From Information Architect to Inspiration Architect

The times they are a changin'. Clicks have turned into swipes and other gestures. Companies are building environments that respond to our personal attitudes and styles. Once, the Information Architect was need to unfold information on a 2-dimensional screen based on hierarchy and library science. Boy, has that changed. The new information architect will be called on to orchestrate 3 dimensional space. Humans will walk into rooms and the rooms will adjust to our moods and preferences. All around the world designers and technologists are makeing this so. http://www.rug.nl/cit/hpcv/index?lang=en

Interactive office design in the Reality Theatre University of Gronigen

That means that there is a new and bigger calling for the IA - I think we need to expand our thinking quickly and move from "information focus" to "inspiration focus". As Information Architects we are uniquely positioned among the disciplines and we can help teams find ways to dialog and prepare for coming needs and trends. We are going to have to break down silos (in some cases) to do this, but the IA should be able to weave inspirational thinking in and around day to day projects. The IA should be asking, "What if...?"

I am trying to drink my own koolaid on this and the other day, I had an opportunity to work with the team on our "local page" initiative, here at "Goliath Corp". The local page, by its definition, offers the company the opportunity to experiment with some cross-platform initiatives - like pushing local sports scores to mobile. The idea was not in the BRD, but I put a little cellphone icon on the wireframe and opened the dialog with a cup of coffee. That was last week - and now the ball's rolling just by asking "What if?" Give it a try. Become inspirational. Let me know how it works out.