Continuing the conversation…

The talks at FITC events are riveting, inspiring, and perspective-changing.

Innovative ideas! New skills! Fascinating research! 

And yet, the speakers can only fit in so much into their presentations, and panels can only stay on one topic for so long before moving on. So, let’s keep the conversation going, delving deeper to gain a better understanding of what they were talking about, how the different spaces within the creative industry have evolved up to this point, what influenced all these changes, and more potential sources of inspiration and information you can explore to fuel your projects, business, and career.

… from Josh Goldblum‘s The Rules of Experience Design at FITC Toronto 2024

Imagine you have an exciting idea for a brand new product or innovative service. You can visualize it entirely in your head; you know how it should look and feel, and all the needs it will address. But how can you be certain that others will be just as excited about your idea as you are?

Experience Design (XD) involves curating every detail of your idea across various touch-points to engage and thrill your audience. Experience designers master the art of creating sensory experiences that bring their ideas to life.

Historical Evolution

XD has evolved significantly, shifting from traditional, static designs to dynamic, technology-enhanced spaces. Key milestones in this evolution include the advent of interactive media in the 1990s, the rise of digital interfaces in the 2000s, and today’s immersive technological innovations. Each phase has equipped designers with new tools and techniques, expanding the possibilities of XD.

Technological Innovations

The intersection of technology and design has transformed how designers create memorable experiences. Innovations like artificial intelligence (AI), virtual reality (VR), and augmented reality (AR) have become integral components of the design process, opening up exciting new opportunities for user engagement.

Augmented Reality (AR)

AR allows designers to overlay digital elements onto the physical world, creating interactive experiences. For instance, museums use AR to provide information on historical artifacts and famous art. Other examples include using AR for a wide range of ecommerce platforms, employing virtual try-on mechanisms and opportunities to custom design products. 

Some truly memorable retail-based AR activations have been executed by huge brands like Warby Parker and Adidas, and even through incorporating digital furniture and displays, such as this smart mirror at a fashion event in Dubai or these out-of-home digital boards from European gin brand Malfy.

The famous IKEA Place augmented reality app, launched in 2017, has been a huge success, allowing people to design their space using furniture from the world-famous Swedish brand and driving a massive increase in sales. Even the cosmetics industry has leveraged the use of this technology to provide users a sense of how to use their products, such as this hair colour app from L’Oreal, or this virtual tester for foundation from Estée Lauder.

(Credit: Ikea YouTube channel)

Museums provide some of the greatest opportunities for engagement with patrons through AR. In the UK, London’s National Gallery, which houses masterpieces from some of the greatest artists of all time, launched its first AR app featuring a game designed for kids to help educate them about the world of fine art. 

And at the Musée d’Art Moderne de Paris, a unique AR experience was created to celebrate the restoration of one of the largest works of art in the world. La Fée Eléctricité (the Spirit of Electricity) by Raoul Dufy is the focus of this installation, creating opportunities for visitors to experience the original painting, which weighs an impressive 10 tons, in exciting new ways. Even the virtual band Gorillaz created an incredible immersive AR concert that was held in both Times Square and Piccadilly Circus.

(Credit: Gorillaz YouTube channel)

Virtual Reality (VR):

VR offers completely immersive experiences by transporting users to different environments. VR is commonly used in gaming platforms and at events showcasing distant locales, providing experiences that users would otherwise never have. They’re often used to great effect in live performances and in the gaming world, but can also have great educational applications, too.

Adoption of VR tech hit a peak throughout the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020. The resulting isolation and distancing had profound impacts on the ways we work, play, learn, and socialize, which proved to be an opportunity for using VR to help cope with these problems. Studies had shown that social VR helped reduce feelings of anxiety and loneliness, by offering alternative ways to socially interact through world-building or virtual event hosting. 

Creating VR experiences has also never been easier. You can create simple scenes or experiences without any prior experience in design software. Popularized by the real estate industry, people can take virtual tours of just about anywhere using VR. 

That includes places people haven’t been, or are seeking to visit for the first time. Museums and galleries have long used the power of virtual reality tours to share priceless treasures with the world. Some truly memorable highlights include the British Museum employed VR experiences to allow patrons to explore ancient objects from the Bronze Age and beyond. In 2021, the world famous Louvre Museum in Paris gave patrons a way to skip the crowds and experience the Mona Lisa in VR, right in their own homes.

More recently, famed musician and DJ Fatboy Slim notably created ‘Eat Sleep VR Repeat’ using VR in a jaw-dropping, immersive 45-minute concert. And VR of course has long existed at the cutting edge of gaming, with major successful titles in the Half Life and Star Wars universes. Incorporating live events has also seen some success, with Massive Interactive Life Events (MILEs) such as this one from Travis Scott performed entirely on Fortnite’s servers.

(Credit: Travis Scott YouTube channel)

The Role of Psychology and Inclusivity

Think about the last time you used an app, visited a website, or visited a digital event or exhibit that just felt right to you. Did it feel easy to navigate and visually exciting, or seem to anticipate your needs? These feelings lie at the root of user psychology. A user-first approach is central to XD, and is driven by this deeper understanding of user psychology and behaviours. By creating experiences that meet specific needs and desires through the consideration of cognitive processes like perception, memory, attention, and decision-making, designers can create experiences that resonate more deeply with users.

Psychological Principles:

• Fitts’s Law: This law states that the time needed to reach a target depends on its distance and size. Designers use this principle to strategically place and size interactive elements, making key features more accessible.
• Hick’s Law: According to Hick’s Law, decision-making time increases with the number of available options. Designers can simplify interfaces by limiting choices to enhance user experience.

Inclusivity and accessibility are also essential components of effective experience design. By conducting extensive user research and involving diverse stakeholders, designers can identify potential barriers and create inclusive experiences. This approach ensures that designs resonate with people from different backgrounds and abilities, making them both enjoyable and meaningful.

The Future of Experience Design

Looking ahead, advancements in AI and machine learning will enable even more personalized and adaptive experiences. Additionally, the growing focus on sustainability and ethical design will drive innovations that enhance user engagement while promoting social and environmental responsibility.

By embracing new technologies and prioritizing inclusivity, designers can craft experiences that resonate deeply with diverse audiences and stand the test of time.

Conclusion

Experience design is pivotal in creating engaging and memorable experiences. As technology continues to evolve, so too will the methods and tools available to experience designers. By staying informed about advancements and maintaining a user-first approach, designers can ensure their creations are not only innovative but also inclusive and impactful.

The post The Evolution and Future of Experience Design appeared first on FITC.

CALGARY (January 19, 2022) – CAMP (Council of Artists and Multimedia Professionals) is excited to announce its acquisition by FITC, bringing operations under the FITC umbrella, effective immediately. CAMP Festival will retain its name, and continue to operate in Calgary, but with the backing of FITC – a global leader in design and technology-focused events.

Originally founded in 2014 by Bram Timmer, CAMP Festival was first and foremost focused on being a community event for designers and developers living in Calgary. Over the years, the festival evolved to focus on what’s happening at the cutting edge of technology and the integration of design and has cultivated a community for professionals working in film, art, web, UX, UI to name a few. Timmer will be continuing with the organization, moving over to FITC in a role as Creative Director.

“I have always been inspired by the creative community in Calgary and started CAMP Festival 8 years ago as a way to bring creatives together and foster a sense of community that I felt was missing,” said Timmer. “Over the evolution of the festival, we were able to expand our offerings and bring some of the biggest names in the industry to Calgary, and I’m excited about what joining forces with FITC will mean for the long-term future of the festival. We will have the opportunity to bring even bigger names to the festival and offer more to our attendees, continuing to support this thriving community.”

Started in 2002, FITC has produced over 200 design and technology-focused events worldwide and aims to inspire, educate, and challenge attendees. Past events have spanned 26 cities, including Amsterdam, Tokyo, San Francisco, Chicago, Seoul, New York, and Los Angeles, and have engaged with over 90,000 attendees. With 20 years of event experience, FITC is focused on putting together presentations and events that are both technical and creative and feature leading experts from around the world.

“We are excited for the future of CAMP Festival now that it has officially come under the FITC umbrella,” said Shawn Pucknell, Founding Director of FITC. “At FITC, we are passionate about producing and designing events that bring together like-minded professionals who work in the digital space. There is an engaged and growing community of creatives in Calgary, and we are excited for the opportunity to connect even bigger names with this community and continue to facilitate these events. Furthermore, we are excited for the depth of talent Bram himself brings to FITC in his new role as Creative Director. His unique lens will bring our events to an inspiring new level.”

For more information about FITC and CAMP, visit https://fitc.ca/.

About FITC

FITC stands for ‘Future. Innovation. Technology. Creativity.’ – four words that capture the essence of what the company and events are all about. FITC produces design and technology-focused events worldwide that inspire, educate, and challenge attendees. Since 2002, FITC has brought together like-minded professionals in Toronto, Amsterdam, Tokyo, San Francisco, Chicago, Seoul, New York, Los Angeles, and many other cities.

About CAMP Festival
CAMP is a non-profit organization celebrating the art and technology of creative storytelling. CAMP Festival is a two-day conference that brings together like-minded professionals, artists, innovators, and students to share and shape experiences that educate, challenge, and inspire. The annual event offers more than 800 attendees’ exposure to the insights of world-renowned thought leaders and luminaries through 20-plus expert-led presentations, workshops and panels, campfire chats, numerous networking opportunities, and a special evening event. CAMP educates attendees on advancements in the digital arts, pushes boundaries on creativity, and inspires future generations in the continued innovation of art and technology. For more information, visit www.camp.site.

For more information, please contact:
Meika English

WILD Public Relations Inc.
778-222-4862

[email protected]

The post CAMP FESTIVAL ANNOUNCES ACQUISITION BY FITC MARKING THE NEXT EVOLUTION FOR THE CREATIVE FESTIVAL appeared first on FITC.

One year ago, we were forced to adapt to a new reality. We moved into a more solitary existence and temporarily saw an end of in-person events.

There were many days last March where I was sure it was the end of FITC, just shy of our twenty-year milestone.  Thankfully, with a lot of help and hard work, we’ve been able to survive. I am incredibly proud of what we’ve accomplished, and have spent much of this time thinking about these past twenty years and the next.

I’ve spent those years asking people across the media arts and technology world to share, to be vulnerable. I’ve asked them to come onto a stage in front of an audience, in most cases in a city they’ve never been to, under the bright lights, and share their stories, their fears, their inspirations, and their struggles and failures. It’s a hell of a lot to ask, and it’s not easy, but yet they’ve come.

And now, it’s my turn to share.

Twenty years is another anniversary for me personally; my mother passed just before my first FITC. The past year has given me time to think about what matters most in my life. My eldest daughter will be celebrating her first wedding anniversary, my youngest daughter will be starting to drive, and my wonderful wife and I celebrated our 24th year together.

A little over thirty years ago, my Mom needed a kidney transplant due to a hereditary disease. Fortunately, her sister was able to donate, giving us another ten years together. Her care came from the amazing staff at the Toronto General Hospital. This year, I sat in the same hospital and was given the news that this same disease has progressed for me.

I’m about to start that same journey as my mother. 

For this year, I’ve decided that we will be donating a percentage of every ticket sale from FITC Toronto 2021 to the Multi-Care Kidney Unit at the Toronto General Hospital (TGH).

Shawn Pucknell

The post The Journey: Reflections on 20 years appeared first on FITC.

The post FITC x Sarofsky Collaboration appeared first on FITC.

So, what are YOU working on? 

We’d love to share your quarantine projects, your art for sale, your online classes, your Facebook and Instagram filters, your jokes and memes, the organizations you’re supporting, etc.

If you have something you’d like to share, please send us the following:

• Name of the project
• Description
• Square image (1000×1000) and horizontal image (1200×628, or 1920×1080), and an Instagram story image (900×1600) if you have one too.
• Your social media handles and hashtags
• URL for us to link to

Here’s a form you can use to submit your project

You can also feel free to tag us in posts so we can share them

The post Stay Home, and Stay Connected with your FITC Family appeared first on FITC.

We did not come to this decision lightly. For the last 20 years, we’ve put our everything into bringing the design and tech community together, and it all started here in Toronto with the first event in 2002. Every year, we work tirelessly to honour our commitment to bring our flagship event to life, giving a stage to homegrown talent and global change-makers. But with each day brings more news that tells us there is no way forward with this event, including today’s: ‘Ontario’s top health official recommends events with over 250 people be cancelled’ – https://bit.ly/2U7f8Of

At this time, we cannot realistically reschedule it to a later date for many reasons; the largest one is we have no way of knowing what the COVID-19 situation will be for Toronto and the world in the coming months.

We’ve had to make some tough decisions this week, including laying off 50% of our already small team, and we’ve been in meetings with banks, the Hilton, our landlord, our accountant, our insurance company (no, we don’t have pandemic insurance) and every sponsor and company we work with. It has been an unbelievable week.

We have been overwhelmed with support all around. We are humbled and in debt to so many people who have helped us through the crisis this week, who have all agreed to work through this with us over the coming months. It’s been an incredibly emotional time for all of us here at FITC.

As we look for a way forward to continue on, we ask for your understanding as we navigate this unprecedented and unexpected change, caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. 

We know we are not the only company or industry to be impacted by this virus, and we hope that you all see as much support and goodwill as we’ve seen this week.

Sincerely,

—
Shawn Pucknell, Director
and the entire FITC crew

The post FITC Toronto 2020 – Cancelled appeared first on FITC.

—

It’s cold and flu season here in Canada, and with many common seasonal viruses and bacteria, along with the new Coronavirus (COVID-19) circulating, concern about attending events, or being around large numbers of people is one we’re all thinking about. The most effective way to keep yourself safe from catching a seasonal illness is good hygiene – and we’re committed to making this a priority at FITC events.

FITC is working closely on a daily basis with all of the stakeholders of the event, including the venues, our speakers, our sponsors, our attendees, our volunteers, and the city of Toronto, to ensure a safe event. As a result, all of our upcoming events are proceeding as planned, as the risk assessment in Canada is low, with safety as a top priority.

Some facts that have influenced our decision to continue on with the show.

1. The Canadian government has assessed the risk as LOW for Canada
https://www.canada.ca/en/public-health/services/diseases/2019-novel-coronavirus-infection.html

2. The audience for our FITC Toronto event is primarily a local one (75%), with about 25% flying in from other parts of Canada, and the USA. We generally do not see any attendees from the areas heavily impacted by the virus, including China, Japan, Asia and Italy. The audience for our Spotlight events is almost 100% local from the GTA.

There is a lot about COVID-19 that is still unknown, but what we do know is that personal hygiene is of critical importance. 

Currently, we are taking the following actions on-site:

• provision of disinfectant wipes and spray, hand sanitizer for common area spaces and activity spaces
• equipment and public item area wipe downs
• inclusion of City of Toronto Health Disease Prevention literature

Prevention tips include:

• Washing your hands for 20 seconds and using alcohol based hand sanitizer
• When coughing and sneezing, cover mouth and nose with flexed elbow or tissue – discard tissue immediately into a closed bin
• Avoid touching your eyes, nose and mouth with unwashed hands
• Do not attend the event if you are feeling ill. If you are experiencing symptoms consistent with COVID-19, call your local emergency 

All registered attendees will be kept up-to-date on any new developments which may affect the event as they arise, and can rest assured that we are making decisions with the well-being of everyone involved. 

If you have event specific questions, please reach out to us at [email protected]

The post Coronavirus (COVID-19) and FITC appeared first on FITC.

Bermon Painter, Innovation & Strategy Lead, EY wavespace brings his expertise in Crafting a UX Strategy where you’ll learn how to 

1. Outline a typical UX strategy
2. Discuss how to best position yourself to lead or contribute to the strategy
3. Understand the roadblocks that can limit your success
4. Review guidelines to implement a successful strategy
5. Discover how to continue to deliver on your defined strategy

Spend the day with Bermon learning about design thinking during his September 12th full-day workshop Design Thinking – Ideas to Implementation where he’ll cover the fundamentals of the design thinking methodology; ways to foster greater collaboration among business, development, and design teams; practical exercises that you can apply to your projects to get to the root of their challenges, to help craft the right solutions to the right problems, to integrate design thinking activities into the full development lifecycle; as well as tips and tricks when communicating with non-technical stakeholders.

Coming from Google, Shona Dutta will speak to examples from the application of Google’s Material Design system, describing how the system is built to stand on its own.

She’ll go over the tools used to scale design systems, and the power (and pitfalls) of deploying those systems at scale.  Don’t miss her talk Developing & Scaling Design Systems!

Wondering how to update your fonts and typography for better UX? 

Expert Jason Pamental joins us not only to host the event, but with a talk and workshop on Dynamic Typographic Systems, Modern CSS, and Variable Fonts. You’ll leave knowing 

1. What are variable fonts and how to use them
2. New developments in web font loading and performance
3. How to add support for new capabilities like light/dark mode
4. How to use CSS Custom Properties and Calc() to create better scaling typography
5. Ways to improve accessibility and UX through better typography and user controls

Looking to really dive in on variable fonts?  Snag a seat in Jason’s full-day hands-on workshop Fluid, Responsive, and Dynamic Typography with Variable Fonts happening September 12th, and come out with all the tools you need to increase web font performance, improve user experience through better implementation, explore variable fonts, and get to know a whole bunch of new CSS techniques (including CSS Custom Properties, calc(), light/dark modes, and more).

To build inclusive websites, developers have to consider accessibility, performance and user flows.

Step into Stefan Judis’ talk HTTP Headers for the Responsible Developer for a look at HTTP, and its headers that can have a direct impact on user experience.  Stefan joins us from Berlin; he started programming 8 years ago and quickly fell in love with web performance, new technologies, and accessibility, and is now a developer evangelist with Twilio.

Speaking of accessibility, our favourite #a11y – George Zamfir – returns with a panel, and his talk How to Spec, Design & Build Accessible Experiences. 

Expect to walk away knowing how to build accessible experiences, the right way: 

1. Accessibility is an experience (not a launch checklist)
2. How to spec accessibility experiences
3. Who does what, roles & responsibilities
4. How Slack builds accessible products
5. Mistakes & lessons learned along the way

Looking to take your accessibility skills on the road?

Go mobile with Ayşegül Yönet, senior cloud developer advocate with Microsoft, and learn How to Build Inclusive Web Applications Using WebXR and AI.  She’ll show you how you can give your users multiple ways to interact with your applications, increasing their comfort and your apps’ retention rate by using the WebXR Device API – a new set of web APIs you can use to create engaging experiences in mobile web. In this talk she will explore the available APIs that are ready to use, what is coming in the future and how to get started with WebXR APIs, including speech and vision APIs to extend your applications.

Don’t miss Mina Markham and her talk Full-Featured Art Direction for the Web

She’s known for developing the design system Pantsuit for Hillary Clinton – and returns for her second FITC event to show us how a shift in perspective can lead to more inclusive and innovative designs.  By taking advantage of technologies, some new and some overlooked, she’ll demonstrate how we can create a progressively-enhanced design that’s powered by feature queries; one that’s localized for an increasingly global audience. Discover how to

1. Build accessible and inclusive web interfaces
2. Approach a design from a global, non-western view
3. Design systems can be leveraged creatively
4. Create a default user experience
5. Start a pair designing workflow

And there’s so much more – staff UX engineer for Google, Carl Sziebert returns with his talk Everyday Innovation where you can learn a bottom-up approach to framing innovation within your daily work; how to identify and validate opportunities that make an impact; when to prioritize, prototype, and build an understanding of the problems you are solving; to collaborate locally and globally, and that you should seek, give, and apply feedback often.  

Pansy Lee would like you to join her in the <aside> room for a discussion about how diversity helps to build more innovative products, and it can also cause a lot of friction.

Learn to turn that friction into healthy productive debates with a handful of frameworks and tools during her talk Friction is Good for Innovation. 

Equip your team with a common language and understanding on how to leverage each other’s diverse views.

And don’t forget to sign up for the Toronto UX/D Networking Lunch Hosted by UX/D Toronto on Friday, September 13th where you can continue the conversation with fellow UXers and speakers Catt Small, Carl Sziebert, Mina Markham, and your host Helen Kontozopoulos.

Tickets for Web Unleashed 2019 are available now, and you can add a workshop with either a WORKS, or Workshop Only pass.

Save an extra 25% with code ACCESS-UX – or with this link: https://ti.to/fitc/webu19/discount/ACCESS-UX

The post Accessibility & UX at Web Unleashed 2019 appeared first on FITC.

World-renowned UX designer David Hogue will present and host a workshop at FITC Toronto 2019, April 29 – May 1.

Most product designers have the best of intentions with their work — they want to make quality products that solve problems for their users, and strive to constantly find new ways to serve and delight them. But these noble intentions can have unintended negative consequences: slowly, piece-by-piece, new product features, expansions, and tweaks pile up, resulting in clutter, complication, and eventually friction. It’s very difficult to remove features once they’re added to an app or service, and before a designer knows it, their once effective user experience has deteriorated.

That’s where David Hogue comes in. An applied psychologist and interaction/UX designer, he is a UX design lead at Google responsible for improving UX quality, cohesiveness, and consistency across Android platforms and devices. He has made it his mission to help design teams avoid overly complicating their products, and to helping them triage their apps and services when ‘feature bloat’ gets the better of them.

At FITC Toronto 2019, David will present a talk called Simplicity Is Not Simple, focused on this very issue (along with a workshop called Designing for Wicked Problems, which focuses on solving user problems that don’t have a clear optimal solution). FITC runs April 29 – May 1, and you won’t want to miss David there. In the meantime, we asked him to share of his best advice on keeping your products lean and effective, and why simplicity is key to making sure the products of tomorrow place human-focused design at their core.

How do you know when your product has tipped the scales and has gone from being ‘feature-rich’ to just plain complicated

Products and services naturally evolve and grow, always trying to be more and better. Technological advances enable products and services to do more, users give feedback and requests, product roadmaps mean new features and content are already planned, unanticipated use cases pop up, and more. There are many indicators of when products and services are crossing over into complicated territory. If the product team spends more time on things on the below (instead of product research, design, and development), it’s often a sign of increased probability of complication:

• Extended discussions about the pros and cons of new features and services with no strong resolution.
• Recurring debates about the trade-offs of doing vs. not doing something in the product.
• Looking for a place for something new in the architecture that is at least slightly sensible and meaningful.
• Changing interface content to differentiate among multiple similar things.
• Creating new features just to use new technical capabilities that have become available but for which there is no clear user need or value yet.

David presenting at FITC Amsterdam 2019.

Once we add something to a product, it can be very hard to remove it. A few users of a little used feature are often given much more influence in deliberations and decisions, because their pain at losing something feels greater than the friction that every other user will feel by keeping that feature and complicating the product. A little friction and ambiguity added here and there feels like an acceptable trade-off to avoid the pain of removing something, but gradual increases in friction and ambiguity lead to an overall decline in the quality of the product. Each individual  change seems tolerable, but together the experience deteriorates noticeably.

Why does this complication affect the UX in such a negative way, when it’s born out of extended features and functionality?

All the negative things that can happen to products can be instigated and exacerbated by complication: abandonment, dissatisfaction, negative feedback, reduced usage, decreased revenue, slower adoption, increasingly differentiated competition, etc. When products become difficult to use, frustrating, and/or confusing, users begin to seek alternatives and replacements. People will tolerate an unreasonable amount of complication if they think they have no other options, but they quickly abandon this kind of product as soon as a potentially viable alternative appears.

There are very few products where users welcome increased complication — the value provided by the product or service and the user’s confidence that it will meet their needs must exceed the costs of increased effort (time, pain, work, error, friction), otherwise they’ll look for other products and methods to perform tasks and achieve their goals.

How can you avoid over-complication in product design?

Take the time for foresight and forethought. We know the product is going to change, grow, and evolve, so put in the time to anticipate the directions it might take. Leverage methods from speculative design and critical design to explore potential futures and failures.

The pressure to get a minimum viable product (MVP) out the door can make it difficult to spend time planning beyond the current phase (maybe not even the next step), but design can look and plan farther into the future than what is being built now.

Anticipate the future and design scalability into the product or service from the beginning as much as possible. What new data or analyses might become available? What user needs and tasks might be needed? What content might be useful? How might the architecture need to grow to accommodate new features, flows, and information? What new, emerging technologies might be relevant to incorporate? What new business models might be pursued? It is easier to remove something from a design (then put it back later when it is needed or when it can be built well) than to force it in under time pressure.

Stay focused on the critical user journeys and key use cases. Research, metrics, and analytics help us understand the difference between essential and/or differentiating features from those that users and stakeholders think are ‘nice to have.’ You are not your user, so do not focus on designing for yourself. Be user-centric in research, design, development, and product strategy.

Critically evaluate every new and existing feature for the value it provides weighed against the costs of including in a product or service. Does a feature introduce friction or ambiguity? Does adding something more make flows, paths, and choices harder to understand? What are the potential positive AND negative outcomes of adding something, and it is worth it?

Yes, constant vigilance against entropy, scope creep, and the accumulation of friction is necessary. Pausing for review after major releases, conducting retrospectives after updates or changes, critical analysis of product performance before and after a change, and ongoing quantitative and qualitative research can all provide information about and indicators of increasing and unintended complication.

What if it’s too late! How do you ‘fix’ the UX of a product that has become overly complicated?

When faced with a complicated product, you should ask:

• Can we make what we have simpler without losing or breaking too much?
• Or do we need to do something more radical?
  • Start over with a new product?
  • Total overhaul and re-design?
  • Split into multiple, more focused products?

If we have the opportunity to improve the product or service, these methods provide some paths to simplification:

• Subtract – remove unnecessary things
• Consolidate – combine or merge multiple small things into one larger, logical thing
• Redistribute – re-arrange and move things into a more meaningful location or order
• Prioritize – identify the most important things and make them more prominent while allowing less important things to recede
• Clarify – reduce ambiguity by making interface content, labels, icons, etc. more meaningful

For many teams, it takes time and effort and lots of persuasion, because the more complicated a product has become, the more difficult and painful it can be to simplify; the greater the perceived risks, and the greater the cost of reducing complication.

Monitoring and maintaining simplicity on an ongoing basis requires commitment, but this mitigates the time, effort, and pain of making large corrections. It’s easier and more cost-effective to be continuously vigilant, because a little work done frequently is better than much work done infrequently.

For example, Android phones are highly customizable, and over time the Settings evolved into a long, shallow list of options full of technical terms. For the past few years we have been focused on making settings easier to use without losing the important customizability. Long, flat lists of options have become shorter with more hierarchical depth. Settings categories are organized around key functions using meaningful, recognizable terminology. Options are prioritized with high frequency, important items exposed and low frequency, optional items hidden or collapsed in the navigational hierarchy.

Simplification can be an intimidating prospect for designers who just want to expand and improve their products. What do you say to designers who are ‘scared to simplify?’

I would ask them, “How often have you wanted to simplify other aspects of your life? Clear your desk? Organize your books, files, and asset libraries? Complete tasks on your ‘To Do’ list? Be more like ‘Tidying Up with Marie Kondo’ on Netflix?” Users want their lives simplified to, and we’re doing it for them.

Valuable products bring focus, are well-organized, provide guidance and direction, and inspire the user’s confidence in their ability to complete difficult tasks and make them feel easier and simpler. We do not lose value or confidence by making things more usable, meaningful, and predictable.

Yes, sometimes we have to remove something significant or radically change a product, but that is typically when we have a better replacement for it. For example, USB ports have changed over the years, and it’s a hassle in the short-term  (in terms of time, effort, and cost) to buy new cables, connectors, and adaptors, but the newer standards are faster, easier, and more reliable.

What do you do when you need to actually remove a feature your users like, in the name of simplification?

Sometimes the business costs vs. returns dictate changing or removing something that still has user value, and this is a difficult situation to be in. We know people want, need, or like using it, but we cannot reasonably continue to offer it without some other substantial sacrifice in terms of cost, complication, or technical capability. In these situations we might ask:

• Can we replace it with something comparable but reasonable?
• Can we separate it and make it a new product or part of a new business?
• Can we change the revenue model to retain it?
• Are there viable, alternative technologies that make it possible to continue to offer it?
• Will we still be competitive if we remove a feature or service?

The decision must be a rational compromise that balances user needs, business requirements, and technical capabilities. Our products and services are providing value to users, and what we are able to offer may change over time, but remember: the great thing about many digital products is our ability to improve and change them as often and as quickly as necessary.

Google apps like Gmail, Calendar, Drive, and Docs can be continually improved (and periodically revised) as advances in technology, user feedback, and usage data from research and analytics help us understand what people need and how they use the products.

The Chrome browser receives an update (some fixes, some new stuff) about every 6 weeks. Every new feature, function, or service is an opportunity to review the value of the product as a whole and manage the natural ebb and flow of complication and simplification. Chrome has adopted new CSS standards (technical advances), offers new Developer Tools (new features), modifies how browsing history can be reviewed (improved features), and even changes the appearance of the interface to reflect newer standards and tastes (improved quality).

Why is creating and maintaining ‘simplicity’ in products so important for the future of UX design?

If we, as designers, want to solve problems, fulfill needs, and provide value to people around the world, then it’s our responsibility to craft usable, focused, purposeful products with high quality, positive experiences. Our products should eschew unnecessary complication, and we’re in a position to influence the discussions and decisions by defining a product’s purpose and showing what an experience with it should aspire to be. Ultimately, what we and our teams deliver to people is a carefully optimized balance among user needs, business requirements, and technical capabilities; as designers, we connect these worlds.

“The reward of a thing well done is having done it.” – Ralph Waldo Emerson

Simplicity is not the goal, it is a guiding principle, and there are certain product design principles that have arisen repeatedly over the past few decades:

• provide value,
• solve problems,
• fulfill needs,
• respect people,
• respect cultures,
• embody equality, equity, diversity, and inclusion,
• deliver high quality,
• make experiences positive,
• build trust,
• be simple,
• protect data,
• protect privacy, et al.

As UX matures, we will more formally embody core principles in our craft, goals, and practices. Principle-guided design will join data-driven design and user-centered design as ‘just the way we work.’

People tend to notice when things fail or do not work (a frustration) more than they notice when products succeed and work well (an expectation.) Sometimes our best work goes unnoticed, because great products help people focus on what is important to them, not the thing they are using. Success may be quiet, but silent gratitude and appreciation manifest as product adoption, loyalty, referral, and (hopefully) revenue. When we do things right, we re-do fewer things.

I’m a fan of the television program Futurama by Matt Groening, and one of my favorite quotations from the show is from the “Goodfellas” episode from 2002: “When you do things right, people won’t be sure you’ve done anything at all.” Great design doesn’t distract people, it keeps them focused on what they are doing, feeling, and achieving.

FITC Toronto is a three-day professional celebration of the best the world has to offer in design, web development, media, and innovation in creative technologies. To catch David Hogue on other technology and design experts from around the world, join us April 29 – May 1, 2019.

The post Featured Speaker Interview: David Hogue appeared first on FITC.

beeple is Mike Winkelmann, a graphic designer from Appleton, Wisconsin, USA. His short films have screened at onedotzero, Prix Ars Electronica, the Sydney Biennale, and have been rejected at many others.

He has also released a series of Creative Commons live visuals that have been used by electronic acts such as deadmau5, Skrillex, Avicii, Zedd, Taio Cruz, Tiësto, Amon Tobin, Wolfgang Gartner, and Flying Lotus and many others.

By the third day of FITC Toronto 2019 he will have released an #everyday for 12 years without missing even one.  He’s also behind the titles and creative direction for the event!  Grab your tickets with code “beeple” and read on for more on Mike.

Your work has a pretty clear dystopian theme – where do you see people and the planet in 10 years? Do you have an apocalypse survival plan? Do you worry that day will coincide with the day you miss posting an #everyday?

Hahah, I actually have a fairly optimistic view of the future. I think technology has made things a lot of better for a huge amount of people on the planet.

I think it’s easy for us to focus on the our first world problems like “how dare Facebook look at my browser history” but if you take a broader look at humanity things things are getting better for the poorest people in terms of access to clean water, food, medicine, etc.

So I think while there may be bumps along the way, things will continue to get better. The dystopian pictures are a lot more tongue in cheek than I think people assume. And it’s also just more fun and interesting to imagine a future where we’re slaves to robots than one in which we all have access to affordable healthcare.

What does your workspace look like? Do you keep art or objects or anything around to inspire you?

Honestly it’s pretty barebones. I have literally ZERO art on my walls and a crappy desk with cords running everywhere.

I do have 2 big TV’s right next to each other on my other wall that are on all day but muted. One is set to CNN and the other Fox News so I have a constant stream of fresh stupidity to inspire my work.

If you hadn’t started down the #everydays path over a decade ago, what do you think you’d be doing now? Did you have other career paths in mind?

I think I would be doing the same thing as I had done artwork and personal projects for almost 10 years before that… I think I just would have done much less work and have a lot less skills.

Cinema4D is one of your main tools, but are you experimenting with any new hardware or software?

Not really, I haven’t really incorporated anything too drastically new as right now I’m trying to just get better at the basics of making pretty pictures…. colour, composition, value, etc.

I think sometimes it’s easy to get caught in a cycle of constantly getting the next shiny new toy to play with rather than focusing on the fundamentals which has a bit less instant gratification and is much more incremental and subjective.

Which collaboration have you done that was the most mind-blowing for you to be approached for? Have you turned down many opportunities that simply don’t fit your brand?

I think the Louis Vuitton project was easily the most surreal and unexpected.

I would have never imagined the picture, especially the more sci-fi ones being used in such a way. I have turned down a few things because they weren’t really “on brand” but that was also because they didn’t have a great budget. For the most part I will sellout like a motherfucker for enough money…

Can you give us some insight into your process and vision behind the FITC titles? Did you have other ideas in mind that were scrapped?

The theme of the conference is “pure imagination” and I really wanted to create an experience that has a ton of energy and life that you experience when you are in that true flow state.

I also wanted to address the struggle that it often takes to get to that state. So the titles are trying to illustrate the entire creative experience of an from start to finish.

Speaking of “Pure Imagination” how would you say you embrace this concept in your work, or career?

I at least try to embrace this on a literally daily project with my everydays. Sometimes it’s hard though because you’re feeling unmotivated or your busy or you just feel like you have no more ideas left to give.

But I think if you can get past that by forcing yourself to sit down, you will get to some level of pure imagination. It might be shockingly brief but there is always something that will come out.

What’s your favourite memory or experience from an FITC event?

Oh man, there are way too many to even recount. I’ve met so many new friends that it’s really hard to even count.

For me the talks are really very secondary to being able to meet your heroes and connect with new people doing what you do, or sometimes things totally different than what you do. It’s got just such a great, cool vibe and I would highly recommend everyone experience for themselves!!

Follow Mike under his pseudonym beeple:

Instagram | Facebook | Twitter | Website

And follow him around IRL at FITC Toronto 2019

Tickets | Speaker Lineup | Schedule

The post Artist Profile: beeple appeared first on FITC.