Oct 2019: Editing and Visual Storytelling in the [Digital] Age of Distraction

Scanning for HDMI input…
Scanning for HDMI input…
…
[Where’s that stupid dongle!?!?]

This session will discuss the value of graphical communication and the importance of editing in the digital world of Ctrl-Z, auto-fill, and Google Image search. By incorporating visual storytelling, manual editing, and just generally slowing things down, you’ll find increased attention and engagement when presenting your design ideas to other people. You’ll also find out why your messy handwriting is actually a communication asset!

Attendees will :

• remember how great it was to scribble and scratch out ideas when you were a kid
• see how to present something in 2019 without a PowerPoint slide deck
• practice the art of non-digital editing

About Matt

Matt Borland, PhD, is a Lecturer in Systems Design Engineering at the University of Waterloo. He works hard to make his students care about the people attached to the technology and math they are using to solve problems. His personal design interests are currently focused on exploring how musicians use new interfaces for musical expression. He also runs a local music technology workshop series under the University of Waterloo Tape Music Club name.

Please register for this free event

Thursday October 17, 2019
5:30 to 7:00 pm
Communitech Hub, 3rd floor
[View on Google Maps]

September 2019: The Changing Face of Ethical Design: Why Responsible Intent Matters More Than Ever

Design has always been about problem solving. But the scale and complexity of the problems designers face is at an all-time high as we consider designing solutions that are ethical, inclusive, and sustainable.

Focusing purely on outcomes can cause unintentional harm to humans, our communities, and society. How can we, as designers, meaningfully improve the world when the speed and continuous introduction of new technology seems to make all of us more vulnerable? What can designers do when facing conflicts of interest around creating responsible solutions?

Join us as Andy Vitale explores these questions and more.

Now more than ever, designers need to be accountable for the decisions we make and understand the lasting impact our designs leave behind.

Attendees will learn:

• What it means to design ethical, inclusive, and sustainable solutions
• Real-world examples of how thinking responsibly could have improved design outcomes
• How to embed responsibility into the design process
• Best practices for designing products with responsible intent

About Andy

Andy Vitale is the Head of User Experience Design at SunTrust Bank, where he instills the importance of design and a client-centered approach to solve problems, grow revenue, and achieve far-reaching goals. He leads a diverse and dedicated team in translating human insights into actionable experiences to both differentiate the bank and raise the bar for the finance industry.

Andy has solved problems for organizations ranging from startups to Fortune-ranked companies. He’s led a team of designers at 3M focused on enterprise healthcare software, served as a digital agency partner, and pioneered mobile experiences at Office Depot. He’s a relentless user experience evangelist, with a passion for cognitive thinking and making technology more human. He’s driven by a user-centered passion that transforms teams from capable to difference-making.

Aside from his primary role at SunTrust, Andy is an adjunct professor for Kent State University’s User Experience Design graduate program, and serves on the advisory board for multiple professional organizations and educational institutions.

He holds a Master’s degree in User Experience Design and has previously held multiple roles as a designer, entrepreneur, education department chair, and design leader, and often speaks at industry conferences and events.

Please register for this free event

Thursday September 19, 2019
5:30 to 7:00 pm
Communitech Hub, 2nd floor
[View on Google Maps]

August 2019: Informal pub meetup

In what is now a beloved summer tradition, complete with a beloved repeated text description, it’s time to replace energizing presentations and deep UX thoughts with a lighter event befitting the season. Let’s savour that summer feeling with an August uxWaterloo session that features informal talk, some of it even UX-related, and drinks. As befits any self-respecting tradition, we do this every July and August and the laid-back atmosphere and conversations are a welcome addition to any summer schedule. Join us!

And, as has become a yearly tradition, count on hearing an update on the 2019 edition of Fluxible, Canada’s UX Festival! You’ve been warned…

Please register for this free event

Thursday August 22, 2019
5:30 to 7:00 pm
Abe Erb Brewing
15 King Street South, Uptown Waterloo
Waterloo, Ontario

July 2019: Informal pub meetup

In what is now a beloved summer tradition, complete with a beloved repeated text description, it’s time to replace energizing presentations and deep UX thoughts with a lighter event befitting the season. Let’s savour that summer feeling with a July uxWaterloo session that features informal talk, some of it even UX-related, and drinks. As befits any self-respecting tradition, we do this every July and August and the laid-back atmosphere and conversations are a welcome addition to any summer schedule. Join us!

And, as has become a yearly tradition, count on hearing an update on the 2019 edition of Fluxible, Canada’s UX Festival! You’ve been warned…

Please register for this free event

Thursday July 18, 2019
5:30 to 7:00 pm
Abe Erb Brewing
15 King Street South, Uptown Waterloo
Waterloo, Ontario

June 2019: UX Community ‘Shorts’

Don’t miss our second ‘UX shorts’ session at the end of June, where 6 local UXers share recent experiences and learnings from the field. Topics will range from accessibility, storytelling, behavioural economics and more. It’s sure to be jam-packed with UX goodness.

Join us and hear from:

Mona Lam-Deslippe: Iterations of UX for Mozaik.Global
Marinette Fargo: It’s not just the law – The importance of accessibility in UX
Joyce Liu: How to write scripts to speed up UX analysis
Davis Neable: The power of storytelling in UX
Yeti Li: UX research and behavioural economics in the “wild”
Corey Sawkins: The philosophy of causality and UX

Please register for this free event

Thursday June 27th, 2019
5:30 to 7:00 pm
Communitech Hub, 1st Floor, Area 151
[View on Google Maps]

May 2019: Designing our process at D2L: grounded in and grounding conversations

Join us for the May session, where Erin Steed and Kate Wilhelm talk about the importance of conversation and the journey they took to articulate the design process with D2L in an effort to: 1) better communicate to our internal stakeholders how we work and contribute; 2) work together more effectively, and support new team members as they onboard; 3) tell a credible and important story about the role of research and design in our product process. Their process is a living document that is cited regularly, a meta example of the way they work, and a powerful communication tool.

Please register for this free event

Thursday May 16th, 2019
5:30 to 7:00 pm
Communitech Hub, 2nd floor
[View on Google Maps]

April 2019: UX Community ‘Shorts’

Don’t miss our special session this month, where 6 local UXers share recent experiences and learnings from the field. With topics from leadership to user research to physical automation, it’s sure to be a lively session with a wide range of ideas shared.

Join us and hear from:

Nife Oluyemi with User Research is Underrated,
Andre Csapo with Tracking Time for User Insights,
Brandon Surya with The Power of a Design Management System,
Thomas Kaufmann with UX Design for Factory Automation,
Ali Tariq with The First 90 Days, and
Sean Willson with Using Experiments to Move the Needle.

Please register for this free event

Thursday April 18th, 2019
5:30 to 7:00 pm
Communitech Hub, 2nd floor
[View on Google Maps]

March 2019: Preparing students for a UX role

Waterloo Region is known for having world-class post-secondary education institutions as well as a thriving tech ecosystem that includes strong design community. How might we strengthen the connections between those educational institutions and the design community in order to better complement and amplify the impact of each? One way might be to have a conversation about what industry is looking for in UX grads.

Join us for our next session as UW professor Carolyn MacGregor opens that conversation to learn:

• What do you wish you had learned in school to better prep you for your UX career?
• What are you looking for when you’re hiring a recent grad for a UX role?
• How can students be better prepared to become design leaders?

Give some thought to these questions and join us for the conversation!

Carolyn MacGregor is an Associate Professor and the Associate Chair for Undergraduate Studies in the Department of Systems Design Engineering and the University of Waterloo. Her teaching and research focus on user research methods, engineering design, and human factors engineering.

Please register for this free event

Thursday March 21, 2018
5:30 to 7:00 pm
Communitech Hub, 2nd floor
[View on Google Maps]

February 2019: Informal Pub Meetup

Informal pub meetups aren’t just for summer anymore! Let’s huddle up this month and stay warm with a uxWaterloo session that features informal talk, some of it even UX-related, and drinks. Let’s make sure that the laid-back atmosphere and conversations are a welcome addition to any winter schedule. Join us!

Please register for this free event

Thursday February 21, 2019
5:30 to 7:00 pm
Abe Erb Brewing
15 King Street South, Uptown Waterloo
Waterloo, Ontario

January 2018: Experiments in Creating an Urban Design UX in Kitchener

This month, we’ll be learning from folks in another design discipline: urban design!

The City of Kitchener’s role as innovators in urban design includes fostering an environment in which all parties– developers, consultants, city staff and the public– are able to collaborate sympathetically toward a future condition where new development is a valued and positively integrated part of urban life. This means not only creating leading policy in urban design, but expanding the ways in which we disseminate urban design issues and educate stakeholders so that we can make informed decisions and overcome existing, ingrained prejudices.

The City of Kitchener has developed unique design guidelines that are adaptable, scalable, and inclusive. Our approach is one that focuses on the relationships between design elements to ensure good design. Because of this, we have increased the burden on all parties when it comes to implementation; rather than static, unchanging numbers, our approach requires a greater user sophistication. To build that sophistication, we have created a series of experiments to demonstrate concepts, analyze relationships and promote creative thought processes amongst our users.

In our presentation, we will look at these experiments and consider their effectiveness. We will demonstrate how we use 3D printed models as part of our tall building design workshops. We will explore how the charrette process can help to build both understanding and consensus with the public. We will show how we deploy 3D modeling to perform detailed analyses of impacts, including shadow and viewshed studies. And finally, we will discuss how the organization, style and format of the upcoming Urban Design Manual are designed to improve the user experience, increase accessibility and advance the cause of good urban design to a wider audience.

Biographies

Adam Clark Urban Designer City of Kitchener

Adam Clark is an Urban Designer with a Masters of Architecture from the University of Waterloo. In his time with the City, he has contributed to multiple station area plans for the ION LRT and is co-lead of the Urban Design Manual, which includes the recently approved Tall Building Design Guidelines. He also provides architectural and urban design review and approval for a variety of development applications.

Dayna Edwards MCIP, RPP Senior Planner (Urban Design) City of Kitchener  

As a professional in planning and urban design, Dayna Edwards coordinates and implements the Urban Design Program, including the preparation of Urban Design Guidelines and Urban Design Studies, at the City of Kitchener. In addition, she leads and participates in the review of infrastructure projects and development proposals and applications. Dayna is a graduate of the Queen’s University’s School of Urban and Regional Planning and later completed a specialization in Urban Design at Simon Fraser University in Vancouver. Dayna’s interests have focused on urban design challenges related to infill development and master planning projects.

Please register for this free event

Thursday January 17, 2018
5:30 to 7:00 pm
Communitech Hub, 3rd floor
[View on Google Maps]