Re: [IxDA Discuss] Dead polar bears (was: UX Challenge organizers must be insane)
If one really wants to meet Buddha, one needs to be in Tibet (which Arctic also is, but only in the snow sense)... For all you know, you could meet the mythical Abominable Snowman or the Yeti or Bigfoot as he is often called... They say meeting him (and returning) is a journey within oneself... Point being, all the distinctions between IA and IxDA (or life and death, form and function, meaning and value, truth and belief, time and the temporal, etc.) might just vanish when you meet the ultimate truth... that would be quite a challenge! Mayur On Wed, Mar 4, 2009 at 9:59 PM, Todd Zaki Warfel wrote: > And the participants should be made aware of the judging criteria so they > can consider that as they prototype. > > On Mar 3, 2009, at 2:26 PM, Mary Deaton wrote: > > Create a judging checklist that everyone agrees on and can be tested >> for inter-rater-reliability. This removes the potential for charges of >> favoritism and so on. >> > > > Cheers! > > Todd Zaki Warfel > President, Design Researcher > Messagefirst | Designing Information. Beautifully. > -- > Contact Info > Voice: (215) 825-7423 > Email: t...@messagefirst.com > AIM:twar...@mac.com > Blog: http://toddwarfel.com > Twitter:zakiwarfel > -- > In theory, theory and practice are the same. > In practice, they are not. > > > > > Welcome to the Interaction Design Association (IxDA)! > To post to this list ... disc...@ixda.org > Unsubscribe http://www.ixda.org/unsubscribe > List Guidelines http://www.ixda.org/guidelines > List Help .. http://www.ixda.org/help > Welcome to the Interaction Design Association (IxDA)! To post to this list ... disc...@ixda.org Unsubscribe http://www.ixda.org/unsubscribe List Guidelines http://www.ixda.org/guidelines List Help .. http://www.ixda.org/help
Re: [IxDA Discuss] Dead polar bears (was: UX Challenge organizers must be insane)
And the participants should be made aware of the judging criteria so they can consider that as they prototype. On Mar 3, 2009, at 2:26 PM, Mary Deaton wrote: Create a judging checklist that everyone agrees on and can be tested for inter-rater-reliability. This removes the potential for charges of favoritism and so on. Cheers! Todd Zaki Warfel President, Design Researcher Messagefirst | Designing Information. Beautifully. -- Contact Info Voice: (215) 825-7423 Email: t...@messagefirst.com AIM:twar...@mac.com Blog: http://toddwarfel.com Twitter:zakiwarfel -- In theory, theory and practice are the same. In practice, they are not. Welcome to the Interaction Design Association (IxDA)! To post to this list ... disc...@ixda.org Unsubscribe http://www.ixda.org/unsubscribe List Guidelines http://www.ixda.org/guidelines List Help .. http://www.ixda.org/help
Re: [IxDA Discuss] Dead polar bears (was: UX Challenge organizers must be insane)
One note as per Nasir's "Rockstars In/Out"; I think it would be great to have whomever invited, definietly including Rockstars. It seems the issue with the "Rockstars" is that they're reputation skews "fare & balanced" design evaluation. This could be overcome with annonimity of entrants. On Sat, Feb 14, 2009 at 2:39 PM, Nasir Barday > wrote: > I like the idea of local IxDA competitions, as long as we can provide > a healthy way to execute them. For example, we wouldn't want community > members to get a "rockstars only" vibe and avoid competing altogether. > If we want to set it up as a skill-honing event, it needs to be open > and inclusive-- perhaps a "rockstar" or two could serve as judges... > > -- Joseph Rich Rogan President UX/UI Inc. http://www.jrrogan.com Welcome to the Interaction Design Association (IxDA)! To post to this list ... disc...@ixda.org Unsubscribe http://www.ixda.org/unsubscribe List Guidelines http://www.ixda.org/guidelines List Help .. http://www.ixda.org/help
Re: [IxDA Discuss] Dead polar bears (was: UX Challenge organizers must be insane)
I know, I am coming in a big late, but I have experience with competitions via STC and want to throw out some cautions to consider: Judges need to be trained and work from a common set of standards. STC has sometimes suffered at the local level from not having enough experienced folks volunteering to judge and ending up sending forward to the International or Regional competitions substandard entries. Create a judging checklist that everyone agrees on and can be tested for inter-rater-reliability. This removes the potential for charges of favoritism and so on. It must also be determined that these competitions are like dog shows - entrants are judged against the standard, not each other. There is no grading curve in a design competition. I have judged both local and international competitions for STC, and the most important part of the job is to leave clear, constructive, and instructive comments to the entrants, particularly those who do not receive recognition and those in the lower categories. If you do this, competition entry fees can be seen as the cheapest consulting you ever got. Lastly, once the winners are chosen, make sure their work is widely viewed so everyone can applaud it and can see what great interaction design looks like! On Mon, Mar 2, 2009 at 1:25 PM, laurie kalmanson wrote: > i vote for worshipping the polar bear as our common ancestor > > > . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . > Posted from the new ixda.org > http://www.ixda.org/discuss?post=38517 > > > > - Show quoted text - > Welcome to the Interaction Design Association (IxDA)! > To post to this list ... disc...@ixda.org > Unsubscribe http://www.ixda.org/unsubscribe > List Guidelines http://www.ixda.org/guidelines > List Help .. http://www.ixda.org/help > -- Mary Deaton Yes we can. Yes we did. Yes we will Welcome to the Interaction Design Association (IxDA)! To post to this list ... disc...@ixda.org Unsubscribe http://www.ixda.org/unsubscribe List Guidelines http://www.ixda.org/guidelines List Help .. http://www.ixda.org/help
Re: [IxDA Discuss] Dead polar bears (was: UX Challenge organizers must be insane)
i vote for worshipping the polar bear as our common ancestor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Posted from the new ixda.org http://www.ixda.org/discuss?post=38517 Welcome to the Interaction Design Association (IxDA)! To post to this list ... disc...@ixda.org Unsubscribe http://www.ixda.org/unsubscribe List Guidelines http://www.ixda.org/guidelines List Help .. http://www.ixda.org/help
Re: [IxDA Discuss] Dead polar bears (was: UX Challenge organizers must be insane)
Nasir, I agree completely that local competitions would have to be structured for maximum nurturance (word?) but also for allowing the rockstars to show and teach what they can do. You're right, we need inclusive competition. I'm happy to help, though I'm not the right person to own this. About the press, I encourage anyone on the board with a good marketing/PR friend or contact to talk to them about our possible need to have not only quotes and comments at the ready but also a strategy for placing stories about our successes and making sure the language is right so the world doesn't wonder who all these "usability experience specialists" are. :) ph . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Posted from the new ixda.org http://www.ixda.org/discuss?post=38517 Welcome to the Interaction Design Association (IxDA)! To post to this list ... disc...@ixda.org Unsubscribe http://www.ixda.org/unsubscribe List Guidelines http://www.ixda.org/guidelines List Help .. http://www.ixda.org/help
Re: [IxDA Discuss] Dead polar bears (was: UX Challenge organizers must be insane)
I like the idea of local IxDA competitions, as long as we can provide a healthy way to execute them. For example, we wouldn't want community members to get a "rockstars only" vibe and avoid competing altogether. If we want to set it up as a skill-honing event, it needs to be open and inclusive-- perhaps a "rockstar" or two could serve as judges... Can someone step up and help own this one? I'd be willing to provide help in establishing a global framework and making sure it's effective. IxDA doesn't have a Board member dedicated to the press right now. Our president, Janna DeVylder, is the main contact person if someone from the press wants a comment. Definitely something for us to get serious about as our projects become more interesting to the press. There's a lot of cool stuff in the pipeline ... And I should also be clear that the UX Challenge is not affiliatetd with IxDA. Don't want to steal any thunder :-). - Nasir Welcome to the Interaction Design Association (IxDA)! To post to this list ... disc...@ixda.org Unsubscribe http://www.ixda.org/unsubscribe List Guidelines http://www.ixda.org/guidelines List Help .. http://www.ixda.org/help
Re: [IxDA Discuss] Dead polar bears (was: UX Challenge organizers must be insane)
Jay Morgan wrote: >> A lecture-based conference with alcohol-based social activities is >> not a realistic preparation for our working environments. A competition is. Maybe e-mail removes some of the intonations in your statement, but this appears to me to be a dismissal of the real value of a conference. The reason to attend a conference is not the content, per se. It's the conversations that come out of experiencing that content together. These conversations and interactions, yes, even during "alcohol-based social activities," are things we can take back to the office on Monday help us serve as thought leaders in our space. That said, the concept of a competition to hone our skills is a great idea. It's not a replacement for a conference, but a complement. There are other options out there as well, including workshops like the Design Studio Liya Zheng and Jeanine Harriman ran at Interaction '09. These are great ways to hone some of our skills. But I cringe a little at the thought of a competition consisting entirely of designers as a realistic work environment. Where are the higher ups with their own ideas and biases of how things should run? Art directors who miss your concept entirely? Or project managers and engineers who want to butcher your spec to get your product "to market on time"? A design competition provides a forum for people in our field to hone their skills, and it's a nice way to instill confidence. But let's not kid ourselves and say that this prepares designers for a realistic work environment. It'll hone your skills and make you more competitive, sure. But it will also teach you how to communicate with and convince still more designers, not the people we have to convince in the real world. I like the playful attitude the UX Challenge takes-- I don't think you guys are "insane," as the former subject line implied. Just want to make sure we cleared up the frame around the conference vs. contest concept. Looking forward to live reports from the "X-treme environment"-- Rawwwk on! :-) - Nasir Welcome to the Interaction Design Association (IxDA)! To post to this list ... disc...@ixda.org Unsubscribe http://www.ixda.org/unsubscribe List Guidelines http://www.ixda.org/guidelines List Help .. http://www.ixda.org/help
Re: [IxDA Discuss] Dead polar bears (was: UX Challenge organizers must be insane)
Dave, The idea of local competitions is a great one. What if the IxDA/IAI created a framework and set of guidelines to help each local run their own? As this thread indicates, we need some way to promote the good behind the idea of a challenge and remove the obstacles, i.e. money and travel, that enable most of us to shy away from it. Plus, to Will's point, why not create some way for all of us to potentially participate in making the world better and making us into better designers rather than just those who can fund or find sponsors for the big challenge? Don't get me wrong, though, I think there is immense PR value in the NASCAR-type event, especially if its run well and promotes core design values. Someone should be promoting it already to Business Week, Wired, The Economist, etc. Do we have a board member focused on the press? ph . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Posted from the new ixda.org http://www.ixda.org/discuss?post=38517 Welcome to the Interaction Design Association (IxDA)! To post to this list ... disc...@ixda.org Unsubscribe http://www.ixda.org/unsubscribe List Guidelines http://www.ixda.org/guidelines List Help .. http://www.ixda.org/help
Re: [IxDA Discuss] Dead polar bears (was: UX Challenge organizers must be insane)
I would like to go to this. Welcome to the Interaction Design Association (IxDA)! To post to this list ... disc...@ixda.org Unsubscribe http://www.ixda.org/unsubscribe List Guidelines http://www.ixda.org/guidelines List Help .. http://www.ixda.org/help
Re: [IxDA Discuss] Dead polar bears (was: UX Challenge organizers must be insane)
So, Robert, you won't be joining us? With the time and analysis you've devoted to it, you're a good candidate for Official Conference Reporter. It's a competition, so a critical voice is welcome. And, maybe there's a discount for the Press. On Wed, Feb 11, 2009 at 12:02 PM, Robert Hoekman Jr wrote: > 1. If you meet the polar bear, kill the polar bear... >> > > >> 2. Conferences are nice, but it's time for a challenge. > > > That's sad, actually. The site frames the event around a noble cause — > promoting peace ‚ but your post here makes it sound like it's just another > plea for innovation for innovation's sake. > > Besides that, do you really believe that IA can be reinvented, or even > evolved, in two days? How do you see that happening? > > -r- > -- Welcome to the Interaction Design Association (IxDA)! To post to this list ... disc...@ixda.org Unsubscribe http://www.ixda.org/unsubscribe List Guidelines http://www.ixda.org/guidelines List Help .. http://www.ixda.org/help
Re: [IxDA Discuss] Dead polar bears (was: UX Challenge organizers must be insane)
Perhaps we could ask our clients or employers: "I'm sure this product is great, and I trust there's a market for it. But, why the need to make it a bad experience?" Or, we could ask our bosses: "Why the division into silos? It sure seems tribal." While most of the (human) world's ills can be traced to humanity's knee-jerk reactions, much of it's pleasures and splendor can be traced to spontaneous responses to pressures from the outside world. There's pressure to compete at work. And, in looking at new UX practitioners joining the field, many of them are well-read, but few of them have experience applying their academic or book-based training in a realistic environment. It is common to have the very presence of UX questioned by people you work with on a daily basis, who are happy to march into design and development without any UX work. It is common to have UX activities seen as distracting from the work and superfluous, so much so that it's trimmed from the budget early on. It is common that we must alter the theoretical methods we read about into an applied version that works in our immediate context. A lecture-based conference with alcohol-based social activities is not a realistic preparation for our working environments. A competition is. As for moving the practice beyond the polar bear paradigm, you've ushered in the elephant. It's an interesting development that an author of the polar bear book might have already done more to educate us beyond the polar bear than an un-polar-bear conference would. You've brought mental models, comics, storytelling - each a significant step forward from the original organization, navigation, search, and labeling. If we're counting buzzwords, you've helped the paradigm shift beyond the earlier paradigm you helped construct. I appreciate the discussion and the books, Jay On Wed, Feb 11, 2009 at 11:22 AM, Louis Rosenfeld wrote: > Dead polar bears... > > Sure, it's a provocative subject line. And I'm sure it's all in > good fun. > > But why the need to kill? > > Instead of killing the polar bear, why not evolve a new species? Or > build on it? Or anything that's at least constructive in some way. > I think this is a poorly-chosen metaphor, as cute as it may seem, and > could get your event off on the wrong track. > > Instead of tilting at ancestors, why not fight new battles? > > Even if I wasn't the co-author of the book, and even if I wasn't a > proud information architect, I'd still be skeptical of what your > philisophical bent, simply because it smacks of tribalism. > > Most of the world's ills can be traced toward humanity's knee-jerk > instinctual us-and-them-edness. And yet here we go again, repeating > this nonsense within our own family when we ought to know better. > > Your event sounds interesting, and I personally enjoy far northern > extremes, having visited continental Europe's northern tip, > Nordkapp. But man, seems like if I had the bread to make it > Svalbard, I guess I'd expect a pretty, er, cold reception. Too bad. > > > Happy hunting. > > > . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . > Posted from the new ixda.org > http://www.ixda.org/discuss?post=38517 > > > > Welcome to the Interaction Design Association (IxDA)! > To post to this list ... disc...@ixda.org > Unsubscribe http://www.ixda.org/unsubscribe > List Guidelines http://www.ixda.org/guidelines > List Help .. http://www.ixda.org/help > -- Welcome to the Interaction Design Association (IxDA)! To post to this list ... disc...@ixda.org Unsubscribe http://www.ixda.org/unsubscribe List Guidelines http://www.ixda.org/guidelines List Help .. http://www.ixda.org/help
Re: [IxDA Discuss] Dead polar bears (was: UX Challenge organizers must be insane)
AND!! what gets me is that the existence of the conference will be the contributing to the real death of polar bears. I.e the contribution to the carbon foot print of more people traveling. As I said on twitter, this conference wreaks of hubris and decadence and I'm not even talking about the economical. As Robert pointed out, your explanation and the goals of the challenge itself are in oposition AND As Marc Rettig so correctly put forward in his presentation this weekend, we need to immerse ourselves in the worlds problems before we can even begin to conceive of the real grounded solutions. Maybe a better way to craft a true "design challenge" would be along the lines of ... Teams compete to represent their locality. Design Challenge 1: Research ... Spend the week with your team based on the drafted research doc you put together, researching in YOUR locality. 2. Ideate ... Spend a week the following year based on the methods in your proposal (that got you this far) and ideate and prototype solutions. 3. Evaluate ... spend a week again traveling through your locality, finding out if your ideas are worth consideration 4. Collaborate ... spend a week in virtual rooms, collaborating (not competing) with your other teams from around the world about how your solutions integrate and learn from each other and then take another stab at putting it all together again. Not totally framed out correctly, but is realistic in its approach of local > global and builds insteads of destroys and doesn't negatively impact those things you want to change. Basically, we know that advertising and marketing use "sexy" to get us to do things we aught not being doing. Hell, many of us were/are such advertisers, so why are we so easily falling for it now. It just seems like you are asking OK questions (not all of them are good) but really using a very wrong club to beat it with. (when maybe a hug would be better0. -- dave . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Posted from the new ixda.org http://www.ixda.org/discuss?post=38517 Welcome to the Interaction Design Association (IxDA)! To post to this list ... disc...@ixda.org Unsubscribe http://www.ixda.org/unsubscribe List Guidelines http://www.ixda.org/guidelines List Help .. http://www.ixda.org/help
Re: [IxDA Discuss] Dead polar bears (was: UX Challenge organizers must be insane)
> > 1. If you meet the polar bear, kill the polar bear... > > 2. Conferences are nice, but it's time for a challenge. That's sad, actually. The site frames the event around a noble cause — promoting peace ‚ but your post here makes it sound like it's just another plea for innovation for innovation's sake. Besides that, do you really believe that IA can be reinvented, or even evolved, in two days? How do you see that happening? -r- Welcome to the Interaction Design Association (IxDA)! To post to this list ... disc...@ixda.org Unsubscribe http://www.ixda.org/unsubscribe List Guidelines http://www.ixda.org/guidelines List Help .. http://www.ixda.org/help
Re: [IxDA Discuss] Dead polar bears (was: UX Challenge organizers must be insane)
Well, and either way, if you can get sponsorship, why not? let someone else pay for it ;). On Feb 11, 2009, at 12:02 PM, Will Evans wrote: Money is a really hard thing and I am seriously considering getting sponsorship. My company can write off the expense, but it's still going to be a stretch. Cheers! Todd Zaki Warfel President, Design Researcher Messagefirst | Designing Information. Beautifully. -- Contact Info Voice: (215) 825-7423 Email: t...@messagefirst.com AIM:twar...@mac.com Blog: http://toddwarfel.com Twitter:zakiwarfel -- In theory, theory and practice are the same. In practice, they are not. Welcome to the Interaction Design Association (IxDA)! To post to this list ... disc...@ixda.org Unsubscribe http://www.ixda.org/unsubscribe List Guidelines http://www.ixda.org/guidelines List Help .. http://www.ixda.org/help
Re: [IxDA Discuss] Dead polar bears (was: UX Challenge organizers must be insane)
Dead polar bears... Sure, it's a provocative subject line. And I'm sure it's all in good fun. But why the need to kill? Instead of killing the polar bear, why not evolve a new species? Or build on it? Or anything that's at least constructive in some way. I think this is a poorly-chosen metaphor, as cute as it may seem, and could get your event off on the wrong track. Instead of tilting at ancestors, why not fight new battles? Even if I wasn't the co-author of the book, and even if I wasn't a proud information architect, I'd still be skeptical of what your philisophical bent, simply because it smacks of tribalism. Most of the world's ills can be traced toward humanity's knee-jerk instinctual us-and-them-edness. And yet here we go again, repeating this nonsense within our own family when we ought to know better. Your event sounds interesting, and I personally enjoy far northern extremes, having visited continental Europe's northern tip, Nordkapp. But man, seems like if I had the bread to make it Svalbard, I guess I'd expect a pretty, er, cold reception. Too bad. Happy hunting. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Posted from the new ixda.org http://www.ixda.org/discuss?post=38517 Welcome to the Interaction Design Association (IxDA)! To post to this list ... disc...@ixda.org Unsubscribe http://www.ixda.org/unsubscribe List Guidelines http://www.ixda.org/guidelines List Help .. http://www.ixda.org/help
Re: [IxDA Discuss] Dead polar bears (was: UX Challenge organizers must be insane)
I think you very nicely summed up the reason why I am going. I want a challenge - something new - something so hard that the mundanity of day-n-day-out work pales in comparison. Money is a really hard thing and I am seriously considering getting sponsorship. My company can write off the expense, but it's still going to be a stretch. ~ will "Where you innovate, how you innovate, and what you innovate are design problems" Will Evans | User Experience Architect tel: +1.617.281.1281 | w...@semanticfoundry.com http://blog.semanticfoundry.com aim: semanticwill gtalk: semanticwill twitter: semanticwill On Feb 11, 2009, at 11:52 AM, Jay Morgan wrote: A few years ago, at a lunch table at the 2006 IA Summit, a few of us hatched the idea of the Arctic Challenge. While it seems decadent in today's market, allow me to share some of the philosophical undercurrents. 1. If you meet the polar bear, kill the polar bear... The seminal work for many IAs is the polar bear book. Around the table that day, we talked about leaving behind the old, and charging forcefully into the battle to bring in the new, the next. What is IA beyond the polar bear? Borrowing from the Zen koan "if you meet the Buddha, kill the Buddha", we thought it was time to crash through. Going to the Arctic is a way to immerse ourselves in a polar bear-laden environment. Perhaps, some wandering IA/IxD would, in a fit of hallucination and frostbite, would indeed slay a polar bear during an outdoor event. (And, since we're on the IxDA list now, imagine the bragging rights if someone who self-identifies as an IxD and _not_ an IA were to slay the first polar bear.) Some of us, might take this on as a jaunt through the wilderness, where the Challenge is completely out-of-doors and the need to kill our professional Buddha will find its destiny in Svalbard. 2. Conferences are nice, but it's time for a challenge. The Challenge. We were all having fun at the IA Summit, as many of you likely have had fun at Interaction|09. We new that ahead was the return to the professional world where things are not fun, but constantly and sometimes uncomfortably challenging. So, why go into a softer environment to develop our skills? We figured it's time to have a place to go that is more challenging than work. A place where you go and are so challenged in the company of your peers that returning to work to deal with non-UX folks would be easy. I, for instance, knew that I would return to bureaucracy and politics that presented vigilant opponents to advancing User Experience practice. I, then and now, want a place where I am challenged by my peers and those who are peerless to gain so much confidence and experience that taking on those VPs of Resistance to Change would be a minor challenge. We figured other people would be ready for a challenge too. Perhaps the 'save the world and make a difference' is a new flavor the Scandinavian planners have added. I can tell you, I don't remember it in the first conversations. But, if you need to make the business case, shine the veneer of your proposal with that. See you there, Jay -- Jay A. Morgan Director, UX at Gage in Minneapolis twitter.com/jayamorgan google talk: jayamorgan skype: jaytheia Welcome to the Interaction Design Association (IxDA)! To post to this list ... disc...@ixda.org Unsubscribe http://www.ixda.org/unsubscribe List Guidelines http://www.ixda.org/guidelines List Help .. http://www.ixda.org/help Welcome to the Interaction Design Association (IxDA)! To post to this list ... disc...@ixda.org Unsubscribe http://www.ixda.org/unsubscribe List Guidelines http://www.ixda.org/guidelines List Help .. http://www.ixda.org/help
[IxDA Discuss] Dead polar bears (was: UX Challenge organizers must be insane)
A few years ago, at a lunch table at the 2006 IA Summit, a few of us hatched the idea of the Arctic Challenge. While it seems decadent in today's market, allow me to share some of the philosophical undercurrents. 1. If you meet the polar bear, kill the polar bear... The seminal work for many IAs is the polar bear book. Around the table that day, we talked about leaving behind the old, and charging forcefully into the battle to bring in the new, the next. What is IA beyond the polar bear? Borrowing from the Zen koan "if you meet the Buddha, kill the Buddha", we thought it was time to crash through. Going to the Arctic is a way to immerse ourselves in a polar bear-laden environment. Perhaps, some wandering IA/IxD would, in a fit of hallucination and frostbite, would indeed slay a polar bear during an outdoor event. (And, since we're on the IxDA list now, imagine the bragging rights if someone who self-identifies as an IxD and _not_ an IA were to slay the first polar bear.) Some of us, might take this on as a jaunt through the wilderness, where the Challenge is completely out-of-doors and the need to kill our professional Buddha will find its destiny in Svalbard. 2. Conferences are nice, but it's time for a challenge. The Challenge. We were all having fun at the IA Summit, as many of you likely have had fun at Interaction|09. We new that ahead was the return to the professional world where things are not fun, but constantly and sometimes uncomfortably challenging. So, why go into a softer environment to develop our skills? We figured it's time to have a place to go that is more challenging than work. A place where you go and are so challenged in the company of your peers that returning to work to deal with non-UX folks would be easy. I, for instance, knew that I would return to bureaucracy and politics that presented vigilant opponents to advancing User Experience practice. I, then and now, want a place where I am challenged by my peers and those who are peerless to gain so much confidence and experience that taking on those VPs of Resistance to Change would be a minor challenge. We figured other people would be ready for a challenge too. Perhaps the 'save the world and make a difference' is a new flavor the Scandinavian planners have added. I can tell you, I don't remember it in the first conversations. But, if you need to make the business case, shine the veneer of your proposal with that. See you there, Jay -- Jay A. Morgan Director, UX at Gage in Minneapolis twitter.com/jayamorgan google talk: jayamorgan skype: jaytheia Welcome to the Interaction Design Association (IxDA)! To post to this list ... disc...@ixda.org Unsubscribe http://www.ixda.org/unsubscribe List Guidelines http://www.ixda.org/guidelines List Help .. http://www.ixda.org/help
