Making the world a clearer place one sensemaker at a time.
I help you to make the unclear, clear.
My name is Abby Covert. If you wish to use pronouns to refer to me, please use she or her.
I am an author, teacher and community leader in the field of information architecture. My work aims to make information architecture and sensemaking skills accessible to everyone.
I am the Chief Sensemaker at The Sensemakers Club where identify new voices, produce community-powered education and curate daily peer-led discussions on topics like governance, change, facilitation and ethics – just to name a few of the 20+ topics we host per month.
My passion is writing for, speaking to, and teaching people who are bravely facing or feeling stuck on messes made of information and people. I am an independent creator who self publishes all her own work, so the best way to support me is to buy my work directly from me.
I also offer private sensemaking sessions on a first come, first serve basis. This is a one-on-one chance to work with me on making sense of your mess.
I love writing books to help my students:
How to Make Sense of Any Mess demystifies information architecture (IA) into a practical skill set that anyone can apply to any context. It has gone on to be translated by other IA practitioners into Spanish, Portuguese, Japanese, and Korean. In 2023 I published a teacher’s guide to meet the needs of the growing number of academic programs using the book for their foundational courses in interaction design, content strategy and information architecture. In 2024 I released an expanded hardcover, collector’s edition to celebrate the tenth anniversary.
Stuck? Diagrams Help. is a field guide for the trek from diagram novice to diagram nerd. This project started as a side quest, and has since become a true life’s mission to ride the world of bad diagrams, one diagrammer at a time.
My new book Timeless Sensemaking for Modern Sensemakers is a spell book about the people part of making sense. It was inspired by my year teaching monthly workshops at The Sensemakers Club and I can’t wait to share it. It will be available starting April 16th 2026 exclusively on my shop.
“I believe information architecture has the power to make the world a clearer place.”
Recent Education I have Developed
- The Sensemakers Library, a growing collection of all my workshops and community discussions at the Sensemakers Club.
- The Sensemakers in Residence and Discussion Leadership programs
- Making Sense of Yourself, a peership and community-driven program of self exploration co-developed with Alfi Oloo.
- IA for Everybody, a FREE 30 minute video course introducing the concept of IA.
- How to Diagram, a 90 minute video eCourse that includes access to my Diagram Critique BINGO games
You can also see the latest of my writing here.
About My Journey
Starting in my early twenties I embarked on a unique journey towards community leadership in the IA field while uncovering a passion to write about and teach information architecture.
Here are some of the community leadership roles I have been proud to serve in:
- Founder of The Sensemakers Club, a not-so-secret club for sensemakers seeking community
- Inventor of World Information Architecture Day, a free global celebration of IA serving thousands in their local communities annually
- President of the Information Architecture Institute from 2014–2016
- Co-chair of the IA Summit (now IAC) in 2014
- Executive Producer of the IDEA 2009 & 2010
- Executive Producer of the IA Summit 2010 & 2012
- Founding faculty member of SVA’s Products of Design Masters Program
- Founding curator of the Design Operations Summit
- Founding curator of the Advancing Research Conference
In 2020 I chose me and resigned from my last IA position to focus full time on writing, teaching and community organizing. I started an Etsy Shop to share low cost products and guides from my toolkit and started to gather a community of sensemakers all over the world via a monthly mailing list.
I am now five years into my latest entrepreneurial season, and I like nothing better than introducing myself as someone who “retired from tech in 2020.”
The jewel in my calendar since 2021 is hosting Makesensemess, an annual celebration of sensemaking on the first Friday of November. Each year I work with a group of brave sensemakers to share stories of messes they have made sense of. What started as a one-time event has since become the inspiration for the community that has grown up around it.
In 2022 I started The Sensemakers Club to produce education for and opportunities to connect more deeply with that community.
In 2024 I widened the scope of the club dramatically by inviting and training 40 discussion leaders to lead monthly discussion groups for subscription members. As of 2026 the club has trained 65 leaders, and hosts 250+ events per year, including a member-organized Sensemakers Salon held each May.
If you want to directly support my work, the best way is through purchasing something directly from me, like buying a product from my Shop, booking a personal sensemaking session or starting a membership at The Sensemakers Club.
If you want to keep up with my work, the best way is to join my email list where I write a monthly update on what I am working on or thinking about.
I have an up to date contact page outlining the best ways to reach me. Hint, it definitely isn’t using social media DMs.