MaineUX - Fall 2008 update & summer recap

hello, from the Great State of Maine™ ~

Okay…the ™ may be tongue in cheek, but Maine is a fantastic state, with a whole lot of UX going on! For example…

INTEREST SURVEY

MaineUX administered an interest survey to MaineUX discussion group subscribers–hauling in a 50% response rate!  Respondents indicated interest in the following event types:

• evening presentations, demos, talks featuring speakers from Maine and beyond (88%)
• show-n-tell (72%)
• skillshares (64%)
• design crits (48%)
• Pecha Kucha-like events (44%)
• barcamps/unconferences (40%)
• lunchtime brownbags (24%)

No surprise,  but the majority of  MaineUX respondents are “likely” or “very likely” to attend events in Maine closest to where they live and/or work (i.e., within a 1-hour drive). The top 3 locations cited as “most likely” or “likely” to draw attendees include:

1. Greater Portland area (96%)
2. area between Kittery to Scarborough (64%)
3. area between Freeport to Bath (64%)

A critical mass of UX professionals is located in or around Portland.  Yet it’s agreed that Maine is a great state, not only in terms of talent and creativity, but in terms of sheer size.   As such, 2008 MaineUX summer events were divided between the Southern Maine and Midcoast regions.  Future events may be further downeast to Bangor,  as well as in the Capital region around Augusta.

MAINEUX SUMMER  EVENTS

MaineUX threw 2 statewide events in June–one in Portland, and one in Camden.  In August TechMaine staged a UX event.

The June 4th MaineUX happy hour in Camden was–to steal a phrase from Boston AIGA–an awesome “agenda-less, free-form gathering of area creative folk.”

Amidst the rush of the waterfalls of Knox Mill, over which the schwanky Brevetto Kitchen & Wine Bar is perched, 25+ people turned up for drinks, snacks, and stimulating conversation on design, user experience, sticky conundrums, interesting projects, doing business in Maine, the thriving creative economy, aspirations for MaineUX…not to mention topics capturing the essence of summertime in Maine: lobster bakes, sailing, kayaking, climbing Mt Katahdin, Popham Beach, surfing, island treks, bands playing on the pier,  farmer’s markets, drive-in movies. The group decided to meet at least 2x a year, most likely partnering with local groups like the Midcoast Magnet, University of Maine School of New Media, Maine Entrepreneurs, AIGA Maine, and the most exciting agencies and design/dev firms in the region.

The Portland MaineUX event on June 11 was a kick-out-the-jams evening with interactive installation artist Amy Stacy Curtis, whose mantra is: “Without your participation, my work is incomplete,” believing her art can come into being fully only when the audience–whom she prefers to engage with as “participants”–interacts with the pieces themselves.

Overlooking Portland Harbor, as evening ferries and yachts glided into pier, a cream-of-the-crop MaineUX crew gathered for this extremely interesting event. Using interactive art as a metaphor for design in general–and user-focused interaction design in particular–Curtis’ talk and slideshow provided a retrospective of her collaborative artworks and evolving philosophy.  Together we explored the meaning and experiences around her recent lauded “emerging artist” exhibition at Colby College–a series of colored circles (sorted and arranged according to a series of algorithms) which museum participants rearranged and re-sorted in other patterns. With masters’ both in art and psychology Amy sites preoccupations with “the balance of order, chaos, and repetition” and learning when to cede control with [perhaps ocassionally reluctant] grace.

Additionally August found Maine UXNET Ambassador Susan Doran (yours truly) presenting to a packed house at TechMaine’s monthly Web Developer’s Users Group meetiing on Information Architecture 101: The Facets of IA™ (this ™ isn’t a joke, tho the author feels a tiny bit silly using it).

FALL 2008
So, how to follow up this stellar summer? with a cavalcade of amazing Fall events!

Here’s a sneak peak at what’s in store for MaineUXers and fans of MaineUX–details forthcoming!

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MON • SEP 15
Social Media 101: Do I Really Need a Facebook Page?
6:00-8:00pm
TechMaine Web Developers Users Group
Westbrook ME
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WED • SEP 24
Adriane Herman: Checking It Twice: Tracing the Trajectory from Intention to Action
6:00-8:00pm
MaineUX Presents!
Portland ME
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TUE • SEP 30
Design Challenge
6:00-8:00pm
TechMaine Usability & User Experience Users Group
Portland ME
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TUE • OCT 7
Setting Up Image Portfolios and Photo Galleries in Drupal - with Todd Woofenden
6:00-8:00pm
TechMaine Drupal Users Group
Portland ME
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SAT • OCT 18
MaineUX Roadtrip - Amy Stacey Curtis in(ter)Action
3:00-5:00pm
MaineUX Presents!
Sanford ME
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WED • OCT 21
Mark Schraad: An Evening of Design Thinking
6:00-8:00pm
MaineUX Presents!
Portland ME
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WED • NOV 11

Aileen Cahill: 10 Marketing Myths UXperts Need to Know
6:00-8:00pm
MaineUX Presents!
Portland ME
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WED • DEC 10
15th Annual Maine Technology Conference
8:00am-5:00pm
TechMaine
Portland ME
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WED • DEC 10
2nd Annual MaineUX Fall Dinner
6:00am-8:00pm
Walter’s Cafe
Portland ME
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• Locales » Maine, USA