My laptop gave out hours ago; I continued. It’s half a hour drive from the Omni to my sister’s house. I’m going to put the photos up, then crash. Today was an absolutely fabulous day. I can’t even begin to describe it.

These are the notes I took, it’s a cross between transcription, commentary, summary, and BS. Hope they’re helpful if you were in another panel or would just like to review what you heard. Leave comments if you got a different impression of the talk or disagree with something I wrote.

Molly Steenson – Professor, GirlWonder.com
Marc Rettig – Professor
Jesse James Garrett – adaptive path; Elements of User Experience

Definition: Throwing away the assumption that you know your users and starting by using techniques of observation, interviewing, and co-designing to create better interfaces.

Marc: Design a vase. Design a way for people to enjoy flowers. A shift from the desginer focusing on the object, and more towards the effects. Understand, then make something that fits.

Jesse: Not existence but rather that it has taken so long for the idea to catch on, new yet obvious thing. Design culture has been so focused on the properties of the object rather than how it actually works. Companies are so turned in on themselves is an amazing revelation.

Marc: Design for the Real World. Industrial designers from 50s and 60s.

Molly: Why has it taken so long to take hold?

Jesse: Increasing complexity of consumer products. As a result, more products that have been brought to Marcet and have failed for reasons the producer couldn’t comprehend.

Marc: It’s stayed in the design camps, just in the last 4-5 years has it been talked about in business circles.

Molly: Will it have an effect? Continue reading Notes: The Future: User-Centered Design Goes Mainstream →

Kick was a blast. Just saw the keynote. Heading out.

How’s that for service? Here they are. Now I need to get some rest for Kick.

Note: This is an extremely rough draft, sans links, grammar, and coherence. This will be updated with all of the above.

As you can see from the last few posts, I was quite lost for a little bit. Once I got to Austin and Charleen (my sister) wasn’t sure where Stubbs was, I decided to follow my intuition on which side of town it was on, and then find a Starbucks once I got closer and look up the actual address. I ended up exiting by the University of Texas, and I drove around for about 10 minutes. No Starbucks! So I basically war drove around until I found a good signal, a place to stop, and decided where I was. Fortunately I was only about 5 minutes from where I needed to be. Once I followed the easy directions there, parking was another matter. I drove and drove and drove ’til I finally broke down and forked up $5 for parking. I walked down to Stubb’s, went in, and realized I had no idea where everyone was. After looking around for a while it seemed the only course of action would be to call Mike or Christine, but both of their numbers were back in the car. So uphill two blocks to the car, boot laptop, grab numbers, call Mike. He couldn’t have been more helpful and met me at the front door and guided me to the “VIP Room”.

Once I was in I honestly recognized about two people, both of which only because their pictures are prominent on their sites. I was introduced briefly to Brad, and I filled out a name-card and entry form for a door prize. Sat with Christine, Coffee Mike, and a few others whose name’s escape me. Christine and Mike had just gotten there about 10 minutes before me, as they had been a bit lost too, though in a different area. Unfortunately we were too late for any food, which looked excellent. I hope I can make it back there sometime soon. I saw people there I would have liked to talk to, but I was tired from the drive and a bit shy. As it turned out it wasn’t a problem because there was much more mingling downstairs later.

The last person to get there was the famous Jish, who entered to applause. He flew in from ??? with a three hour stopover in Denver. I was pleasantly surprised when he not only said hello but remembered my name as well. (We met a while back.)

Party moved downstairs with Jish and Mike.I talked briefly to Wes Felter, had Cam tell me he was someone else (for a moment). where I got to meet Rannie and Ernie, who are both delightful, Alison, Mike, and more than a few others whose name’s also escape me. I had a very pleasant conversation with Joe Clark for a while; fascinating guy. I finally found out why he spells it “shurely”.

Went to Ivory Cat, but they couldn’t accommodate or something. Same thing at blues club down the street.

Decided that food was a must, ate with Christine, Mike, and Mike. Hamburger was great.

Went to the lounge of the Omni to smooze. Met Ming Yum, another Mike, Kristen (http://www.booboolina.com/), talked with Jish, played around with Rannie and Lucian. Then walked back with Coffee Mike and Christine.

20 minutes later, I’m now at my sister’s house and looking forward to the soft bed that awaits me.

Good news! It says I’m close. Okay I better get back to driving. The light is about to change to green.

I’m in Austin! The bad news is I’m kinda lost :). I’ve been wandering around aimlessly looking for a wireless signal and I’ve just found a good one. Now it’s time to get on Mapquest and find how the hell to get where I’m going. Of course first I have to figure out where I am…

And so it begins. I’m showered, the car is washed, everything I need (I hope) is in the car, and I’m ready to roll. It’s not a short drive though, so it’s a good thing I love driving! See everyone in Austin.

The chant worked; the mail came! Unfortunately my letter wasn’t in it. Fear not though, things can still go as planned. The party is on! I leave… soon. Really.

To the tune of Mr Sandman

Mr Mailman
Where could you be?
I’ve got to leave
Way before three
Your lousy schedule
While isn’t suprising
Is gonna make my blood pressure be rising

Mr Mailman
Give me a clue
I’ve based my day
Around the things that you do

Please get in your little Jeeeeep
Mr Mailman
Bring my mail to meeeee

Well I slept a little late but now that I’m awake I’m going to get the last few things ready before I head up to Austin. I’m planning to blog everything this weekend so this should be a good opportunity to start. Most of the major stuff is done, I’m just waiting on an important letter (read: check) in the mail before I leave. I can’t dawdle for too long though, as tonight at 6 I “Break Bread with Brad“. But for now I’m running late, and need to get my rear in gear.