RUX July – UI Software Design Cage Match
Posted: July 25, 2016 Filed under: presentations, tools & methods Comments Off on RUX July – UI Software Design Cage Match
When: Wednesday, July 27, 2016 from 5:00 PM to 7:00 PM (EDT) Where: CapTech Consulting – 7100 Forest Avenue, Richmond, VA 23226 – View Map
This year has been a watershed one for UI design tools: Adobe finally launched X D, their direct competitor to Sketch, Sketch itself has not stopped evolving and is about to switch to a subscription model, and the venerable Photoshop remains a default install for many a UI and visual designer.
Though UI design is only one aspect of UX, it is the part of the process that defines the look and feel, as well as creating the assets for development. In that respect, choosing the best tool can have a big impact on both the quality of the designer’s work as well as their efficiency.
So, has the rise of Sketch and the advent of X D changed the playing field? Join us July 27th at CapTech as UI designer Rob Musser presents his analysis of Photoshop, Illustrator, InDesign, X D, and Sketch.
Get ready to RUMBLE!!!
RUX Design Studio Meeting Notes
Posted: September 1, 2014 Filed under: meetings, tools & methods Comments Off on RUX Design Studio Meeting NotesWe used our August 27 session to Define RUX (note the capital D in define) using the Design Studio approach. We walked through and agreed upon who RUX serves, how RUXers want to be served, and what those programs might be. All notes below.
Please let us know if we have missed anything.
The next steps will be to revisit these thoughts and formulate a plan. Passionate about the direction of RUX and want to be part of the planning process? Let us know!
RUX Design Studio NOTES:
Who we Serve
People who…
• Make digital sh!t
• Create
• Want to learn
• Seek a Job
• Want to meet similar people
Also,
• Teachers
• Students
• Geeks
• Collaborators
And to a lesser degree …
Designers, beer drinkers, people who want speed, brainstormers, anthropologists, people who want to know what’s going on, people who want to be challenged, people who want to overcome obstacles, people who want to share insights, stay current; futurists, job offerers, product owners, business owners.
These people might most often have the following roles:
• Interaction designers
• UX researchers
• UX
• Usability specialists
• Web teams of One
• Product Management
• Information Architects
Though sometimes they might also be:
• Digital Strategists
• UX coaches
• Coders
• Analysts
• Librarians
• Information Geeks
• Content People
• Marketers
• Recruiters
• Business Owners
• Business Development
• Communications Specialists
• Social Media people
• Technical Writers
These people would most like to get from RUX:
Enablement, collaboration, problem solving, exploration, shared passion, new ways of thinking…
Learning, education, mentoring, immersion…
Trends, pushes, challenge to norms…
Entertainment…
Commiseration, leadership, inspiration, affirmation…
Means for social impact…
Community, network, friends, peers, access…
Promotion of my trade, means to make RVA great, regional recognition, strengthening of the profession…
And after exploring who RUX serves, and what RUXers want, we came up with two areas of programming. Its just a start, but there are some fantastic ideas here!
PRINCIPLE AREA : “Live & Learn”
Top programs/activities that we brainstormed include –
• UX workshops to solve UX problems together
• Forum to share UX challenges and insights
• Demos of great user experiences
• UX Job Announcements
• UX People Hub
• Computer program training seminars
• Feedback on designs
• Getting a look at various RVA digital businesses
• Internships and finders
• Beginner to expert workshops
• Demos of great (and terrible) user experiences
• Feedback in designs in which everyone comments!
• TLDR book clubs (that is, too long didn’t read)
(Other Live & Learn ideas included conference takeovers, conferences, scholarships to conferences, official mentor programs, connecting newbies to pros, feedback circles, learning to transfer learning, image sharing network, speakers, expert panel discussions)
SECONDARY AREA : “Push & Give”
Top programs/activities that we brainstormed include –
• Tool or process demos
• Training on UX
• Case studies
• Failure stories
• What’s cool email
• Case studies
• Design Jams on real ideas
• Projects that give back
(Other ideas on Push & Give included video game competitions, games, code or game design jams, charity events, create a product events, finding help for UX (find me a UX person!), startup weekends for concepts, coordinated UX research, transferrable skills into the field, “know your users” (bring projects here to get feedback together), UX Q&A, Live usability sessions with audience participants, design appreciation training or games, teaching and promoting research methods)
RUX April – Eye Tracking the User Experience of Mobile: What You Need to Know
Posted: March 28, 2014 Filed under: events, presentations, tools & methods | Tags: eye tracking, mobile ux, usability Comments Off on RUX April – Eye Tracking the User Experience of Mobile: What You Need to Know
Wednesday, April 30, 2014, 6 PM to 7:30 PM
CapTech Consulting, 7100 Forest Ave, Suite 204, Richmond, VA (map)
It is important for mobile app and website designers to test their products with typical end users to ensure the products work as intended and that an optimal user experience (UX) is provided. What many designers do not know is that getting user feedback, including understanding what users look at while using a product, is not as difficult as it once was. Modern technology has made this technique quite simple and affordable.
Rosenfeld Media UX Books Discount
Posted: May 3, 2010 Filed under: book club, tools & methods Comments Off on Rosenfeld Media UX Books DiscountThanks to the generosity of Rosenfeld Media, RUX members get a huge discount on their books! Just go to the Web site, order books. Then use the discount code UXBOOKRICHMOND at checkout. It is now active for 30% off RM products through May 15, 2010.
Many thanks to Rosenfeld Media (follow then at @rosenfeldmedia on Twitter).
Maxure Beta is out!
Posted: February 19, 2010 Filed under: tools & methods | Tags: axure, prototyping Comments Off on Maxure Beta is out!A lot of us UX designers have been satisficing with Axure in a PC emulation on the Macintosh…until now. Axure RP have released a bona fide beta of Axure RP for the Mac
Agility for UX Professionals
Posted: October 29, 2009 Filed under: meetings, tools & methods, Uncategorized Comments Off on Agility for UX ProfessionalsWhen & Where
Wednesday, November 18, 2009
6:00 p.m. – 8:00 p.m.
Ironworks
4121 Cox Road, Suite 205
Richmond, VA 23060
Questions? Call 804-549-4107
- RSVP by email so we can know how much pizza to get!
What
User experience professionals often find themselves working on projects with tight deadlines, tighter budgets, and unreasonably high expectations for success. Too often user research, usability, and design processes are compressed or even cut entirely for the sake of time, while development and business analysis time is increased. As we UX professionals become more involved with agile development methods, we have discovered novel approaches to user-centered design that are adaptable to any budget or deadline.
This discussion will explore how user research, usability, IA and design practices are adapted and thrive in projects that seem inhospitable to UXD.
Two hours of UX war stories from the trenches!
Who this is for:
- Information architects (IAs)
- Interaction designers (IxDs)
- Visual designers
- Project managers
- Developers
- Business analysts
- Agile enthusiasts & critics alike
We will discuss:
- How to provide timely and valuable UX support to stressed web development teams
- How to let go and modify research/design/development dogmas
- How to advocate for users when time for user research and usability are unavailable
- How to balance rigor, quality, and speed
Free pizza and soda for the first 15 attenders, sponsored by Regular Joe Consulting, LLC.
New York Public Library’s online usability tool: Infomaki
Posted: April 3, 2009 Filed under: research, tools & methods Comments Off on New York Public Library’s online usability tool: InfomakiCame across the NYPL’s new online usability tool: Infomaki.
From the NYPL’s labs page:
“Our design sessions frequently result in debate about which of two words is more compelling or accurate for our users, or whether a particular button is noticeable in a particular location. When we can, we test designs on real people using paper or digital prototypes, but it is impractical to test every day; sitting down with real people is not always as simple as you’d expect, what with the schedules of busy New Yorkers…
So, we set out to create our own rapid-testing usability laboratory from scratch, and last Tuesday we launched it, in rough beta form. Nicknamed Infomaki, it’s showing a lot of potential even in its first 48 hours.
It’s not groundbreaking technology. Built on a Rails back-end (my rapid-prototyping framework of choice), it currently supports two kinds of tests: standard multiple choice (with optional “Other:” box) and a “Where would you click…?” screenshot that records click locations.”
Way more detail here: http://labs.nypl.org/2009/02/16/introducing-infomaki-bite-sized-usability-testing/
Try it out: http://usability.nypl.org/
(Via posts at IxDA /New York Public Library Digital Experience Group Labs)
