KAREN McGRANE is an author, keynote speaker, teacher, and consultant who makes digital systems work better for the people who use them

Articles

By Karen

Browse 19 more

  1. Every project I have ever done (updated!)

    Back in 2018 I went through my hard drives and made a big list of every project I've ever worked on. That list remains pinned on my profile on the website formerly known as Twitter. Whew, that was five years ago? I updated the list with my current projects, so this is more or less everything I've worked on over the past 25 years, although it doesn't include workshops. The list is in alphabetical order because the dates are a bit fuzzy.

  2. In Defense of Lorem Ipsum

    Lorem Ipsum is just like every other tool in a designer's toolkit. When used intentionally, it can help the design process.

    UIE Tips,

  3. Every project I have ever done

    A while back I went through my hard drive and captured a list of every project I've ever done, spanning the years 1998 – 2018, so twenty years of projects. These are in alphabetical order because I'm a bit fuzzy on the dates.

  4. Introducing Autogram

    I am delighted to announce that I am starting a new strategic consultancy with Ethan Marcotte and Jeff Eaton called Autogram.

  5. Windows on the Web

    You have five minutes while waiting for a friend to meet you for lunch, so you find yourself shopping for a new pair of shoes. When your friend arrives, you put the phone away, but leave the web page open to help you remember what you found when you get home.

    A List Apart,

  6. Doing UX

    Too often, when designers get hired to “do UX“ they have to convince entrenched parts of the organization that UX is a real job. Change will only happen once we have leaders that set the standard.

    The Pastry Box Project,

  7. WYSIWTF

    How should content management tools guide content creators to focus on meaning and structure? What’s the right amount of control over presentation and styling in the CMS?

    A List Apart,

  8. Pay it forward

    Your time is valuable. Spend it wisely.

    Medium,

  9. The Minimum Viable Lifestyle

    The Pastry Box Project,

  10. Who experiences code of conduct violations?

    As far as I'm concerned, the heart of what makes information architecture a discipline is the focus on the needs of users as they navigate an information space. Here, I break down the point of view of the grievance procedure for Information Architecture Foundation events.

About Karen

Browse 32 more

  1. The Story of Lorem Ipsum: How Scrambled Text by Cicero Became Used by Typesetters Everywhere

    Karen's "spirited defense" gets a mention in this article about the use of Lorem Ipsum.

    By Josh Jones, Open Culture,

  2. Pioneering content strategy and UX

    Enterprise content architectures are maturing and finally beginning to separate content from its presentation. But old-fashioned artifacts like PDF files still abound, and authors still expect WYSIWYG editing experiences. And when Karen McGrane reflects on her work 25 years ago at Razorfish she's struck by how the team structures and business practices they adopted there are still relevant today.

    By Larry Swanson, Elless Media,

  3. A Lens A Day #50 - Component vs. Page

    Dan Brown and Karen McGrane discuss the practice of information architecture.

    By Dan Brown, A Lens a Day,

  4. Wikipedia Entry

    I have an entry on Wikipedia. It was deleted for not being notable enough, and then reinstated because apparently I am notable enough.

    Wikipedia,

  5. Are Your Design Teams and Content Teams Working at Odds With Each Other?

    To understand the challenges that these content teams undergo and also provide tips for brands to improve their content workflows, we spoke to the experts.

    By Kaya Ismail, CMS Wire,

  6. Autogram: Content and Design Systems for Enterprises – Episode 84

    Orchestrating the strategy, design, and software work that comes with enterprise-scale digital projects is a complex and painstaking mission. It’s hard to imagine a team better equipped to take on these challenges than the founders of Autogram.

    By Larry Swanson, Elless Media,

  7. Maker Series Recap

    In the intimate Maker Series setting with 35 other people who care about content, Karen McGrane took us all to church, preaching that we have to stop stalling. We have to “stop the bleeding.” We all have to get comfortable with iterating.

    By Emily Gray, Sparkbox,

  8. Using information architecture to make distributed teamwork easier

    When you’re working from home, it’s hard to tell how well you’re communicating with your team.

    By Drew Pearce, Dropbox blog,

  9. The State of Omnichannel 2020

    For this webinar, we brought together content management expert Karen McGrane of Bond Art + Science and Brian Warrick of Magnolia Americas to provide the answers you need to build an impactful omnichannel strategy.

    By Brian Warrick, Magnolia,

  10. Topics and assemblies

    Karen McGrane is our sensei. She shows us why traditional CMSs, which descended from desktop publishing that work in terms of pages, are the wrong solution to digitally delivering content.

    By Dmytri Kleiner and Stephen Pastan, Contentful,

Additional Topics

  1. Accessibility
    2
  2. Adaptive Content
    7
  3. Adaptive Web Design
    3
  4. Author Experience
    7
  5. Career
    4
  6. Content Strategy
    6
  7. Digital Divide
    6
  8. Disruptive Innovations
    8
  9. Future Platforms
    3
  10. Hearing Aids
    2
  11. Information Architecture
    1
  12. Interaction Design History
    25
  13. Lorem Ipsum
    4
  14. M-dot Sites
    7
  15. Mobile Only
    5
  16. Omnichannel
    3
  17. Personal Growth
    8
  18. Responsive Web Design
    6
  19. Structured Content
    7
  20. The Web Isn't Print
    4
  21. Truncation
    2
  22. Useful Stats
    9
  23. User Experience
    4
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