Let top experts in the Web field inspire and instruct you on how to tackle today’s design challenges at Web Design World Chicago.

Today’s Web designers must be creative, knowledgeable of current Web standards and practices, and have the ability to turn ideas into reality. Since 1997, WDW has assisted Web design professionals in doing just that — turning ideas into reality. Master advanced CSS coding techniques and best practices. See case studies that will help make your sites more usable, beautiful, and accessible. Explore the burgeoning growth of iPhone and mobile development opportunities. And take part in the practical, user-centered workshops at the core of Web Design World, the longest-running Web design conference in the industry.

The 2008 International Forum of Visual Practitioners (IFVP) Conference for graphic recorders, graphic facilitators and other visual practitioners has themes including group facilitation, diversity, listening and technology.

Steve Krug presents Don’t Make Me Think: The Discount Usability Testing Workshop. Learn how to dramatically improve your Web site by watching people use it. In this day-long session, he will teach you how to do your own low-cost/no-cost testing that’s simple enough to make it a routine part of your design process.

• A complete explanation of how he recommends doing testing
• Two live usability tests on attendees’ sites, so you can see the whole process in detail
• A chance to practice conducting a test on your own site
• Advice on how to interpret your findings and decide what changes to make
• Plenty of time to answer questions about testing or any other aspect of usability

Does your site have a search engine? If so, you’re sitting on an often under-utilized pot of gold: search query data that describes what your customers really want from your site—in their own words. Site search analytics helps you understand and benefit from that data, enabling you to better diagnose and solve a multitude of user experience problems. The result: better content, better navigation, better search, better interface design, and a better user experience.

In this day-long workshop, Lou Rosenfeld, co-author of Information Architecture for the World Wide Web and the forthcoming Search Analytics for your Site: Conversations with your customers, will combine lecture, discussion, and extensive hands-on exercises to cover the basics of site search analytics. And he’ll show you how spending even an hour a week analyzing your search queries can help tune and improve your site and expose new opportunities for improving your business strategy.

On May 15th, Site Search Analytics for a Better User Experience will be in Chicago.

At An Event Apart, gain a deeper understanding of web standards and emerging best practices, be inspired by fresh ideas and new directions, and join the greatest minds and hottest talents in web design today. Web standards godfather Jeffrey Zeldman and world-renowned CSS expert Eric Meyer got together to create a conference for people who make websites.

An Event Apart Chicago will be October 13-14 and will feature design guidelines and implementation techniques to enable better user experiences.

An Event Apart will also take place in New Orleans, Boston and San Francisco.

IDEA 2008, the Information Architecture Institute conference on designing complex information spaces of all kinds, will be October 6-8 in Chicago.

More details will be posted at ideaconference.org.

Web Content 2008 brings together nationally recognized technology, content, and marketing authorities involved with creating, organizing, maintaining, and delivering web content. Presenters will share best practices, new approaches, lessons learned, and provide real-world examples. The two-day conference is divided into two tracks:

• Web Content Strategies, Practices, and Standards
• Web Content Tools and Technologies

Each track offers attendees a selection of workshops, case studies, and presentations lead by recognized Internet authorities.

The IIT Institute of Design Strategy Conference is an international executive forum addressing how businesses can use design to explore emerging opportunities, solve complex problems, and achieve lasting strategic advantage.

Speakers at the 2008 conference are business executives and design leaders with first-hand knowledge of how design innovation can drive business strategy. Speakers so far:

• Bill Buxton, Principal Researcher, Microsoft Research
• Michael J. Critelli, Executive Chairman, Pitney Bowes Inc.
• Claudia Kotchka, VP Design Innovation and Strategy, The Procter & Gamble Company
• A.G. Lafley, Chairman & CEO, The Procter & Gamble Company
• John Seely Brown, Visiting Scholar, University of Southern California
• Deborah L. Wince-Smith, President, Council on Competitiveness

GRAVITY FREE is a truly unique multidisciplinary design conference. Each year we pick a theme. Then we select 22 of the most passionate designers, design thinkers and innovators on the planet from 20 different design disciplines to help us explore the theme. The result: an experience like none other — a remarkable cross-fertilization of ideas and inspiration that only happens when such a remarkable variety of design influences interact.

GRAVITY FREE covers the waterfront of creative disciplines. Speakers come from architecture, retail display, storytelling, experiential environments, urban planning, customer experience, product design, information architecture, exhibit design, aerospace, interior design, theme environments, production design, illusion, molecular gastronomy, automotive design, technology and media, museum design, brand management.

GRAVITY FREE speakers are the change agents. GRAVITY FREE is a “why” conference, not a “how to” conference.

GRAVITY FREE: 2008’s theme, “The Year of Dangerous Minds”, is about creative risk-taking. It celebrates the brashness of larger-than-life revolutionaries who redraw boundaries and whose shock waves often reverberate well beyond their own disciplines.

The GRAVITY FREE speaker list will include a broad mix of architects, product designers, urban planners, innovation strategists, experience designers, screen writers, graphic designers, authors, aeronautical designers, scientists, automotive designers, retail designers, and visionaries of every stripe.

IxDA’s first event of the new year!

Even if you don’t design currently for mobile devices, it won’t be long before you’re asked to. Join in! The success of our events relies on all of us sharing what we know and asking about what we don’t know. (Note: We have 80 people on our Chicago event reminder list! A vibrant community, indeed! If you are interested in planning, hosting, or leading an event, please let us know.

When: Wednesday, January 9th
Time: 6:30 pm - 8:00 pm
Where: Critical Mass, 225 N. Michigan Ave. (Lake & Michigan), Suite 2050 (20th floor). Enter the building via the Lake Street entrance (east of the CVS).

Full Details at Ixda.org