Category Archives: What’s NEW?

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

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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)

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

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  • 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

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  • 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

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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

Special Guest Whitney Hess will be joining us in March OR April 2014

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It’s confirmed everyone! Special guest and internationally renowned UX Coach & Presenter Whitney Hess has accepted our invitation to come chat with us at our upcoming group meetup either in March or April. (insert applause)

If you don’t know who Whitney is, best to look her up: www.whitneyhess.com

And yes! She is as authentic in communication as she is in her blogs.

Special thanks to Juliana Loh for sharing her ‘secret’ UX “crush”.

Whitney Hess

Whitney Hess has confirmed to chat with us either in March or April 2014

 

UPCOMING MEETUP: Feb 20 2014 | UX Discussion, Collaboration & Experimentation

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Are you a FREELANCER OR a member of a very small team OR have a minimal budget to carry out your UX plans? Got Questions and Answers to SHARE? Then this is the meetup for you!

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

UX Lite Meetup

By popular demand, we are featuring a Meetup devoted to UX basics suitable for freelancers.

Are you a freelancer with experience to share? Are you hoping to get into UX as a freelancer and have questions to ask? Join us for a question and answer session in an intimate setting. Participants will be limited to 20 people.

FORMAT

• 6:00 Networking

• 6:15: Freelancer Q&A and round table discussion

• 8:00 Wrap up

Light snacks will be provided. Special thanks to PayFirma Financial Corporation for providing catering and meeting space.

GLOBAL SERVICE JAM coming March 7th weekend – (Service Design)

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January 29 2014: from Jocelyn

Hi all, there were some people interested in joining the Global Service Design Jam -Vancouver. The Vancouver Service Design Jam takes place March 7th weekend. Participants in the event will have less than 48 hours to develop and prototype completely new services inspired by a shared theme.
http://planet.globalservicejam….­

For those who would like to get involved here is the official link for the Vancouver Jam:
http://planet.globalservicejam….­

Please email Adam Lawrence at [masked] to get connected with Christine Blair (the main organizer for the Vancouver Jam) and also to get added to the project Basecamp.

I’m helping out with the organizing but so far we’re only a committee of two. This year’s jam will probably be a small event to help pull in people who might be excited about organizing larger future jams.

Thanks!
Jocelyn