News

Jessica DuVerneay Joins The Understanding Group, Strengthens Company’s West Coast Presence

Posted on April 1, 2012 by kaarin

With the addition of Jessica DuVerneay to the team, The Understanding Group is officially a transcontinental company. DuVerneay, who has been working on a contract basis with TUG for the past year, is ecstatic that her recent relocation to Los Angeles, CA coincides with the company’s strategic plan to expand it’s offerings to the West Coast.

Bringing experience in information architecture, user research, small business ownership, teaching, librarianship, and community building she will continue IA work in addition to heading up Business Development and growing TUG’s Pacific presence. Ms. DuVerneay recently acted as Global Producer for the first ever World IA Day, and is looking forward to continued leadership in the local and global IA community.
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Senior Information Architect Dan Cooney Joins The Understanding Group

Posted on March 21, 2012 by kaarin

The Understanding Group (TUG), an Information Architecture practice headquartered in Ann Arbor, Michigan, is pleased to announce that Dan Cooney has joined the company.

Formerly the Director of User Experience at Grand River Interactive and a lecturer at the University of Michigan’s School of Information, Dan is a highly experienced Information Architect who will bring a depth of understanding and experience to TUG’s Ann Arbor office.
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TUG Teams with Information Architecture Pioneer Peter Morville

Posted on March 20, 2012 by bob

The Understanding Group (TUG), an Information Architecture practice headquartered in Ann Arbor, Michigan, is pleased to announce a strategic partnership with Peter Morville and Semantic Studios.

Peter Morville co-author of the best-selling book, Information Architecture for the World Wide Web and author of Search Patterns and Ambient Findability is a founding father in the modern information architecture discipline. As CEO of Argus Associates (1994–2001), Peter built the first information architecture consulting practice. He remains to this day a prominent figure promoting the development and growth of information architecture as a discipline across the globe.

“It is an honor and a privilege to work with a pioneer like Peter,” says Bob Royce, President of The Understanding Group, “We and our clients will benefit from his unique wisdom and insights.” Read More

The Understanding Group taps Zingerman’s veteran to serve as Operations Manager

Posted on February 1, 2012 by kaarin

The Understanding Group (TUG), an Information Architecture practice headquartered in Ann Arbor, Michigan, is pleased to announce that Paul Metler has joined the company.

Formerly an Event Planner and Director of Catering Sales for Zingerman’s in Ann Arbor, Paul will make use of his considerable planning and coordinating experience as the Operations Manager for TUG.
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Ann Arbor eCommerce Meetup Group – Thank-you!

Posted on August 22, 2011 by Dan

Thank-you for attending the Meetup event! Here is a link to Dan’s presentation:

 

Repeatable Magic – Information Architecture for eCommerce Success from Dan Klyn on Vimeo.

Want to use IA to increase eCommerce Success?

TUG information architects can bring quite a lot of eCommerce value in short, focused engagements that include:

eCommerce Optimization Benchmarking Read More

Next Monday in Ann Arbor: IA + eCommerce

Posted on August 17, 2011 by James

On Monday, August 22 at 6:30 PM, TUG co-founder Dan Klyn is giving a talk about information architecture for the eCommerce Ann Arbor Meetup Group. The venue for the event is the Workantile Exchange, 118 S Main in Ann Arbor – next to Kai Garden. Hope to see you there!

Abby Covert Joins The Understanding Group, Anchors Company’s Presence In New York City

Posted on June 1, 2011 by Dan

New York City, NY, USA, June 1, 2011

The Understanding Group, an Information Architecture practice headquartered in Ann Arbor, Michigan, is pleased to announce that Abby Covert has joined the company.

Formerly the Director of User Experience Planning for draftfcb in Chicago, this year Ms. Covert was listed in the Direct Marketing News’s “Top 30 marketing professionals under 30,” and she brings a wealth of experience and thought leadership applying IA in marketing, advertising, health care and user experience contexts to TUG’s practice.

“I got to work for and with Abby Covert on information architecture conferences she produced in Philadelphia and Phoenix last year,” explains Dan Klyn, co-founder of TUG “and from the first meeting I saw her run I realized that this was a person who would be shaping the future of my profession.”

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Bob Royce, President of The Understanding Group, Tapped As Speaker For The 2011 EuroIA Conference in Prague, Czech Republic

Posted on May 22, 2011 by Dan

Copenhagen, Denmark. May 22, 2011

Today in Copenhagen, conference chair Eric Reiss announced speaker selections for The European IA Summit 2011. Bob Royce of The Understanding Group, an Information Architecture practice headquartered in Ann Arbor, Michigan, was one of just three submissions from North America to score high enough in the anonymous and peer-reviewed selection process to get the invitation to present in Prague this coming September.

Royce, whose background in executive and teaching roles placed him in front of many different kinds of rooms and audiences in the past, will be presenting a new talk:

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Kristopher McNeil Joins The Understanding Group (TUG)

Posted on April 1, 2011 by Dan

Grand Rapids, MI, USA, April 1 2011

The Understanding Group (TUG), a newly-formed Information Architecture practice headquartered in Ann Arbor, MI is pleased to announce that Kristopher McNeil, formerly of BLACK Inc., has joined the company.

McNeil joins TUG in the position of Information Architect, and will lead content strategy and search engine visibility activities from the company’s satellite office in Grand Rapids. Mr. McNeil’s understanding of the dynamics of creating and taking care of content across channels over time will help ensure that TUG’s solutions are as effective and sustainable on day 100 as they are on launch day.

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“When People Understand, Good Things Follow” Announcing the formation of The Understanding Group (TUG)

Posted on March 3, 2011 by Dan

Ann Arbor, MI USA, March 03, 2011

In the offices of Bodman PLC in Ann Arbor, Michigan today, longtime friends Bob Royce and Dan Klyn signed documents together to form a partnership called The Understanding Group.

“Our purpose in forming the company,” explained Klyn, “is to bring together the finest practitioners on the planet to do for clients the thing that Richard Saul Wurman posits as the core idea of Information Architecture: making things be good.”

“In the case of our business,” Royce continues, “the things we’re making be good are primarily complex websites, portals, mobile applications and information systems.”
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