The lesser-known academic discipline of Informatics is rapidly gaining relevance in the space between art and business.  It is essentially the study of how information is organized and distributed through human systems and so, in the bigger picture, how meaning can be captured and accessed through technology.

  • The Indiana University School of Informatics (Bloomington, Indianapolis and Southeast), defines Informatics as “the art, science and human dimensions of information technology” and “the study, application, and social consequences of technology.”
  • The University of California, Irvine Department of Informatics  defines Informatics as “the interdisciplinary study of the design, application, use and impact of information technology. The discipline of informatics is based on the recognition that the design of this technology is not solely a technical matter, but must focus on the relationship between the technology and its use in real-world settings. That is, informatics designs solutions in context, and takes into account the social, cultural and organizational settings in which computing and information technology will be used.”
  • The University of Michigan, Ann Arbor Informatics interdisciplinary major  defines Informatics as “the study of information and the ways information is used by and affects human beings and social systems.”

Seems to me there is a place where the business of conceptual art and the art of creative businesses start to look, project for project, as if they are undertaking parts of the same human enterprise.    How to make things mean things, to large groups of people, and then organize and disseminate those meanings in ways that continue to keep the meaning-makers and partakers engaged.   Hmmmmm……