Big Design 10 you stole my heart!
Posted on June 8, 2010 in Conferences, User Experience by LisView Comments

A few months ago I got an im from my old colleague and good friend, Joe Dyer. He asked me if I was going to go see him speak at the 2nd Annual Big Design conference in Dallas. My response? “I love ya Joe, but why would I go all the way to Dallas to attend a conference I’ve never heard of?” “Because”, he said, “it’s $100 for the full two days.” That made it a horse of a different color.

So I preceded to consider my friend’s idea, and eventually realized there was no reason for me skip Big D, especially considering the cost. I booked my trip, but remained skeptical. I mean even though there were some big names, I just couldn’t see how a conference with such low cost could be interesting and informative. Boy was I wrong!

When I arrived at SMU the first day of the conference I was seriously impressed with the setup. It was just right. Plenty of free coffee, food and swag to boot. The best part? The conference attend list was small and intimate. People were networking but it wasn’t as forced. The speakers were found amongst the crowd and it was not unusual to see them around just being a part of things. Everyone was the same, and it felt awesome.

Then came the events themselves. The first day started with a keynote by Susan Weinschenk on Psychology of Online Behavior. Then, the talks were split by Social Media, Code Development and Workshops. You could go to any track at any time. Oh and who could forget the free t-shirt you got when you answered a question?! Nathan Shedroff rounded out the day with another awesome keynote. Day 2 kicked off with a talk by Chris Bernard who spoke about John Hughes and the inspiration he provides us. Then they day split into Design, Strategy and more Workshops. Jared Spool closed out the conference with his talk on the anatomy of design decisions. And that was it: two jam packed days, no more no less. They scheduled it perfectly, I was burnt out but not completely dead. Basically there was content for all and it was very well put together. The speakers were great, and were talking about things that I don’t think I would’ve heard at other events. I’ll definitely be writing more about these in the coming weeks, but this post is dedicated to my love for Big D 10.

So I’ll end with this. Big D, I didn’t have faith, however seeing is believing. Please forgive me for my wrongs. I’ll be sure to visit you each and every year, if you’ll have me, so that I can be endowed with even more knowledge to enhance my career. You too, dear reader, should considering attending this event in the future. It was totally worth every penny, yes, all 10,000 of them.

See you next year Dallas. Can’t wait to see what 2011 holds for Big D!

Thoughts on a different kind of conference
Posted on February 11, 2010 in Conferences, User Experience by LisView Comments

As I mentioned in my last post, I had the opportunity to travel to Interaction 10 last week which took place in beautiful Savannah, Georgia. (PS you can sign up for Interaction 11 now and save $250 bucks! Interaction 11 site) This was my very first UX conference, and I loved it. The conference itself was extremely well put together. The talks were a perfect length, the spaces & locations that were used were fantastic and the food out of this world. The speakers and workshops were full of insightful ideas that had me really reflecting on my practice as an interaction designer, and how to make it better.

As I was listening and engaging, I couldn’t help but reflect on the concept of a conference overall. I kept thinking about how we were at a conference talking about interaction design and user experience, about creating meaning and facilitating delightful experiences, but yet we were all sitting in a room, listening to someone’s point of view on these topics… and hopefully providing feedback to them afterwards. I kept asking myself “Is this the best way to create meaning for us as UX practioners? Is this the best way to facilitate delight in our learning experience?”.

Please don’t get me wrong. Interaction 10 was one of the best experiences I’ve had and this post is in no way trying to convey anything negative about it (or else I wouldn’t be promoting Interaction 11). What this post is meant to do is to get us thinking about the concept of conferences overall and if they are the best or only way to increase the knowledge and talent of the UX community while at the same time providing meaning and facilitating delight.

During my time in Savannah I started thinking about how conferences started in the first place. I got some general thoughts on this, but to be honest I don’t have any written proof of the history of the events. I did do some research on Business Conferences vs. Academic Conferences which did help to frame the idea for me better, but I’m still hung up on the question… is this the best way for us to learn? Just because businesses and academia put on these events, should our community rely on them? We are different afterall… right? I’m not saying conferences should go away, but just asking what part of our growth as practioners do they facilitate? There are different ways that we learn and grow, and I’m sure conferences fill some need (or they wouldn’t exist).

In talking to my friend who is a professional counselor, he mentioned that counseling conferences are very different. Why? Because, as he put it, they have to focus on how they work with and predict behaviors of other people. That stopped me in my tracks because frankly, we do that too! He explained that counseling conferences were much more hands on and group oriented (probably similar to the workshops that we’ve seen), and focus on teaching methods for getting results. Perhaps this isn’t exactly what we’d want to do, however it does shed some light on a different way. Afterall, does it make sense to have a group of people who are conceptual and visually based to sit in a room and absorb information without interacting?

So I’m asking all of you your opinions on the topic. How do you think conferences help us in our practice? How are they structured to create meaning for us? And mostly do you think that there is potentially a different way to instruct and help the “different” kind of professionals that we are?

Can’t wait to hear what you’ve got!

Heading south
Posted on February 2, 2010 in Conferences, User Experience by LisView Comments

I’m extremely excited today, because tomorrow I’ll be getting on a plane to Savannah, Georgia for IxDA’s annual conference: Interaction 10. My excitement stems from several sources. First, as a local leader for the NYC chapter of IxDA, I’m fully committed to supporting and evangelizing IxDA’s mission and I’m pumped to be surrounded by others that feel the same. Second, this is my very first interaction design / user experience design conference and I’m completely curious as to what’s in store and can’t wait to learn all that I’m about to learn. Third, I’m so happy to be attending with some very great friends, and am looking forward to being introduced to and talking with more awesomely talented UXers.

Here are only some of the talks that I’m hoping to attend:
Scenarios for Design – Liz Bacon
Designing for Billions – Rapheal Grignani
10 Things I Learned About Being a Design Consultant While Living In the Hospital for a Year – Greg Vassallo
The Human Interface (Or: Why Products Are People, Too) – Christopher Fahey

I would love to hear any advice, suggestions, words of wisdom about what I should expect, what I should look for, etc. This is all new to me, and any and all guidance is welcome. I can’t wait to come back with a full report for everyone!

My first speaking event
Posted on September 23, 2009 in Conferences, Entrepreneurs, User Experience by LisView Comments

Well the time has come… I have signed up for my first speaking event. I’m lucky enough to be invited to be part of a panel on “Emerging Social Media Tends: What You Must Know and How to Leverage It” at this year’s New York Entrepreneur Week. I’m very excited!
New York Entrepreneur Week is being put together by founder Gary Whitehill. It is a conference that raises awareness about and brings together entrepreneurs from around the area. There are a ton of great events and speakers (including me now!) and it is sure to be a huge success. Check out NYEW‘s website if this is something that appeals to you and also don’t forget to follow NYEW on twitter @NYEWeek. Lastly, feel free to provide feedback on the NYEW.org site, the UX designer (wink, wink) would be glad to hear things both good and bad so that we can ensure a better experience next time around.
Speaking, as some of you may know, is something I’ve always been interested in and being part of a panel is, for me, a great way to get started. I’m interested to see how entrepreneurs with a non-UX background take social media and also very interested to see the conversation that arises. I hope I’m prepared. Any advice or thoughts?