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Books Community UX

Back to life, back to reality

I had a palpable feeling of gratitude this week, hosting the first in-person UX Belfast meetup since November 2019.

Wednesday evening saw guests Michael Metts and Andy Welfle take questions on their book ‘Writing is Designing: Words and the User Experience‘. There was much to inspire any designer, product manager or writer.

Based on extensive design industry experience, Jill Spratt‘s engaging address brought theory to life through multiple examples of her work.

Thank you to Puppet in Belfast for opening their doors to the ever-growing UX design community of Belfast and beyond; to Andy and Michael for their time and insights; to Jill for an enlightening talk; and to everyone who attended in person or online.

The meetup is nothing without the contributors and an audience to engage with them. I’m grateful we had such great representations of both.

And what would a hybrid meetup be without a few technical hitches and rough edges? The in-person/online format presents many challenges, but the only option is to take them on and learn over time. Plans for 2023 meetups are underway.

Categories
Community UX

UX Belfast, February 2021

Lockdown has added some new dynamics to meetups, not least converting local groups into potentially global events. I saw this first-hand, hosting UX Belfast this week, as attendees signed in from across Europe, North America, and UAE. 

This shouldn’t have been a surprise given our guest author was Susan Weinschenk, speaking to us from Wisconsin. Susan pioneered the incorporation of behavioral psychology as an element of user experience work and features high on my list of design industry heroes.

Our second guest, Tommy McClean (from much closer to home) delivered an insightful talk on the ethics and impact of products that thrive on attention and engagement. Frequently through design-driven habits.

I continue to be amazed at the generosity of guests, giving their time to pass on hard-won experience and wisdom to new generations of designers. This meetup certainly delivered on all those fronts.

An added bonus was speaking with one of the original founders of the UX Bookclub Belfast meetup, Jamie Neely of Monotype.

A donation to Susan’s nominated charity, the International Rescue Committee, was made in place of an honorarium. 

Lots to take away for those who attended – or indeed hosted!

Categories
Books Community UX

UX Belfast 2019 is go

UX Belfast 2019 got off to a tremendous start with two prominent practitioners of human-centred design.

Kate O’Neill, author of Tech Humanist, joined us from New York, taking questions from the Belfast audience and expanding on the ideas put forward in her book.

Rebecca Walsh CEng gave us valuable insights on the discipline of service design, and the work that she and Big Motive are involved with.

Both guests highlighted how UX and CX are only subsets of the larger concern of human-centred design. As Kate has put it: “a dignified, respectful relationship with all the human stakeholders in the economy goes a long way toward creating a sustainable, successful future for us all”.

On a personal note, it’s been gratifying to watch UX Belfast grow from its bookclub roots into a regular fixture in the Belfast design calendar. Much more challenging and stimulating content is planned throughout for 2019. Sign up for updates at uxbelfast.org

Thanks to all who came along, to Kate and Rebecca, and to Puppet Belfast once again for their hospitality in such an ideal venue.

The selected charity this time was Code Your Future. Learn more and donate at codeyourfuture.io