UX London

We ventured into town recently to attend the ‘UX London’ user experience event organised by Clearleft.

Proceedings started with presentations by some heavyweights of web usability. Notable speakers were Jared Spool on creating an ‘intuitive’ website and Don Norman in favour of complexity.

On the second day, I went to a workshop on brainstorming techniques. In response to a fictional brief, our group scribbled ideas onto tons of post-it notes which we stuck to the walls. We then discussed ways to evaluate and organise our concepts using design principles.

Another interesting workshop was held by Jared Spool based around observations from his usability studies. He showed how to direct website visitors to relevant content by ensuring that links contain an information ‘scent’. He was a passionate speaker with strong views that provoked plenty of discussion amongst ourselves afterwards.

One of the best aspects of the event was meeting interesting people who’d come from far and wide. The meet-ups were informal and good for chatting and exchanging ideas over a drink.

Back in the studio, I’m looking forward to using some techniques I picked up at the event on forthcoming projects.