New York City, NY, USA

“Experience Themes: An Element of Story Applied to Design” with Cindy Chastain (New York, NY, USA)

As designers we too often neglect to define a common vision, or coordinating force, behind the scope of what we’re designing, making or building. Without some means of unifying our efforts we can easily end up with a product or service that falls short of its potential of delivering an optimal user experience. One path to holistic coordination is to employ the concept of themes as used by fiction writers and filmmakers. For storytellers, themes are used as a compass, a means for examining every element in the story for its possible implication with regard to theme. For readers, themes offer an cognitive and emotional response to the story that is often much deeper and more memorable than details of plot. In experience design, themes can be used to pattern and unify product solutions as well as a means of unifying teams, assisting in the work of defining strategy and helping to design for the intangible pleasure, emotion and meaning in experience. By aiming to capture the value and focus of the experience we intend to deliver to users, themes guide us in the design process and, by extension, strengthen the impact and meaning of that experience.

Please join IxDANYC for a presentation about how experience themes were developed in the context of an interactive agency. The talk will delve into the notion of themes as they relate to user experience as well as discuss how they can be generated by a team and then used in the design process.
WHEN
Tuesday evening, May 12, 2009
6:30 - 7:00 networking and refreshments
7:00 - 8:00 presentation8:00 - 8:30
Q&A and discussion

The event is free of charge.

WHERE
Digitas
355 Park Avenue South
(between E 25th and 26th Streets)
New York, NY 10010
http://www.digitas.com
Map: http://tinyurl.com/dheq4y
Subway: 6 to 23th or 28th Streets, R/W and F/V to 23rd Street  

RSVP http://tinyurl.com/ixdanyc-may09

Posted in Calendar | IxDA | Local meeting | New York City, NY, USA
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Mental Models: UX Book Club NYC (New York, NY, USA)

Mental Models: Aligning Design Strategy with Human Behavior By: Indi Young

Schedule:
6:30-7:00 Drinks and mingling
7:00-7:30 Group intros and discussion
7:30-9:00 Smaller group discussions (longer if it feels right)
:00-9:30 Farewells and, for those interested, cleaning up and more drinking

(A small donation of $10 is requested to cover food and beverage costs. Thanks in advance for your participation. Next time around we will have a digital means of making this contribution. For now, it’s at the door.)

NYC UX Book Club invites currently go through facebook.

If anyone wants to be a part of the communication loop, please join the UX Book Club NYC group: http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=52191216814

RSVP: http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=52191216814#/event.php?eid=80668478704

About the Book:  There is no single methodology for creating the perfect product—but you can increase your odds. One of the best ways is to understand users’ reasons for doing things. Mental Models gives you the tools to help you grasp, and design for, those reasons. Adaptive Path co-founder Indi Young has written a roll-up-your-sleeves book for designers, managers, and anyone else interested in making design strategic, and successful.  ”Indi Young’s mental models are the perfect way for your team to integrate your user’s perspective into your design. Indi has written a comprehensive guide for anyone who wants to make use of this power design technique. I’ll be giving this book out to all of our important clients and insisting they make it part of their process.” —Jared Spool, CEO & Founding Principal, User Interface Engineering

Posted in Book club | Calendar | New York City, NY, USA
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The New York City Information Architecture April Meetup (New York, NY)

Whether you’re an industry veteran or an aspiring information architect, join us for our monthly cocktail hour for networking and informal discussion.Hope to see you there! 

Posted in Calendar | Event type | New York City, NY, USA | Social
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IA Summit Redux (New York, NY)

This year marked the 10th anniversary of the IA Summit. If you didn’t make it to Memphis, come see New York locals give abbreviated versions of their talks. This event is free!

CONFIRMED SPEAKERS

Cindy Chastain: Experience Themes: An Element of Story Applied to Design
Anders Ramsay: Agile For The Rest of Us
Christine Boese: Are Human Beings Becoming Dumb Terminals?
Karen McGrane: Designing For, With, and Around Advertising
Elena Melendy + Karen McGrane: Content Strategy Consortium Highlights
Nasir Barday: Professional IA/UX Organizations - How to start and run a successful local group or chapter
Chris Fahey + Whitney Hess: The Courage to Quit: Starting, Growing and Maintaining Your Own UX Business
Whitney Hess: Evangelizing Yourself: You can’t change the world if no one knows your name

More information about these talks can be found at: http://iasummit.org/2009/program/schedule

DETAILS

Tuesday, April 28
6:30PM – 9:30PM
White Rabbit
145 E Houston Street btw 1st and 2nd Avenues

Posted in Calendar | IAI | Local meeting | New York City, NY, USA
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Understanding Social Media: Accelerating Social Participation with Ben Shneiderman (New York, NY, USA)

NYC UPA’s April Event: An Evening With Ben Shneiderman

What motivates technology-mediated social participation? Through improved interface design and social support, we can bring thebenefits of social media to important challenges, such as healthcaredelivery, e-commerce, business innovation, energy sustainability, andinternational development.Billions participate in online social activities. Some participate as readers, searchers, or viewers. A fraction becomes contributors of user-generated content or moves beyond individual efforts to become collaborators. Some become leaders who participate in governance by setting and upholding policies, repairing vandalized materials, or mentoring novices.NYC UPA invites you to meet HCI (Human-Computer Interaction) pioneer Ben Shneiderman as he offers the Reader-to-Leader Framework (developed with Jennifer Preece) to help researchers and designers understand social media and accelerate participation.

Go to http://nycupa.org to register.

Posted in Calendar | Local meeting | New York City, NY, USA | UPA
Tags: nycupa | upa
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From Transaction to Interaction: Transforming the User Experience (New York, NY, USA)

Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center Library presents “From Transaction to Interaction: Transforming the User Experience”.

An engaging dialogue about User Experience (UX) and its relevance within the information profession. Our keynote speaker will be

Dr. William Gribbons, Director, Master of Science in Human Factors Information Design Program, Bentley University, and SeniorConsultant, Design and Usability Center

Location: Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center Library Rockefeller Research Laboratories (RRL) Building 430 East 67th Street (between 1st Ave and York Ave) New York, NY 10065Auditorium and RRL 104

SPACE IS LIMITED TO THE FIRST 90 REGISTRANTS!
COST: $50

Payment is due the day of the event. Check or money order is acceptable and should be made payable to: User Experience Symposium c/o Donna Gibson, MSKCC. We are unable to accept credit cards at this time. Online Registration closes on April 17, 2009. To register, visit:

http://tinyurl.com/Registration-April-24

Buffet lunch will be provided

For more information contact: Donna Gibson (gibsonD@mskcc.org)

Brian Lym (blym@hunter.cuny.edu)

Valeda Dent Goodman (vdent@rutgers.edu)

Co-sponsored by Rockefeller University Library, Weill Cornell Medical Library, the Library Association of the City University of New York (LACUNY), and ACRL/NY.

Posted in Calendar | Local meeting | New York City, NY, USA
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Visual Storytelling Through Comics: Theory and Practice with Scott McCloud (New York, NY)

The MFA in Interaction Design Program at SVA and IxDA NYC are pleased to announce the first of a series of quarterly workshops:Join comic book artist Scott McCloud for an exclusive two-day visual lecture and intensive hands-on workshop in the art of making comics. Strong emphasis will be given to developing clarity, storytelling skills and personal expression. Students will learn and apply a variety of techniques for presenting narratives through comics, as well as a wide arsenal of skills applicable to any form of graphic communication. The workshop culminates in the creation of a short comics feature, written and drawn by each student.WHEN Friday and Saturday, May 1 and 2, 2009Approximately 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.WHERE School of Visual Arts, MFA Interaction DesignFlatiron DistrictNew York CityFEE $295 (includes lunch)~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~HOW TO SIGN UPThe workshop is limited to 40 participants. Because we anticipate great interest from the community, entry to the workshop will be granted by a random electronic drawing (out of fairness to everyone).Enter the drawing here: http://bit.ly/mccloudworkshop Deadline is Monday, April 6 at 12:00 p.m. Eastern Time. ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~COURSE OUTLINEDay One:

Posted in Calendar | IxDA | New York City, NY, USA | Training
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Invitation to Usability NJ, Education Night (New York, NY)

Tuesday, March 24, 2009 is Education Night at Usability New Jersey.

We have representatives from three universities -

Drexel University
New Jersey Institute of Technology
Rutgers University

to tell you about courses or degree programs that you can take part time to round out your User Experience education.

Come prepared with questions, e.g., what are your future plans for these programs and advice, e.g., here is what we would like you people to be teaching.

DIRECTIONS:

Go to http://www.caip. rutgers.edu/ and click on Map/Directions

DO NOT PUT THE ADDRESS OF THE CORE BUILDING WHERE THE MEETING TAKES PLACE INTO YOUR GPS - IT WILL TAKE YOU TO THE BUILDING BUT YOU WILL NOT BE ABLE TO PARK THERE. YOU WANT TO END UP IN LOT 64 WHICH IS AFTER THE PARKING CURFEW TIME. THE DIRECTIONS WILL TAKE YOU TO LOT 64

From Lot 64, either go through the obvious paths in the woods to the building or walk around the woods by going to your right when facing the building. 

The event is in the first floor auditorium of the CoRE Building. Signs on the building doors will tell you where this is.

As always:

6:30 - 7:00 PM Meet and Greet with soft drinks and snacks (we have brownies this time)
7:00 - 9:00 PM Program

Posted in Calendar | New York City, NY, USA
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Kim Goodwin “Designing a Unified Experience: Bringing Interaction, Visual, and Industrial Design Together” (New York, NY)

 IxDA NYC welcomes
KIM GOODWIN
respected practitioner, educator, speaker, and author.

Interaction design, visual design, and industrial design are distinct disciplines for good reason: Each excels in different ways. Interaction designers must be good at imagining structure and flow, which requires strong analytical skills and a high degree of rigor, especially for complex systems. Visual designers and industrial designers are masters of visual and physical usability but are also masters of emotion: They know how to evoke caution, attract attention, and instill desire for a product at first glance. Users have just one experience of a product, though. All three aspects of the design must work in concert, or the product will fail to satisfy. Integration of the three disciplines is a central theme of Kim’s new book, Designing for the Digital Age.

DATE and TIME
Wednesday evening, April 22, 2009
6:30 - 7:00 Refreshments and networking
7:00 - 8:00 Presentation
8:00 - 8:30 Open discussion

The event is free of charge and open to all interested parties.
For security reasons, only those on the guest list will be admitted. (Please bring photo ID.)

LOCATION
(Midtown Manhattan: details will be emailed to attendees)

ABOUT THE SPEAKER
Kim Goodwin is vice-president, design and general manager at Cooper, where she both leads an integrated practice of interaction, visual, and industrial designers and has led the development of the acclaimed Cooper U design curriculum. Kim knows the design world from multiple angles; she started as an in-house and freelance designer and spent several years as an in-house creative director before joining Cooper eleven years ago. Kim has led projects involving a tremendous range of design problems, including web sites, complex analytical and enterprise applications, phones, medical devices, services, and even organizations. Her clients and employers have included everything from one-man startups to the world’s largest companies, as well as universities and government agencies. This range of experience and a passion for teaching have led to Kim’s popularity as an author and as a speaker at conferences and companies around the world.

RSVP http://tinyurl.com/ixdanyc-april22 

Posted in Calendar | IxDA | Local meeting | New York City, NY, USA
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How to Change Complicated Stuff (e.g., the World) (New York, NY)

In the midst of a global conversation about change, many designers are pondering their own impact in the world. How does our experience in software interfaces, web sites, and physical products prepare us to address the profound issues humanity is facing? These issues involve many complex systems, systems too big to fit into the scope of any single company or institution. Design methods are potent at large scale and scope, but what does it take to be effective as a practitioner, as a team, as a company? What is it like to actually achieve a meaningful, sustainable, positive difference in life?

The event is free of charge and open to all interested parties. However, for security reasons, only those on the guest list will be admitted. Please bring photo ID.

RSVP: http://tinyurl.com/b4h6ln

WHEN Tuesday, March 31, 2008
6:30 – 7:00pm Networking and light refreshments

7:00 – 8:00pm Presentation

8:00 – 8:30pm Networking and Conversation

WHERE Razorfish
1440 Broadway
(between Broadway and Avenue of the Americas)
19th Floor
New York, NY 10018

Map: http://tinyurl.com/crlcrf
Subway:
A/C/E to 42nd St – Port Authority
1/2/3/7/N/Q/R/W to Times Sq – 42nd St
B/D/F/V to 42nd St – Bryant Park

ABOUT OUR SPEAKER
Marc Rettig is a co-founder of Fit Associates, LLC. Fit’s intention is to lead, nurture, connect and equip conscious organizations for the greatest impact for the common good. Marc’s 26-year career has been guided by an interest in people, systems, communication, anthropology and the power of design. After a first career in software systems, he has spent more than a decade as a designer of projects, interactions, products, services, experiences, and transformations. He has taught both lecture and studio courses at Carnegie Mellon’s Graduate School of Design (where he was the 2003 Nierenberg Distinguished Chair of Design) and the Institute of Design, IIT in Chicago. Marc served as Chief Experience Officer of the pace-setting user experience consultancy HannaHodge, where he was responsible for the firm’s user-centered process, team culture, and research initiatives. He was a Director of User Experience at Cambridge Technology Partners. Prior to that he was a consultant with seeSpace, VP of Design for Digital Knowledge Assets, and a Senior Architect in Andersen Consulting’s Advanced Technologies Group. He frequently speaks and conducts hands-on workshops in industry and academic settings around the world. Marc currently serves on the advisory boards of UXNet, The Interaction Design Association, and Rosenfeld Media, and is a Contributing Editor to Interactions magazine.

ABOUT OUR SPONSOR
Razorfish helps companies build great brands by creating engaging experiences for consumers wherever they live in the digital world. Our marketing and design capabilities, rooted in digital, combine consumer insight, technology and creativity. The result? Consumer experiences that are as dynamic, elegant, and interesting as the people using them. So, no matter which direction this revolution heads, your business will be ready for what’s next.

Posted in Calendar | IxDA | Local meeting | New York City, NY, USA
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