Tools for the Trade: Don’t have Axure? Try ‘Sketch’

Axure is a great tool and you can download and use it for a set number of days however purchasing the license can be expensive for some especially those starting their career. I’ve done a bit of searching and the aside from illustrator and even powerpoint which I find strangely adequate is a product called: SKETCH

http://www.bohemiancoding.com/sketch/

Easy to use and comprehend, sketch pretty much does everything that I need in terms of laying out visuals. You can move elements around, color code them and even integrate a template module.

• simplicity and versatility  – 5 stars
• price point ($99) – 4 stars (much better than axure)

Podcast from Whitney Hess virtual visit

On April 29, International Coach Whitney Hess joined us for a riveting 90 minute talk.  She covered topics such as:

• Emotional Intelligence
• a new definition of Experience Design Professional
• Business Techniques
• UX Personnel-Scaling
• New tech (google glasses)
• How to build a GREAT portfolio and everything else in between.THANK YOU to Whitney and everyone who attended.

Main Organizer & Facilitator: Juliana Loh

Planning & Video Conferencing Organizers: Fraser Milne & Kai Chu

Special thanks to Akshay Chauhan for his audio expertise. We are so happy to have such talented and generous people on our ‘team’.

 http://www.mixcloud.com/akshaychauhan/ux-design-therapy-meetup/

Is your day like this?

Are you an “expert”? If your day looks anything like this, give us a shout!

April 10- Show ‘n Tell was … told!

Nick Steeves and Fraser Milne did a great job at presenting their projects during the April 10th’s ‘Show and Tell’. Nick presented an online campaign introducing Create your own Landing Pages to small businesses while Fraser shared Payfirma’s first payment system prototype.

Kudos to the community that came and contributed insights, suggestions, observations and feedback!

April 10 – Show and Tell

Fraser Milne: April 10 – Show and Tel

 

In a little while, we’ll be posting thoughts on this experience from both Nick and Fraser as well as others who felt that they benefited from this experience.

April 10 – Show and Tell

April 29 Meetup: Celebrated UX Coach Whitney Hess is joining us VIRTUALLY for a group “huddle” via GOOGLE HANGOUTS

• Important Update: Note: This event was arranged as per requested as a private event between our group and Whitney. We like the idea of a public broadcast and will consider this for future events. Thank you!
  

  Tuesday, April 29, 2014 at 6:00 PM

  http://www.meetup.com/UX-Design-Therapy/events/176118182/

• Payfirma Financial Corporation

  885 West Georgia Street - Suite 1210, Vancouver, BC

• Price: CAD5.00/per person

  Networking will begin at 6pm with audio or video-in with Whitney at 6:30pm

  WHO IS IT FOR? Everybody in the design or management fields wondering how to collaborate effectively in this changing digital landscape.

It’s one of the events we’ve been anticipating all year. UX International Coach Whitney Hess is happy to VIRTUALLY join our group ‘huddle’ to share war stories, victories, visions of what UX is and can be, some really *really* good soft skill strategies that will get results in your company as well as some pretty cool shortcuts to help your processes. Gather your questions and come down to join us as Whitney unleashes her ‘secret sauce’!

www.whitneyhess.com – Whitney’s experience in UX has touched upon all fields of design including large-scale group management & organizational behavior, process development, product and service design. Oh… and did I say career development? 😉

* A big thank you to Payfirma’s continued sponsorship*

If you cannot attend or do not reside in the local area and have questions, we will be on GOOGLE HANGOUTS.

UX Design Critique – Monthly Show and Tell

• Thursday, April 10, 2014 | 6:00 PM to 8:30 PM

  http://www.meetup.com/UX-Design-Therapy/events/173927352/

• Payfirma Financial Corporation

  885 West Georgia Street – Suite 1210, Vancouver, BC (edit map)

  The HSBC building across the street from the art gallery with the cool pendulum in the lobby!

• PAY ONLINE NOW

  Price: $2.00/per person

   

  Gain experience in presenting your work at any stage in a supportive, peer review setting. Presenters will be limited to 3-5. If you wish to present a problem to the group, please register ahead by contacting anyone from the leadership team.

  Critiquing is a skill, if you do not have any prior experience providing design critique, please read http://www.uxbooth.com/articles/the-importance-of-design-critique/

  Optional – you may also assign to the audience personas (or other information about your users) to facilitate more accurate critiques and peer review.

  Optional – If your work is covered by nda, you may bring forms for members to sign.

  What to expect: Presenter will show work and receive feedback.

  Networking starts at 6:00pm

  Presentation and critiques begin at 6:30pm

  Session will end around 8:30pm

  ===

  The event will be held at the fabulous Payfirma offices. We are not sure what time the outside doors lock // elevators need the keycard, so try to get there before 6pm. Fraser will hang out in the lobby around 6pm to bring any late comers upstairs.

  ===

  This group is for people in all fields — IA, UX, IxD, Product Management, Development, Visual Design, Service Design — creating digital or offline products — an eclectic mix of practitioners and thinkers from a wide range of fields to share stories, provide insights, and suggest new ways of working.

  We are a super x-connected group of talented cross-overs!

  If you need visuals to help describe your problem, bring your sketchbook, print-out, or your own tablet or laptop.

March 25 | Special Edition – Wearable Devices UXDesignTherapy Meetup

Wearable Devices

We’re really excited to showcase some very special examples of wearable technology – courtesy of Fraser

• Tuesday, March 25, 2014
  6:00 PM to 9:00 PM

• Payfirma Financial Corporation
  885 West Georgia Street - Suite 1210, Vancouver, BC (map)
  If the elevator is locked, call or text Fraser at [masked]
  Please sign up at: http://www.meetup.com/UX-Design-Therapy/events/168549282/

• Price: CAD2.00/per person

  Refund policy

• Currently the topic of much debate, wearable devices represent a new era in our relationship with technology.

  We’ve invited two speakers that have launched their own wearable products to share their insights about what to consider when designing a wearable experience.

  As mentioned at the last meetup, we are starting to collect a small fee to support upkeep of the group, website costs, and awesome events in the future (we will run it at zero profit). You will need to pay $2 via paypal in order to RSVP (this also prevents no-shows). If you do not have a paypal account, contact someone from the leadership team and we’ll work something out.

  ** Note: Still trying to determine if we will have access to our new, larger boardroom. If you are on the wait list, stay tuned as I may increase the attendance **

  FORMAT

  • 6:00 – 6:30 Meet and Greet, snacks.

  • 6:30: “Wearables in the Health Care industry” – by Ayman Hafez, Product Specalist @ Payfirma

  • 7:00: Short Break

  • 7:05: “Design Process for the making of a Haptic Wearable Interface” – by Diane Tam Developer @ Payfirma

  • 7:35 -General QA and roundtable

Storytelling for User Experience | Crafting Stories for Better Design: by Whitney Quesenbery & Kevin Brooks

In the interest of education and best practices/design advocacy, UXDesignTherapy fully supports UX-related groups in the city.  As some of us are active members of VanUE and the UX Book Club (among others), we are open to sharing knowledge and cross-promoting any and all events.

*******

March 25: The UX Book Club Meetup will be hosting a talk on this book. If you would like to read it beforehand, you may download the PDF here: Storytelling_for_User_Experience.  If you would like to purchase the book (that is our intention), here is the info:

Storytelling for User Experience by Whitney Quesenbery & Kevin Brooks

Crafting Stories for Better Design

Published: April 2010Digital: ISBN 1-933820-03-9

Contact:

Rosenfeld Media: https://twitter.com/RosenfeldMedia  ( you may contact Kevin Brooks here)

Whitney Quesenbery here: @whitneyq or  about.me/whitneyq

If you liked the book, please let them know!

Accessibility/User Experience Podcast by Sarah Horton & Whitney Quesenbery

Designing Accessible User Experiences  –
In this premiere episode of A Podcast for Everyone, Sarah Horton and Whitney Quesenbery speak with UIE’s Adam Churchill about the book that inspired the podcast, and give a preview of what they will be talking about in upcoming episodes.

Digital design and design processes require a unique notion of accessibility. This podcast provides a guide to design issues from content to teamwork dynamics: http://asset.uie.com/BSAL/APFE001_Horton_Quesenbery.mp3

Sensory Fiction – a digitally-augmented book

The whiz kids at MIT Media Lab have come up with a more refined ‘4D’ pastime, at least for those of you who are bibliophiles. Developed for a class called “Science Fiction to Science Fabrication,” “Sensory Fiction” is a digitally-augmented book that puts the reader in the protagonist’s shoes through a wearable device, adding a touch of excitement to otherwise inert print media.

“Sensory Fiction’s” cover consists of small LEDs that light up in different patterns of ambient illumination representing to the “book’s mood.” Meanwhile, the wearable device offers vibrations, pressures and temperatures, tracking the plot as it turns, page by page. According to the description, “Changes in the protagonist’s emotional or physical state triggers discrete feedback in the wearable, whether by changing the heartbeat rate, creating constriction through air pressure bags, or causing localized temperature fluctuations.”

http://www.core77.com/blog/wearable/literary_leaps_sensory_fiction_gives_us_a_reading_experience_we_can_feel_and_hear_26327.asp