March 2020: How to validate design methods

Note: this event has been cancelled! Selin is unable to get back to Waterloo due to COVID-19 travel restrictions, and we figured that taking a break this month was the best option.

How do you know when a particular design method will work? Or when it might work, but isn’t the best fit? In today’s session, we’ll learn some answers as Selin Üreten will share her research into design method validation and design method acceptance in the area of product development.

Selin’s background is aircraft systems engineering and as well as technology management. Since 2016 she has working in the institute for product development and mechanical engineering design (PKT) at the Hamburg University of Technology (TUHH) in Germany, where the is currently pursuing pursuing a PhD focused on design method validation with focus on human factors.

Please register for this free event

Thursday March 19, 2020
5:30 to 7:00 pm
Communitech Hub, 2nd floor
[View on Google Maps]

February 2020: The UX of tubes: Building a UX research practice in a traditional, physical-product industry

User experience research (UXR) is commonplace in digital design. But, what happens when you add UXR to the product development process for physical products—and in a traditional and regulation-filled industry? What are the similarities vs. differences for those practicing UXR? And, how might you integrate a brand new UXR practice/role with pre-existing processes and teams?

Nicole Strong is a consumer anthropologist who, for the past 2.5 years, has been establishing an Insight and Ideation practice at the leading manufacturer of thermoplastic pipes and fittings in North America. These “tubes” she works with can be small enough to fit in her hand or large enough to stand inside. And, the fittings that attach to them can be complex, multi-part assemblies. On a given day, Nicole could be travelling the continent with top-secret prototypes, facilitating an ideation workshop or training session, working on a survey, posting hundreds of sticky notes, meeting with inventors, or giving out prizes for the company-wide product idea submission program that she runs. This summer, Nicole even spent two weeks in India working on a digital project for a sister company there. Prior to her current role, Nicole was a founding member of a customer insight consulting practice. She did UX and CX projects for both digital- and physical-product companies; they made server hardware, server farms, stock market software, ecommerce software, loans, insurance, auto parts, tractors and more. Join us for this session to learn more about her journey and explore the world of UXR with physical products.

Please register for this free event

Thursday February 20, 2020
5:30 to 7:00 pm
Communitech Hub, 2nd floor
[View on Google Maps]

January 2020: Growing Designers: A Conversation with Faire’s Robin Bigio

Every designer knows the importance of their professional development, yet continues to struggle with assessing their performance to pinpoint areas of opportunity for growth. What makes it so difficult for us to reflect on our strengths and weaknesses, and how can we partner with our leaders in building effective growth plans?

Join us at Faire for a candid discussion with their San Francisco based Head of Design, Robin Bigio, where he’ll discuss his growth path as a Designer and the challenges we all face in approaching intentional growth. Session will be moderated by Davis Neable, UX Director, Manulife.

About Robin:

Robin Bigio is an Italian-born, Silicon Valley-based Design leader that leverages the power of design-thinking to drive product innovation and organizational change.

After a brief stint at Renault’s HMI team in 2006, Robin joined the renowned design agency IDEO. In his time there he helped Western Digital create a universal design language that encompassed all products, BBVA build the future of the self-service channel(featured in the MOMA of NY) and designed the Faraday Electric Bicycle.

At IDEO.org, Robin led multidisciplinary teams in more than a dozen projects, including building a water delivery business in Nairobi, creating an early-childhood development movement for low-income parents in the US, and designing solar solutions for rural India.

As Head of Design at Faire, Robin is building a mission-driven organization that strikes the right balance between human-centered design and agile software development that allows them to ship great products every single week.

Please register for this free event

Thursday January 23, 2020
5:30 to 7:00 pm
Faire Office, 165 King St W, Kitchener, ON N2G 1A7
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December 2019: Informal Pub Meetup

The weather outside may be frightful, but the UX conversations and drinks are so delightful. And not just delightful: thoughtful, contemplative, enlightening conversations are always a part of our pub meetups, and this December uxWaterloo session  is certain to continue that tradition. The laid-back atmosphere and conversations are a welcome addition to any wintry evening. Join us!

Please register for this free event

Thursday December 19, 2019
5:30 to 7:00 pm
Abe Erb Brewing
15 King Street South, Uptown Waterloo
Waterloo, Ontario

November 2019: UX Community Shorts

uxWaterloo is excited to bring you another UX Community Shorts session, where 6 local UXers will share their experiences and learnings from the field. Topics will range from research sprint, design for educators, remote teams, freelancing, the philosophy of UX, and more. It’ll be a great night with a wide range of ideas.

Join us and hear from:

Kimberly Tee and Julia Thompson: Research Sprints
Caleb Williams: Design for Educators
James Carmichael: The Importance of Flexibility
Deanna Ritchie: Communicating through packets: How one UX designer works with her remote dev team
Corey Sawkins: The philosophy of causality and UX

Please register for this free event

Thursday November 21st, 2019
5:30 to 7:00 pm
Communitech Hub, 3rd Floor, Roddenberry
[View on Google Maps]

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]