Providence 2026

Join Providence's celebration of World IA Day 2026 on March 7, 2026!

World IA Day is the one day a year the information architecture, UX, design, and content communities get together for a global conference with many local celebrations, curated and organized by volunteers around the world.

Date and time

Saturday, March 7, 2026

9am - 12pm

Location

Providence Public Library

Seminar Room

150 Empire St, Providence, RI 02903

Getting there: There is 2-hour metered street parking and parking garages nearby. We recommend arriving a bit early or using public transportation if possible. Here are some options:

LAZ Parking – 197 Fountain St (entrance across from the Hilton)
Amica Mutual Pavilion Parking – 99 West Exchange St
Providence Place Mall – $2 parking. Park on Macy’s side, take the skybridge, exit through the Omni Hotel. ~15 min walk to PPL
Kennedy Plaza (bus station) – 10 min walk to PPL

More info can be found here: https://provlib.org/visit-us/directions-hours/

This year's theme

Global theme: Designing for Meaning

Registration is required to attend (it's free!)

Donate or sponsor

To make sure we can keep all our events free, make a donation today. All donations are tax-deductible.

Speakers

Name

Matt Arnold

Link

Matt Arnold

Company & title

Chief Catalyst, Spark Consulting Group

Name

Erynn Petersen

Link

Erynn Petersen

Company & title

CEO, Emme

Name

Lily Mathews

Link

Lily Mathews

Company & title

Strategist and Researcher, From Forward

Name

Alec Thibodeau

Link

Alec Thibodeau

Company & title

Lecturer, University of Massachusetts Dartmouth

Name

Drew Hicks

Link

Drew Hicks

Company & title

Senior Product Designer, CVS Health

Name

Fiona O'Malley

Link

Fiona O'Malley

Company & title

Senior UX Research Consultant, UserTesting

Program schedule

Doors open at 9:00 am!

We’ll start promptly at 9:15 am and wrap up at noon. There will be breads, spreads, coffee, and tea!

Welcome & Opening Speakers

9:15 - 10:00 am

Confirmed Talks (10 minutes each)

Matt Arnold, “Designing Meaning Together: The Need for Collaborative Sensemaking”

Information architecture has always been about helping people make meaning and support understanding, but today's complexity demands that we design meaning together. Matt will introduce collaborative sensemaking as a critical layer of infrastructure for cross-disciplinary work and share the Group Bullseye framework as a practical takeaway for improving communication and collective clarity.

This keynote perfectly captures this year's global theme: Designing for Meaning — exploring how we create information experiences that resonate, connect, and create real value.

Fiona O’Malley, “Practically Scaling User Research to Non-Researchers”

Fiona will share practical, actionable ways to integrate UX research into everyday workflows, no large budgets or dedicated research teams required. She'll cover simple methods for embedding research into existing processes, strategies for involving non-researchers in meaningful ways, and approaches for conducting impactful research even when time and resources are limited.

Lily Mathews, “What Lingers and Why”

What happens when we ask machines to decide what matters? Lily will share insights about research, noticing, and the grunt work where meaning gets made. A thought-provoking exploration of how we determine what information persists and why.

Coffee break

10:00 - 10:15 am

Discussion, networking, and activities

10:15 - 11:00 am

Lightning talks (5 minutes each)

11:00 - 11:40 am

Pre-scheduled Talks

Drew Hicks, “The Interface You Never See”

Drew will explore how the video game Arc Raiders uses an invisible feedback system to reshape the experience around player behavior and what that reveals about IA shaping experiences, not just interfaces. A fascinating look at how information architecture works behind the scenes to create meaningful interactions.

Erynn Petersen, “Human Connection as a P0 Design Requirement”

There is an opportunity in Information Architecture right now to drive the development of major systems to incorporate people and connection instead of treating connections between people as friction. Erynn will explore how we can seize this opportunity to design systems that prioritize human connection at their core.

Alec Thibodeau, “Moon Space: Designing an Interactive Lunar Calendar”

Alec will share how he designs, builds, and maintains Moon Space, a digital lunar calendar with real-world data that users can interact with online. This is a great example of designing meaningful experiences that connect people with information in engaging, accessible ways.

Day-of Impromptu Talks