Today, our special guest is Abby Covert, Chief Sensemaker at the Sensemaker Club. Join Brendan as he interviews Abby, an information architect, author, and community leader in UX design. Abby shares insights into her work in UX design, the importance of customer feedback, and her journey as an author. They discuss topics such as misdiagnosis, neurodivergent experiences, the evolution of information architecture, ethical responsibility in tech, and effective communication through diagrams. Take advantage of this insightful and thought-provoking conversation.

Highlights include:

0:00 - Introduction and Abby's Accomplishments
3:17 - Abby's Experience of Buying a House
6:45 - Abby's Book "How to Make Sense of Any Mess"
13:01 - Friendship with Christina Wodtke
16:56 - Abby’s Work and Life OKRs
20:45 - Decision to Become a "Digital Recluse"
26:10 - Experience of Being Diagnosed with ADHD
37:56 - Abby's Journey in Information Architecture (IA)
44:28 - Challenges in Promoting Ethical Responsibility in UX Design

Who is Abby Covert

Abby Covert is an information architect, writer, and community organizer with two decades of experience helping people make sense of messes. In addition to being an active mentor to those new to sensemaking, she has also served the design community as President of the Information Architecture Institute, co-chair of the Information Architecture Summit, and Executive Producer of the I.D.E.A Conference.

Abby is a founding faculty member of the School of Visual Arts’ Products of Design graduate program. She also managed the team that helped Rosenfeld Media start the Design Operations Summit and Advancing Research Conference. Her most proud achievement is coming up with the idea for World Information Architecture Day, which brings accessibly priced education to thousands in their local communities annually.

Abby has written two books for her students. In 2014, she published How to Make Sense of Any Mess, a book to teach IA to everybody. In 2022, she released her much-anticipated follow-up, Stuck? Diagrams Help. She currently spends her time making things that help you make the unclear clear, many of which she makes available for free on her website, abbycovert.com or at accessible price points in her popular Etsy shop, AbbytheIA.

Find Abby Here

Abby Covert on LinkedIn
Sensemaker Club on LinkedIn
Sensemaker Club Website
Abby Covert’s Book How to Make Sense of Any Mess

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Brendan Jarvis hosts the Show, and you can find him here:

Brendan Jarvis on LinkedIn
The Space InBetween Website

Rerun: #533 Hua Hsu (May 2023)

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