REPORT: 2FRESH at UXcamp 2016
UXcamp Europe is a two-day event for all User Experience enthusiasts, where they can network and share UX research/design experience and methods. Because it’s a BarCamp concept, attendees themselves manage the content of all lectures and workshops. We didn’t hesitate for a second at 2FRESH, went to see it in person and bring you the highlights from what we saw at this year’s UXcamp.
First, it has to be said that the management of the conference was one of the best we’ve ever experienced. The crew definitely gets major kudos from us, although the whole event was AC-free, thanks to which we were always drifting back and forth between boiling and suffocation. A conference like UXcamp is just not okay without air con.
UXcamp Europe 2016 in Berlin was one of the best-organized conferences we have ever been to.
Having the chance to organize our own workshop, we joined forces with experts from different fields and brainstormed about what we are currently dealing with — about research on sexual violence victims and about the methods of testing readability and aesthetics of fonts (which again proves the unlimited scope of topics design really covers). It was awesome and you can read more about the workshop’s results here. We haven’t missed others’ lectures and workshops either, and every one of us picked what he or she was interested in.
Natalia Rey showed us how to use flowcharts with personas during the whole project progress, from visualizing research results and drafting user journeys, motivations and emotions, to designing the final project concept. Few people know flowcharts are so powerful, and we’re really looking forward to incorporating these insights into our own workflow.
Flowcharts are really powerful and can be used for mostly anything.
Philippe Tarbouriech’s lecture, Minimalism and gestures on mobile, inspired us with a case study about how to use gestures and UI design for a better mobile experience. He introduced several tweaks, from an animated “shadow” of a finger that teaches the user to use gestures, to a movable button that creates a flexible layout, solving the issue of different screen sizes. We love such tweaks and we’ve gained several useful insights from Philippe’s lecture.
Sometimes theory is your friend, especially when it comes to the fascinating workings of the human memory! Natacha Hennocq explained to us how the brain works with two aspects — time and place. We evaluate our physical position through how we got there — and that’s crucial for navigating any information architecture. However, since the basis of such navigation is composed of physical perceptions, we have to find a way to put this knowledge to use in the virtual reality. And because people learn through stories and metaphors, using these will help us create truly intuitive solutions. A wonderful observation, a typical matter of course that only becomes apparent after one is told about it.
People learn through stories and metaphors — and we better take advantage of it.
By far the most memorable workshop we’ve been to at this year’s UXcamp was definitely the performance of Banana man. Mr. Banana, a.k.a. Petr Kosnar, first appeared at UXcamp five years ago, and immediately became an icon. His workshop about memorability in marketing combined theory, practice and exercises that taught everyone a bit about how the human memory works.
The most memorable workshop was definitely Banana man’s show.
However, most people really came because it was a cool show (with a banana costume and everything) and because the room was the only one that was air conditioned. The workshop itself was basically a presentation of known facts, and that’s why we left amused, but slightly disappointed.
UXcamp Europe 2016 in Berlin was a great experience and we took home a number of contacts and project ideas. It became clear that networking at food/coffee breaks is the best and has the highest added value. That’s what was absent from some lectures, though. Some of them slipped into marketing clichés and straightforward company promotion, or were spoiled by lack of presentation skills on the part of the lecturer. All in all, the event didn’t blow our minds, but we do have a good feeling about it.
Some of the lectures slipped into marketing clichés or were spoiled by lack of presentation skills on the part of the lecturer.
We could go on, but there’s only so much you can fit in a single blog. Therefore, should you want to learn more, meet with UX guys from all over the world and network, definitely go to Berlin next year. Be careful, the tickets are free, but there’s only a limited number, so act quick! It usually takes only a few minutes until they’re gone. Just watch the UXcamp Europe Facebook group, where you’ll learn everything in time.
See you in Berlin, just by the skateboard dog!
