Information design and information science: a new alliance?

Abstract

Information design is broadly defined as everything that we do to make ideas visible so that others can make them their own and use them for their own purposes The history of human efforts to "store information beyond the brain" sug gests that there is common ground between those who today pursue the separate specialisms of managing information and designing information

Examination of what information designers actually do leads to the conclusion that they and information professionals could usefully work together, and make a "benevolent col onisation" of new areas. Their cooperation could help, in particular, to rectify many of the difficulties which modern information technology puts in the way of information users Some first ideas are advanced for co-operation, and for ini tiatives in integrated education

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