speaker Master's student at City St George's, University of London
### Talk at [London 2026](/events/london-2026) #### What is a game to you? ### Biography With over five years of software developer experience at ESRI (backend/AWS/Azure), I'm currently expanding my skills by pursuing an MSc in Human-Computer Interaction Design at City St George's. I love exploring the intersection between technology, art and people, having done some previous research in exploring classical paintings efficiently using different image descriptors. I'm passionate about inclusivity and accessibility in tech, as well as the often invisible stories we tell using it. In my free time, I love playing board games, trying out new crafts, and exploring the London flora. ### Connect * LinkedIn: * Medium: * Bluesky: # Jenny Brooker Speaker Chief Data Architect at Government Digital Service (GDS)
### Talk at [London 2026](/events/london-2026) #### Discoverability by Design: Data, Information and AI As our organisations drown in data and content, meaning is the real bottleneck. This session brings Jenny Brooker, Chief Data Architect and [Jody Parker](/community/jody-parker), Head of Government Knowledge and Information Management, together to explore shared content heaps, lifecycle challenges and how AI is blurring the boundary between data and information. A fastā€‘paced discussion on discoverability and how AI is making metadata sexy again. ### Biography Jenny Brooker is Chief Data Architect at the UK Government Digital Service. She is passionate about the power of data to change behaviour, inform government policy, and make a difference to people's lives. With a background in computer science and experience in GIS systems and Open Data products, Jenny has led a team that specialises in data architecture, privacy, and security. Her team is focused on embedding user research into their specialisms to ensure they provide great services. Jenny's leadership and expertise are instrumental in driving digital transformation in government and improving public services through data sharing and AI. ### Connect * Website: * LinkedIn: # RafaĆ«la Ellensburg Speaker
### Talk at [London 2026](/events/london-2026) #### Content as Linked Data: Growing a spine to carry meaning at scale Most organisations treat their content the way they treat a messy inbox: technically it's all there, but nothing connects, nothing surfaces, and nothing scales. Marketing, Customer Service, and Product teams each build their own islands of information ā€” duplicating effort, fragmenting the experience, and leaving content structurally unfit for the AI-driven world being built around it. Content as Linked Data (CaLD) is a paradigm shift in how we think about what content is. Rather than a collection of keyword strings and unstructured documents, content becomes a network of real-world entities and concepts ā€” semantically connected to products, services, consumers, and every other domain that gives it meaning. No asset is an island. Every piece of content is an inherent part of the business and the digital experience it shapes. Drawing on her experience structuring and modelling content in complex enterprise environments, RafaĆ«la will walk through the principles behind CaLD, how to diagnose bottlenecks within the value chain, and what it actually takes to fix them through techniques both humans and machines can navigate. This talk is a call to action for information architects, content strategists, and designers who want to build something more durable than a content library: a network of meaning that connects people, technology, and business in a way that lasts... and scales. ### Biography RafaĆ«la Ellensburg is a Content Engineering Consultant with over a decade of experience in e-commerce management, omnichannel content coordination, and data-driven content strategy. At Albert Heijn, the largest grocery retailer in The Netherlands, she leads the establishment of robust Content Engineering foundations at the intersection of digital, data and tech. In 2025, she founded The Content Engineering Agency to help other organisations structure content as linked data so MarTech can truly scale with more context and less chaos. Rafaela is passionate about creating scalable structures for content that deliver relevant customer experiences with optimal efficiency. Her explorations in metadata, domain modelling, content modelling and building taxonomies, combined with her holistic perspective on content as linked data for unified digital experiences, make her a thought leader in the field of content engineering and digital experience optimisation. ### Connect * Website: * LinkedIn: * Instagram: # Larry Swanson Speaker
### Talk at [London 2026](/events/london-2026) #### Top insights from Knowledge Graph Insights Knowledge graphs are a powerful way of working with data. They make semantic connections between multiple data sources, creating bridges between humans and machines to enable intelligent systems. Larry launched the Knowledge Graph Insights podcast in 2024, to help seven-year-olds and CEOs and everyone in between understand the field. Since then, he's interviewed over 40 practitioners. In this talk, he'll share his top insights from the podcast. ### Biography Larry Swanson has 25 years of experience as a content modeller, digital architect, and community builder. He hosts the Content Strategy Insights and Knowledge Graph Insights podcasts and has co-organised several professional communities and event series: the Future of Content meetup in Amsterdam, the Seattle Content Strategy meetup, Utterly Content, the Dataworthy Collective, the Knowledge Graph Conference, Connected Data London, Decoupled Days, World Information Architecture Day, and many others. He is also a founding member of the Kinetic Council, an association-formation committee that aims to connect professionals across the content, knowledge, semantics, and data industries. He lives in Heidelberg, Germany. ### Connect * Website: * LinkedIn: # Duncan Stephen Speaker Lead Content Designer (structured content and information architecture) at The Scottish Government.
### Talk at [London 2026](/events/london-2026) #### The meaning of public services Information architecture normally focuses on the objects that need to be represented in a system. Some human-centred practitioners focus instead on the tasks users need to do. These approaches are sometimes framed in opposition. But combining these techniques can make services and systems easier to use as well as more efficient to manage. This session will explore what a public service is, how it is structured, and how we can go beyond verbs to create more meaning. ### Biography Duncan is a lead content designer, specialising in structured content and information architecture, at the Scottish Government. He has a background as a user experience consultant, with deep exposure to user research, user experience strategy, and service design projects across a wide variety of sectors. ### Connect * Website: * LinkedIn: * Bluesky: # Marc Stephenson Organiser
Marc is the technical director and co-founder of the information architecure consultancy Metataxis. He has spent decades working on the design and implementation of information systems with an emphasis on the usability, architecture and practical sustainability of technology solutions. Marc has extensive experience, formed over many years, in creating and implementing data models, metadata schemas, and taxonomies, that are the essential foundation to IT system implementation and good information governance regimes. ### Community Involvement * Organiser of WIAD [London 2026](/events/london-2026) ### Connect * Website: * LinkedIn: # Dan Howarth Organiser
### Community Involvement * Organiser of WIAD [London 2026](/events/london-2026) ### Connect * Website: * LinkedIn: * Twitter/X: # John Dickens Speaker
Iā€™m a user researcher currently working on games usability at PlayStation! No, I donā€™t just play games all day (I watch people do that instead). ### Community Involvement * 2023, Speaker, [London 2023](/events/london-2023#menu-design-for-inclusive-gameplay-experiences) ### Connect * Website: * LinkedIn: * Twitter/X: # Upma Singh Speaker
Upma Singh is a Senior Experience Designer at EPAM Systems and loves the challenge of working through a particularly complex mess. She served on the board of PhillyCHI for two years and helped organize PhillyCHI WIADs for three years. She is a former cat mom who loves cooking, watching TV, listening to podcasts, and knitting. These days, she also helps organize the [OOUX Happy Hour](https://www.meetup.com/objectorientedux) Meetup. ### Community Involvement * 2023, Speaker, [London 2023](/events/london-2023#how-orca-can-help-orient-and-guide-your-users) ### Connect * Website: * LinkedIn: * Twitter/X: # Tom Hewitson Speaker
Tom Hewitson is the founder of Webby-award-winning Conversation Design Studio labworks. As well as helping many household name brands to define and implement their conversational strategy he is also one of the largest publishers of Alexa skills in the world. ### Community Involvement * 2023, Speaker, [London 2023](/events/london-2023#large-language-models-and-the-future-of-digital-assistants) ### Connect * Website: * LinkedIn: * Twitter/X: # Iriani Amirudin Organizer
I just completed my Masterā€™s in Human-Computer Interaction Design (MSc HCID), with Distinction. My individual project/thesis broadly investigated women's experiences on trading and social trading platforms. šŸ‘©šŸ»ā€šŸ’»šŸ‘©šŸ½ā€šŸ’»šŸ“‰šŸ“ˆ ### Community Involvement * 2023, Co-organizer ### Connect * LinkedIn: # Rik Williams Lead Organsier
Rik Williams is an Information Architect and OOUX Certified Strategist at Government Digital Service (GDS). He combines inclusive user research, content strategy, and information architecture methods to make accessible services that meet real needs. ### Community Involvement * Organiser of [WIAD London](https://london.worldiaday.org/) [2023](/events/london-2023), [2024](/events/london-2024), [2025](/events/london-2025) and [2026](/events/london-2026). ### Connect * Website: * LinkedIn: * X: # Frances Gordon Speaker
Frances started her career far from the corporate arena ā€“ she researched and wrote educational materials for people in rural parts of Sub-Saharan Africa. In 1998, she first moved to London to work for an information design consultancy. Aside from co-founding consultancy and training firm, Simplified, she also held tenures at a financial inclusion fintech and at Barclaycard. Frances co-created the Simplified course with plain-language attorney, Candice Burt. The past 15 years has seen Simplifiedā€™s course used to train over 9000 professionals how to write in plain language ā€“ in the UK, Portugal, South Africa, Namibia, Kenya, Nigeria and the US. The course has an adaptable model for training diverse delegates, from different sectors and different linguistic and cultural contexts. ### Community Involvement * 2021, Speaker, "[London 2021](/events/london-2021#content-is-context-avoiding-cultural-assumptions)" ### Connect * Website: * LinkedIn: # John Willshire Speaker
John runs Smithery, a consultancy he founded in 2011. All his work is rooted in the idea that it is better to help organisations make things people want rather than make people want things. This is achieved through a nested collection of creative philosophies, processes and tools he has forged over the last decade to generate endless inspiration for the imagination and maximise the impact of ideas. One of these tools, Artefact Cards, has been spun-out to become a successful business in its own right. ### Community Involvement * 2021, Speaker, "[London 2021](/events/london-2021#zenko-mapping)" ### Connect * LinkedIn: # Bryn Ray Speaker
Bryn is an independent Information Architecture and Experience Transformation consultant. He specialises in helping scaled organisations connect the dots between disjointed products and services, to build more seamless and structured experiences. Bryn started work as an Information Architect in 2008, holds a Masters Degree in User Experience Design, and is currently leading a global transformation project at American Express. His recent clients include: Farfetch, British Gas, London Stock Exchange, and The Home Office. ### Community Involvement * 2021, Speaker, "[London 2021](/events/london-2021#systems-thinking-in-practice)" ### Connect * LinkedIn: # David Bailey Speaker
David is the Information Architect at Snyk, a software company selling developer-first tools based around the Snyk platform. David has worked in technical communications for nearly 30 years, including information architecture, technical writing and content development, working on a range of documentation: from product descriptions, to user guides, to detailed API documentation. David has worked for multiple companies in the software sector, including ServiceNow and White Clarke Group. ### Community Involvement * 2021, Speaker, [London 2021](/events/london-2021#adopting-ci-cd-for-documentation-release) ### Connect * LinkedIn: # Ian Piper Speaker
Dr Ian Piper is the owner of Tellura Semantics, an information management business based in the UK. Tellura helps businesses around the world to improve their knowledge environments through the use of structured information. Ian has been working with structured information architectures for over 20 years, specialising in designing and building controlled vocabularies and information models for businesses across many sectors including banking, legal services, education, publishing, life sciences industries, and the public sector. ### Community Involvement * 2021, Speaker, [London 2021](/events/london-2021#from-chaotic-content-to-the-well-tempered-content-graph) ### Connect * LinkedIn: # Ioannis Nousis Speaker
Ioannis Nousis is an Interaction Designer, working at Google for Google Maps, assisting people everywhere as they navigate, explore and get things done in the world. Previously he worked in various tech verticals from e-commerce like MOO Print, Fin-tech and B2B/SaaS companies. He comes from an Industrial Design background holding an integrated MSs in HCI. Ioannis is a TED-X speaker and a design mentor with DesignLabs. ### Community Involvement * 2021, Speaker, [London 2021](/events/london-2021#use-design-thinking-to-maximise-the-value-of-your-mvp) ### Connect * LinkedIn: # Poorume Yoo
Poorume Yoo is a UX Architect at the BBC, who has a background in Service Design and Marketing in the UK, France and South Korea. She has a passion for connecting the dots with people, technology and strategy. She loves to explore new design methodologies and systems thinking. ### Community Involvement * YYYY, Speaker, "TALK TITLE" ### Connect * Website: * Instagram: * LinkedIn: * Twitter/X: * Bluesky # Peter Morville Speaker
Peter is a pioneer of the fields of information architecture and user experience. His bestselling books include Information Architecture (the "polar bear book"), Intertwingled, Search Patterns, and Ambient Findability. He has been helping people to plan since 1994, and advises such clients as AT\&T, Cisco, Harvard, IBM, the Library of Congress, Macy's, the National Cancer Institute, Quicken Loans, and Vodafone. His work has been covered by Business Week, NPR, The Economist, The Washington Post, and The Wall Street Journal. His latest book is Planning for Everything: The Design of Paths and Goals. ### Community Involvement * YYYY, Speaker, "TALK TITLE" ### Connect * Website: * Instagram: * LinkedIn: * Twitter/X: * Bluesky # Mari Smirnova Organizer
Mari Smirnova is a local organizer for WIAD London 2021 ### Community Involvement * Organizer, [London 2021](/events/london-2021) ### Connect * LinkedIn: # Mike Atherton Speaker, organizer
Mike Atherton builds smart content systems that push technical boundaries. A UX leader who shaped digital experiences at BBC and Facebook, he now creates AI-powered solutions for information discovery and delivery. His projects range from automated news podcasts to knowledge graph construction, always focused on practical applications of emerging tech. Author of [Designing Connected Content](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/37567459-designing-connected-content) and veteran conference speaker, Mike brings deep expertise in information architecture and a track record of transforming complex narratives into accessible, connected experiences. ### Community Involvement * 2025, Speaker, "From Script to Schema: Mapping Stories with AI Knowledge Graphs" * Organizer, [London 2017](/events/london-2017) ### Connect * Website: * LinkedIn: * Bluesky: # Johanna Kollman Organizer
johanna kollmann was a local organizer for WIAD London 2017 with Mike Atherton ### Community Involvement * Organizer, [London 2017](/events/london-2017) ### Connect * LinkedIn: * Twitter/X: # Rahel Anne Bailie Chief Knowledge Officer, Scroll Rahel Anne Bailie is an integrator of content strategy, requirements analysis, information architecture, and content management to increase ROI of content that matters, and a supporter of content structure and standards. She is Chief Knowledge Officer at Scroll, Fellow of the Society for Technical Communication, co-author of *Content Strategy: Connecting the dots between business, brand, and benefits*, co-editor of *The Language of Content Strategy*, and co-producer of Content Strategy Workshops. * Twitter: * Website: # Helen Lippell Speaker
Helen is an experienced Information Architect with a special focus on taxonomies. She has designed and implemented taxonomies for websites, intranets, content management systems, enterprise search solutions and semantic publishing tools. She works with clients across sectors including technology, media, academia, ecommerce and government. Helen lives in London with cats and books and has been a contestant on quiz shows such as *Only Connect* and *Brain of Britain*. ### Community Involvement * 2017, Speaker, [/pages/qV1yuIxzgKCmujJxwQnM#helen-lippell-its-your-first-day-in-a-taxonomy-job.-now-what](https://london.worldiaday.org/community/pages/qV1yuIxzgKCmujJxwQnM#helen-lippell-its-your-first-day-in-a-taxonomy-job.-now-what "mention") * YYYY, Speaker, "TALK TITLE" ### Connect Twitter: