IAD FRAMEWORK
The Information Architecture Design Canon
VOLUME I
Part 1 – Modules
Part 2 – Glossary
Nine Modules, spread over fifteen notes, constitute the principal design-theoretic articulation of IAD presented through the Canon. The Glossary’s twenty terms define the principal concepts and technical terms to be found in the Modules and the broader IAD literature.
Contents at a glance
The Canon Modules, to be found in Volume I, synthesise theoretical orientation, propositions and consequences, epistemological and ontological positioning, design method, analytic instruments, heuristics, praxeological concerns, entailments for inquiry and field-level horizons.
Their organisation from Module 0 to Module 9 gives this synthesis a developing narrative structure. Sequential reading is therefore recommended for a first encounter with the Canon. It allows the distinctions established in earlier Modules to support the propositions and consequences introduced later.
There is, however, no single route through the Canon. Readers approaching IAD from different fields, practices and areas of interest may wish to traverse the Modules selectively. Concepts encountered in one Module may also lead recursively to definitions in the Glossary, discussions in other Modules or related Auxiliary Notes.
Citing the Canon
The following citation is recommended for the complete Edition 1, Version 1.0 digital release, until ISBN and DOI identifiers have been allocated.
This page is the permanent publication address for the version 1.0 IAD Canon, and its future releases.
Publication & version history
The Canon remains subject to continued editorial refinement and theoretical development. Subsequent versions may introduce corrections, clarifications, revised relations between texts and additional supporting material. Substantive stages in the development of the theory will be marked through future editions.
AUGUST 2026
Edition 1 · Version 1.0 — Public release
The complete two-volume Canon:
Volume I,
Modules & Glossary;
Volume II,
Auxiliary Notes.
Download Volume II ↓
Version 1.0 — Developmental release
The early release of Volume I, containing the Modules and Glossary. It predates the complete two-volume public release and retains developmental notes and provisional elements.
Download the developmental release ↓