Posts from 2009
Aftermath
Thanks for making UXCampLondon a great day! We had a lot of fun with a fantastic range of discussions, like-minded people and exciting ideas. Hope you did too.
The discussions don’t have to stop here. There’s a vibrant UX community at http://london-ia.ning.com/ and hope you’ll join us to continue with your conversations, ideas and friendships. Don’t forget to blog, tweet, and post pictures with the tag #uxcamplondon. If you’d like your presentation slides to be linked from the UXCampLondon schedule, please email us (uxcamplondon AT googlemail.com) the URL of where they’re hosted (eg. Slideshare) and we’ll add a link in due course.
Don’t forget that the lovely people at Rosenfeld Media are giving all UXCampLondon attendees the opportunity to save 20% on their books. To enjoy this generous offer please use the discount code we’ve emailed to you all.
We’d like to say one last thank you to our supporters for helping this event happen. A big round of applause to Gumtree, Vodafone, Amberlight, Saros Research, Clearleft, Axure, Rosenfeld Media and Addlestones for their investment in the user experience community.
Most of all we hope you enjoyed the event and are inspired to keep on making the world a more user-friendly place!
The UXCampLondon folks
Reactions
A few blog posts about UXCampLondon that might be of interest:
- http://www.tomhume.org/2009/08/uxcamplondon.html
- http://boonyew.com/interaction/2009/08/23/my-uxcamplondon-review/
- http://unmethodical.posterous.com/wham-bam-wireframe-and-other-miscellaneous-st
- http://www.dontreadmyblog.com/?p=1958
- http://judyrees.wordpress.com/2009/08/23/exploration-with-ux-explorers/
- http://www.cennydd.co.uk/2009/lessons-from-uxcamplondon/
- http://www.alphabux.net/2009/08/test/#more-3
- http://blog.gumtree.com/uxcamplondon-at-gumtree/
- http://www.wearelucy.com/blog/2009/08/25/uxcamplondon-fieldnotes/
- http://robenslin.com/2009/08/26/uxcamplondon/
A final treat
Why not enjoy the cringeworthy fine acting skills of our friends at Adaptive Path once more?
JJG misses UXCampLondon.
Ready to roll
OK, looks like we’re all set. The food’s arrived, the signs are up, the cider is chilling and we’ve improved the schedule page, which we’ll keep updated throughout the day once the grid fills up.
See you bright and early tomorrow!
Yikes
Yikes! Saturday’s rolling around pretty fast. Badges are being printed, prizes are being collected and the food’s been ordered. There’s quite a bit of it. We’ve also got some booze too. Put it this way: you’ll be looked after.
One final plea: if you have a ticket but now won’t be coming, PLEASE let us know today at [email protected]. We still have dozens of people on the reserve list and we’d love them to come if you can’t. Tickets aren’t transferable, so please don’t give them to your friends instead. We won’t be able to let them in.
Hope you have an idea of what you want to talk about, and are ready for a bright early start. We’ve updated the Transport page with some more details. Have a good look before Saturday; it’s pretty easy to find but we’d like everyone to be here nice and early if possible. The sooner we can get started, the more time we get for hanging around with a pint afterward.
See you on Saturday!
The UXCampLondon folks
Not long to go
UXCampLondon is just over a fortnight away! Saturday 22 August, to be precise.
Demand was higher than even we anticipated – a great indication of how the UX scene in Britain is flourishing. If you have a ticket but now don’t think you can make it, please let us know as soon as possible on [email protected]. We won’t judge you. There are lots of people in the reserve list giving us puppy dog eyes and we’d love to give them a good home.
Getting there
We know Richmond’s a bit of a trek. But hopefully you’ll see why we chose the Gumtree offices when you visit: lots of rooms both big and small, lots of kitchens, open spaces, games and pool, and it’s right on the banks of the Thames.
The best way to get to Richmond is either the District Line or the direct train from Waterloo and Clapham Junction. We’ve put a detailed Transport page on the website. Please turn up between 9 and 9.45. You’ll be able to grab breakfast and coffee before the intro session starts, at 10 sharp. See the Schedule page for more information.
On the day
If it’s your first BarCamp, you might be wondering what to expect. We recommend Vero Pepperrell’s excellent BarCamp Virgin’s Guide to find out why BarCamps are different to other conferences. As you know, all attendees are also participants, so start thinking about your session. Everyone has 30 minutes for a presentation / panel / discussion group / demo / whatever. Rough and ready, improvised, polished, it’s up to you. Sign up for a slot on the day and knock ‘em dead.
You’ll probably want to bring:
- a laptop, plus its chargers and cables (Mac users, you might want to bring a DVI to VGA adapter for the projectors, although you may be able to borrow one too)
- a presentation of some kind. It’s a good idea to back it up onto a USB stick.
- some deliverables to show off (see below)
- business cards
- a spare power strip if you have one. They’re really useful.
Please don’t bring an ethernet cable! Gumtree have asked that we connect to the network by WiFi only: don’t worry, it’s solid enough to hold our weight.
Food and drink
Thanks to our marvellous supporters Vodafone, Amberlight, Saros and Gumtree we are providing breakfast, lunch, snacks and drinks, plus a decent bar tab in the pub afterwards. If you have any special dietary requirements please let us know, although we’ll be getting a good variety of options anyway (that’s just good user-centred design, right?).
Wall of Deliverables
Bring your best wireframes, personas, sitemaps, concept maps to put up on the Wall of Deliverables. (Yes, we nicked the idea off the IA Summit.) There will be prizes!
That’s all for now. Please feel free to talk, tweet, blog and rant about UXCampLondon if you’re as excited as we are. The official tag is ‘uxcamplondon’.
We’ll be in touch soon. Can’t wait to meet you all!
The UXCampLondon folks
All gone
UXCampLondon is now sold out. Any returns will be allocated to the Reserve list; we’ll contact people by phone to offer any spares. Looking forward to seeing you there!
Ticket updates
General release tickets sold out quickly. However, all is not yet lost.
If you didn’t manage to get your hands on one, you can now sign up for the Reserve list at the same URL: http://uxcamplondon.eventbrite.com. This does not guarantee you a ticket. However, we will allocate the 15 remaining tickets to random members of the reserve list on July 31, and we’ll allocate any returns to the same list right up until the event itself. If you win a ticket, we will contact you by phone, not email. Please give us a real phone number.
Questions? Contact us at [email protected].
Saros Research sponsors UXCampLondon
We’re pleased to announce our third sponsor, Saros Research. Saros is the UK’s leading database-driven response recruitment service, with over 175,000 registered members, growing at a rate of over 3000 per month.
With the combined support of Saros, Vodafone and Amberlight we’re now able to provide lunch, snacks and some beers in the pub afterwards. More info on the evening’s events later, but we hope you can join us for a merry look back at the day’s events!
Tickets
Well, it’s all falling into place. We’re putting UXCampLondon tickets on general release on Wed 15 July at 11am.
The inevitable questions
Q: How are you allocating the tickets?
A: First come, first served via Eventbrite: http://uxcamplondon.eventbrite.com/
Q: What if I can’t make that time?
A: Ask a friend to grab a ticket for you. It’s 1 ticket per person though, so we recommend you ask someone who’s not planning on coming. They’re more likely to put your interests first
Q: Are these the only tickets available?
A: No, but it’s the biggest swathe. A handful of tickets have already been allocated (sponsors, organisers, and London IA members got first stab), but this general release accounts for the majority of tickets available. We’ll hold a few back for a final release too. That’ll probably be a lottery. More on that later.
Q: I don’t think these arrangements are fair!
A: Erm, that’s not really a question. But anyway. No method’s perfect, and we have day jobs to do too. If you want to be involved in UX community events, please consider setting one up or helping with others. We’d be glad to advise.
Q: Should I grab a ticket in case I can make it?
A: Please be altruistic and let others have your ticket if you’re not sure you can make it. Non-attendance is a real problem for BarCamps and we really want to minimise it. We promise the UX gods will smile on you for your kind gesture.
Hope to see you there!
Schedule is up
A tentative plan for the schedule has just been posted. We’re aiming to get in about 10 sessions in one day, with 6 to 7 slots running in parallel across different rooms.
There should be enough space for people to move between rooms and mingle a little in the 10 minute space between each slot, and of course, during lunch time and tea-breaks.
As with all Barcamps, sessions are usually discovered very early in the day, when speakers get to fill-in a slot for their sessions. Come prepared to present something, or even if you don’t have anything in particular you want to present, just come with a question that’s been burning in your mind, or bring some boardgames, or your stuffed toys. There are lots of ways to fill up a session.
For those of you who are new to the BarCamp experience, the BarCamp.org wiki has an excellent post about what to expect at a BarCamp.
Amberlight and Vodafone supports UXCampLondon
Many thanks to Vodafone and Amberlight who have recently agreed to help out with lunch and snacks for the barcampers during the day.
Amberlight, of course, is a very established and well-known user-centered consulting firm in the UK – and they would be keen on getting connected with UX-savvy participants of the event.
Vodafone also invests heavily into user experience, and have expressed support for grassroots efforts like UXCamp, which is always a good thing.
A few representatives from both companies will be present at UXCamp so do check them out.
UXCampLondon details announced
We are pleased to announce UXCampLondon, a one day BarCamp in London for anyone involved or interested in user experience design, interaction design, information architecture and usability.
Paraphasing TheRulesOfBarcamp:
- You do talk about BarCamp.
- You do blog about BarCamp.
- No pre-scheduled presentations, no tourists.
- Presentations will go on as long as they have to or until they run into another presentation slot.
- If this is your first time at BarCamp, you HAVE to present. (Actually, this applies whether it’s your first or tenth BarCamp. All attendees present. It’s part of the fun.)
UXCampLondon will take place 10am—7pm on Saturday 22 August 2009 at the Gumtree offices in Richmond. More details will follow here regarding ticket availability, set up for the day and how best to get there. In the meantime please check the wiki and follow UXCampLondon on Twitter for information.
Sponsors and supporters 2009
UXCampLondon is kindly supported by Vodafone, Amberlight, Saros Research and Gumtree. We also have some fantastic prizes to give away at the event, courtesy of Axure, Rosenfeld Media and Silverback, and closing refreshments from Addlestones.
Vodafone
User Experience lies at the forefront of Vodafone’s business, and the driving force behind that are the people making up our global UE team. It is both dynamic and international in nature, with people from at least 10 different countries, split between our London, Düsseldorf and Hong Kong offices, and boasting four of Vodafone’s top 10 inventors. We work closely with other Vodafone departments and external suppliers while proactively instigating new projects and investigations based on identified needs and new ideas.Vodafone supports UXCamp London, as we are passionate about designing services that matter to people. UXCamp is an event that brings people who share that passion together. We are looking forward to a day of exchanging ideas, learning from each other and are happy to take part in bringing the active User Experience community in the UK together.
Amberlight
Amberlight Partners is a London based Human-Computer Interaction (HCI) Consultancy. We provide user-centered design and research services to clients and partners in the UK and internationally.We have built a reputation for excellence by providing a flexible portfolio of consultancy, research and design across all platforms to clients all over the world. Now in our 10th year, we are expanding our services and tools for clients in order to help them realise even more value by understanding even more about their end users.
Saros Research
Saros Research is the UK’s leading database-driven respondent recruitment service, with over 175000 registered members growing at a rate of over 3000 per month. Thoroughly grounded in traditional research methodologies, Saros has specialist Usability/UX project managers and interviewers with broad experience in all aspects of technical recruitment, and a genuine interest in online applications and developments. They constantly and proactively seek out fresh new respondents who have never taken part in research before, and can bring new insights and perspectives to your testing… Excellent communications and project management complete the package, to provide a top quality service for all your respondent recruitment needs. Contact Maya Middlemiss to find out more.
Gumtree
Gumtree is the UK’s biggest website for local community classifieds, with 1 million live ads at any one time and around 6 million visitors each month. It’s the home to everything you’d expect to find within your local community: a place to find and advertise rooms, flats and houses, a notice board for selling and buying stuff, somewhere to find a job or even a date.
Because we’re all about helping people to connect, user experience is really important to us. Nothing makes us happier than seeing users find exactly what they’re looking for, or being able to post an ad on the site without any problems. Right now, we’re working on building an exciting new experience that will enable people to search Gumtree across all of UK. We’re proud to support UXCampLondon, and hope people coming to our offices will have an engaging, informational and fun time.
Prize sponsors
We’ll also be giving away some fantastic prizes at UXCampLondon:
- Two copies of Axure RP, the leading tool for rapidly creating wireframes, prototypes and specifications for applications and web sites.
- A set of four Rosenfeld Media books: Mental Models, Web Form Design, Design Is The Problem and Card Sorting
- Two copies of Clearleft‘s guerrilla usability testing app Silverback.
Many thanks to Axure, Clearleft and Rosenfeld Media for their support. We’ll be announcing details of the prize competitions shortly.
Cider sponsor
Finally, we’ll have cider to quench our thirst at the closing session, courtesy of Addlestones.
Brewed with locally-sourced bittersweet cider apples from Somerset, Addlestones is cloudy because it’s meant to be – its not filtered, which leaves live yeast and apple extracts in the liquid. Then it’s fermented twice to craft a cider with a unique effervescence and full-bodied taste. Addlestones is 5% ABV and available both on draught and in bottle in top pubs, including over 60 Youngs outlets. Elsewhere, Waitrose or your local off-licence is the best place to track it down. http://twitter.com/addlestones
2009′s schedule
Download the schedule in .ics format