On 23 February we held our second event, graciously sponsored by Forum Nokia. The event took place in the lovely Tavern Room RSA (ok, the name is a bit gloomy but the room was lovely!) and was attended by just over 30 people.
This time we were able to record the night’s proceedings and have posted the video footage on Vimeo. Presentations have also been uploaded to Slide Share and we plan to record all future events for the benefit of those who cannot attend.
Here’s a brief recap of the event:
Arabell David from Forum Nokia
The evening began with a short presentation by Arabella David who introduced the Forum Nokia Design Program. Forum Nokia has been busy of late increasing the number of resources available to designers throughout Forum Nokia and within the rapidly growing Design and User Experience Library. Recent additions include Visual Design for Mobile Devices: A Guide for Newcomers and Design Update: China. Arabella also introduced some upcoming initiatives to provide designers with a variety of tools, templates and documentation to assist designers who work with mobile technologies. There will also be a new Forum Nokia design portal which should be launching soon (i’m sure Arabella will post something to our Yahoo group once the new section is live).
Scott Weiss of Human Factors International
The second presentation by Scott Weiss (@sdweiss) of Human Factors International described a recent in-house research exercise aimed at optimizing Transport for London’s online services to suit mobile devices with a robust XHTML browser. Scott’s team began by identifying the key subsets of TFL’s wide online offering that would be best suited for mobile—in this case, the trip planner and service disruption guide. Scott’s presentation offered some great examples of iterative design aimed at providing the right pieces of information at the right time and designed specifically for the mobile context. He also provided some ideas around the display, wayfinding and navigation of maps within a XHTML browser. Audience comments focused on the difficulties inherent in the design of this type of service given that many London transport users are tourists with no knowledge of the UK postcode system and the lack of mobile access on the underground. Unfortunately Scott is currently unable to release his presentation slides but a video of his talk is available on the Mobile Design UK Vimeo archive.
Anthony Ribot of Ribot
Our third presentation was by Antony Ribot (@ribot) of Ribot Ltd. Antony spoke on a variety of subjects around the topic of emotion, behaviour and human context. How do real-world interactions affect those with your mobile device? How do learned mobile-specific behaviours affect those in the “real world”? Will emotional attachment be re-introduced into our digital interfaces with the help of haptics? Anthony also discussed the value of sketching during the design process—both as a means of experimentation and a way to include stakeholder in the design process and obtain buy-in on ideas early on. Both presentation slides and video of Anthony’s talk are available.
Gil Kahanna of Seren Partners
The next presentation was from Gil Kahanna of Seren Partners who presented details of several mobile projects undertaken during his time at the BBC. The first project was conceived to present interesting BBC content that might otherwise remain buried in an archive and connect it with audiences at the right time and place. QR codes were affixed to exhibits at the London Zoo containing downloadable content bundles including graphics, audio and video of the zoo’s inhabitants. Once collected, the content was stored within a Flash Lite application allowing children to easily enjoy the media and determine what other content might be out there to find. Children found the activity engaging and sometimes—even more engaging than the animals themselves (who were fast asleep during the visit!)
The second project took place at Kew Gardens and focused on content creation rather than collection. Photos were captured by children to illustrate the answer to a series of questions. These were then uploaded via Shozu. A team at the BBC then editorialized and posted the content on the web and onto live displays throughout the park. Video of Gil’s presentation is available on Vimeo.
Marek Pawlowski of PMN
The final presentation by Marek Pawlowski (@marekpawlowski) from PMN - Mobile Industry Intelligence provided insight into ways to overcome pain points and create a great mobile user experience.
- Differentiation may translate as ‘add more acromyms’ in industry speak but for the customer it means ‘personal expression’
- A little help goes a long way and can rapidly accelerate users from the simplistic to the sophisticated.
- It takes great design to bridge the divide between the constantly connected world of the PC and the frequently disconnected environment of the mobile.
- Great experiences happen at the intersection of innovation and practicality.
- Below the line interaction elements play a significant role in forming the user experience.
Marek also announced the dates of this year’s PMN Mobile User Experience Conference. Check out the newly published MEX manifesto for details of this year’s conference themes. Marek’s slides are available along with video of the presentation.
Many thanks once again to Forum Nokia for providing a fantastic venue and refreshments. We are planning our next event to be held in April. Dates will be announced soon on the web site and mailing list.
{ 0 comments… add one now }