World IA Day Recap

Thank you all who came out to join us for World IA at VCU Brandcenter. The topic of the day was “Design for Difference” and we definitely got some difference in perspective and experiences that were shared. It was an amazing day full of thought-provoking speakers and panelists. As usual, we also had some lively discussion and got lot’s of divergent views and opinions on the table.

Kim Rees blew our minds from the outset talking about the influence of Data, Machine Learning and AI on design.

Our panel discussion, moderated by Erin White brought up some great points about the potential implications of not considering a diverse audience when you are designing.

Thanks again to Lisa Dance, Laura Turner Reid, and Scott Nixon for such a great discussion.

After lunch, we resumed with a really insightful look into designing a clinical research trial in Africa by Meghna Murali. Learning how to iterate a study around cultural norms very different than yours.

Then Samantha Willis introduced us to  #UnmaskingRVA and how we need to continue to unmask the pervasive prejudices that color our perspectives.

Then Zach Bryant helped us to consider both sides of a perspective when making our design decisions.

Finally, our closing keynote speaker Heather Winkle inspired us with her journey of achieving a deeper level of personal and professional fulfillment by “zooming out” to help take stock of where she was and where she wanted to be.

World IA Day in RVA!

It’s official! Richmond VA is going to be a host city for World IA Day in 2019.

• What is World IA Day? It is a one-day, global festival of all things IA (Information Architecture), UX, Interaction Design, Design Strategy, User Research and related disciplines. Host cities around the world all have events on the same day.
• When is it? Saturday, February 23 from 9-4:30 PM
• Where will it be? It will be hosted at the VCU Brandcenter
  103 S Jefferson St, Richmond, VA 23284
• Who should come?: Anyone interested in learning how design can change the world.
• Is there a theme?: Design for Difference.

From their website:

“As designers, we are responsible for creating worlds of experiences, environments, services, and systems that impact millions of people – with lasting impacts. While we don’t have a Hippocratic Oath, it’s important for us to follow a similar goal to “do good” and “do not harm.” It is our responsibility as IA’s to consider the consequences and impact our design decisions have on humanity and society as a whole.

Research is a foundational step in the design process. It ensures that we understand and account for diverse user needs within communities, both in our own domains and globally.”

Learn more here: (https://www.worldiaday.org/2019)

Speakers and Panelists:

Kim Rees – Head of Data Experience Design, Capital One
Samantha Willis – Freelance Journalist
Zach Bryant – Creative Director, Journey Group
Meghna Murali – Clinical Research Coordinator, Children’s National Health System
Andrew Levasseur – Experience Design Chair, VCU Brandcenter
Lisa Dance – UX Analyst, Genworth
Laura Turner Reid – User Research Director, ICF Olson
Scott Nixon –  Manager of AI Systems Design, Capital One
Erin White – Head of Digital Engagement, VCU Libraries
Heather Winkle – VP of Card Design, Capital One

Tickets:

Go to our event page to register and save your spot!

https://www.eventbrite.com/e/world-ia-day-design-for-difference-tickets-54659873152

Partners:

Our Sponsors:

Photos from Lightning Talk!

Thank you to everyone who made it down to CarMax’s beautiful downtown office for our September Lightning Talk. Once again, we are grateful to Ladies Who UX and RVA Content Strategy for being our partners in this ongoing series.

Look for the next event in December at ICF Olson!

September RVA Lightning Talk

When:
09/27/2018
5:30-7:30 PM

Where:
CarMx Shockoe
140 Virginia St.
Richmond, VA 23219

Free Tickets:
Eventbrite Here

Gear up for a great fall with another round of lightning talks from Richmond UX, Ladies that UX, and RVA Content Strategy. We’re bringing together pros from the Richmond design community to share their tips and techniques on how to succeed in a constantly evolving field.

Here are this month’s speakers:

Terry Peters |  Experience Director: ICF Olson

Talk: Communicating Design

Design is a complex process composed of many smaller activities: listening, analyzing, evaluating, brainstorming, synthesizing, experimenting, composing, describing, discussing, exploring, reacting, and countless others. Documenting is not one of these activities, but engaging in any of these activities yields artifacts—diagrams, notes, sketches, lists, inventories, annotations, and larger documents—that result from the act of performing the task. At the same time, each task requires inputs, and these artifacts that come from doing design are the same things that can help feed the design process. The success of the task directly relates to the quality of the inputs and may be measured on the quality of its outputs. So how does one effectively make use of these to communicate the fruits of their labors?

Bio: Talented user experience leader with 12 years of proven experience in the development and implementation of enterprise digital strategies, user-centered research and systems design with clients such as AARP, Annie E. Casey Foundation, Chik-fil-A, Johnson Controls, Scripps Networks, and The Nature Conservancy. Experienced team leader capable of mentoring cross-functional teams and fostering relationships to transform business and design needs into valuable and usable working products.

Connect:

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/terry-peters-m-s-8198b61b/

Katie Moriarty | UX Research: Snag

Talk: You Don’t Have to Be a Researcher to Do User Research

We’ll discuss the value of observational research, how to do this type of research yourself, and how to apply your learnings to your day-to-day practice. Katie will use her own experiences to illustrate how accessible observational research can be.

Bio: Katie is a User Experience Researcher at Snag. Her work focuses on helping Snag’s product development teams gain a greater understanding of hourly workers and employers so they can design and build products that solve their users true pain points. Katie has experience in conducting a wide range of qualitative research methods to uncover key insights that are both meaningful and actionable to stakeholders.

Connect:

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/katiemoriarty/

Adarsh Ramakrishnan | Freelance Product Consultant

Talk: A Figma(nt) of Your Imagination — Streamlining your design flow using Figma

Explore how Figma can help you consolidate your entire design flow, letting you design, prototype, and spec in one platform.

Bio: Adarsh is a product consultant who specializes in strategy and design. As part of his consulting services, he has designed and built visual systems for digital products across multiple platforms. He is also teaches engineering design to students from non-technical majors through the VCU Da Vinci Center.

Connect:

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/adarshramakrishnan/

Website: http://adarshramakrishnan.com

Matt McGhan | Experience Designer: Singlestone

Talk: Healthy Design Systems Make Better Products

Bio: Midwest farm boy turned East Coast experience designer. Went from drawing animals, sports cards, and airplanes to designing visual experiences via VCU to non-profit to SingleStone. Lover of people and their day-to-day interactions with designed & digital things.

Connect:

Twitter: @mattigan

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/matt-mcghan-b83bab5/

The Space

CarMax Shockoe 

Located in the historic Lady Byrd Hat building in downtown Richmond, this innovation center is a hub for dynamic, bleeding-edge creative work.

Lightning Talks 2 Recap

Thank you to everyone who attended our 2nd Design Lightning talk last week at the 1717 Innovation Center in Shockoe Bottom. Our 4 speakers presented useful and thought-provoking material that inspired a lively Q and A session. We had a great time, learned a lot and got to meet some new people.

Some photos from the event:

We will be adding links to our speakers’ presentations here:

Adarsh Ramakrishnan – How PM and UX can play nice

https://www.slideshare.net/secret/95qAo159v3D1zC

Ashley Cook – User Research Coming Together

Virginia Tech hiring an Interaction Designer

University Relations is seeking an Interaction Designer to join our multidisciplinary team to craft digital experiences for our various audiences, from prospective and current students to alumni and industry partners. Projects run the gamut from websites and editorial stories to mobile applications and email marketing.

Apply here: https://listings.jobs.vt.edu/postings/87843

JOBS! JOBS! JOBS!

Lots of people hiring designers right now.

UX DESIGNER: ICF OLSON
https://www.icf.com/careers/jobs/1800001874

CAR MAX IS HIRING A BUNCH OF POSITIONS
https://jobs.carmax.com/job/7951289/ux-writer-richmond-va/https://jobs.carmax.com/job/8184895/product-manager-richmond-va/https://jobs.carmax.com/job/8057569/product-designer-richmond-va/https://jobs.carmax.com/job/8057573/sr-product-designer-richmond-va/https://jobs.carmax.com/job/7544753/director-of-product-richmond-va/https://jobs.carmax.com/job/8305063/senior-mobile-developer-ios-richmond-va/https://jobs.carmax.com/job/8238611/sr-mobile-developer-android-richmond-va/https://jobs.carmax.com/job/8221746/lead-software-developer-richmond-va/

Creativity Through Adversity

DESCRIPTION

DATE AND TIME

LOCATION

Lightning Talk this Wednesday

DESCRIPTION

Richmond UX, Ladies that UX, RVA Content Strategy, and UXPA are joining forces to launch a new event series for and by the Richmond design community.

At each event, four designers will spend the evening sharing their know-how, lessons learned, and best tips and tricks on a variety of topics. You’ll be armed with new tools and techniques that you can immediately put into practice.

Here’s what’s on deck for our inaugural round of lightning talks!

Presenters:

Kevin Tuskey
Experience Design Lead – SingleStone
Design Thinking Crash Course

Shannon Leahy
UX Content Designer – Capital One
Topic: 4 Ways to Get Started with Content Testing Today

Jenn Atkins

Product Designer – Snag
Topic: Opportunity Trees: How to grow and care for them

Margaret Karles
Experience Designer – Freelance
Topic: What is a Concept?

About the 1717 Innovation Center:

Imagined as an all-in-one experience design lab, conference venue and event space, the 1717 Innovation Center is a collaborative workspace for multi-disciplinary experts, community organizations and entrepreneurs to share ideas, learn from each other and discover new ways to achieve their individual and collective mission(s).