UX Week 2017: Favorite Past Speakers
After 15 years, the talks at UX Week have taken our attendees to some unusual and unexpected corners of the world of experience design — toy making, museum design, improv theater, amusement parks, autism, human-robot interaction, Wii remote hacking, fantasy user interfaces in films and everywhere in-between.
There’s just one problem. Because there’s something for everyone in every UX Week program, nobody can agree on a favorite talk! We asked people around the Adaptive Path studio to share a few of the talks that have had the most impact on them over the years. Here are a few of our favorites.
Genevieve Bell, UX Week 2012
Ducks, Dolls and Divine Robots: Designing Our Futures with Computing
https://vimeo.com/channels/uxweek/52634332
It’s hard for me to pick a favorite from so many great talks, but Genevieve Bell’s 2012 keynote is one that has continued to resonate for me year after year. As an anthropologist for Intel, Bell has traveled the world studying how cultures respond to new technologies. Her reflections on how our attitudes toward technology shape the impact it has on us are more relevant than ever as artificial intelligence rises in importance and influence. — Jesse James Garrett, Adaptive Path Founder & UX Week Host
Jason Kunesh, UX Week 2013
Rules of Thumb for Design Chicanery from Obama for America HQ
How do you do great and important design on a tight schedule with a team that’s not even assembled yet? Learn from someone who was in an even tighter position than you — Jason Kunesh, the first person to ever represent the craft of user experience on a US Presidential campaign. Regardless of your politics, the stories are real and the ideas are applicable to your teams, fast-moving or not. I’m still referencing this talk in conversations four years later. — Brandon Schauer, Head of Adaptive Path at Capital One
Jessica Hische, UX Week 2015
Subtlety is Everything
Jessica Hische’s 2015 talk is one of my favorites because it was all about Typography. At that point, I had worked at Adaptive Path for two years and had grown to not only appreciate the subtlety of good visual design but also how fonts can make or break a presentation. She took a topic that could have been super mundane to me since I’m not a designer, and made it one of the best talks I have ever heard. Plus I realized how much I appreciate proper kerning. I have never ever looked at the way type is presented the same way again. — Anel Muller, Head of AdaptivePath.org
Mike Kuniavsky, UX Week 2015
The User Experience of Predictive Behavior In the (Consumer) Internet of Things
The talks that come to mind are the ones that push the boundariesof defining how we think of “experiences” as designers. The talk that resonated the most with me in recent years is Mike Kuniavsky’s from 2015.. Mike unpacks the challenges of designing systems that anticipate people’s’ needs and act on them. This discussion highlights the complexity of being human-centered in a complex, connected, data-rich tech environment. — Chris Risdon, Head of Behavioral Design, Emerging Practices at Capital One
Cindy Gallop, UX Week 2016
Redesigning the Future of Sex Through Sextech
https://vimeo.com/channels/uxweek/178863081
Asking me to choose my favorite UX Week presentation is like asking me to choose my favorite child. I have loved and been inspired by so many over the years. One that more recently stands out to me is the 2016 keynote address by MakeLoveNotPorn Founder & CEO, Cindy Gallop. Cindy is an unapologetic risk taker, who is confronting a sensitive topic head-on and reminding the world that “There is a huge amount of money to be made out of taking women seriously.” — Nelly Wollenberg, Head of Events at Adaptive Path
You can find most UX Week talks from the last eight years on Vimeo.https://vimeo.com/channels/uxweek/videos
UX Week’s eclectic tradition continues in 2017. Get the details about this year’s program, register to join us in San Francisco August 29–September 1!
Whose your favorite? Share in comments.
