Founded 1990 | Parent organization Publishing Technology plc | |
Dynamic Diagrams is an information design consultancy based in Providence, Rhode Island, United States. Its services include information architecture and design for web sites and applications, as well as diagramming complex processes, systems, and data to help clients explain and sell their ideas. The company provides visual design capabilities supported by research and analysis to understand user and business needs.
Dynamic Diagrams was founded in 1990 by Paul Kahn and Krzysztof Lenk, who first worked together to design the hypertext system Intermedia (hypertext) at Brown University’s Institute for Research in Information and Scholarship (IRIS). The company retains strong ties to Brown and the Rhode Island School of Design (RISD), where Krzysztof Lenk is a member of the graphic design faculty. Dynamic Diagrams has been affiliated with Cadmus Communications Corporation, Inc. and Ingenta, but has operated as an independent studio under the leadership of Tim Roy since 2002.
Dynamic Diagrams is known for using isometric projections or Z-diagrams to map web sites (Dodge, 1999; Kahn & Lenk, 2001; Kahn, Lenk, & Kaczmarek, 2001), for developing the software program MAPA (Durand & Kahn, 1998), and for publishing the Information Design Watch blog. The company's work appears in several books on information architecture and information design (see Further Reading).