UX Camp: redefining the experience of the design conference.
The design conference experience we know today is not for everyone. In fact, it leaves many of us feeling distracted and unfulfilled. Sitting in a sea of attendees and watching designers flip from slide to slide on a far away stage is not the only way we can learn and become better designers, and it is certainly not the strongest method of connecting and growing with other people.
At these conferences we commonly spend most of our time listening, sharing a bit of small talk with neighbors, and seeing a few familiar faces before journeying back home. This is all fine, but what do we walk away with in exchange for thousands of dollars in ticket prices and time spent away from our responsibilities back home? If it’s neither a new tactical skill set nor new friendships in an expanded network, what is it all truly worth?
The truth of many of these events is that, due to their size, focus, and methodologies, they limit or block opportunities for empathy between fellow attendees, encourage leader/follower mentality over independent and collaborative thought, and they flatly don’t do enough for the individual attendee experience outside of depending on the speakers to deliver. In fact I would bet that for some they do more to diminish confidence in themselves than anything else. Have you ever left an event feeling helplessly far behind? Just another zero in a large crowd? Not feeling good enough to be on that stage yourself?
This is not to say all design events as we know them are bad. We’ve been to many that were stellar. For some of us, though, there is so much to improve. We believe designers need experiences that are truly diverse, that actually help them build empathy, and challenge them to work and think collaboratively with a variety of points of views.
To do this, we need to start smaller and challenge the industry to nudge away from large conferences toward immersive small group experiences. We need events that underscore how all people have a tremendous amount to contribute to their communities, and do this not only by placing such people on stage, but by facilitating side-by-side collaboration. We need communities that build confidence in our individual and collective abilities to influence the world around us, and we need companies who’re looking to make positive impact to support them and make them possible.
We’re starting with UX Camp (California.)
This July, we’re bringing UX Camp to northern CA. We’re inviting 30 campers to escape the city and focus on their craft in a combination design retreat and unconference. All of us work, live, and eat alongside each other, speakers, and musical guests. We structure collaborative working time to get things done but to also share specific practices, methods, and apply those skills in the time we are together.
In talking with designers and industry leaders who are passionate about people and designing for them, it is clear that people come first. So we asked ourselves how we might create an experience where we can bring people together on a deeper level; people who wouldn’t normally have had the opportunity to meet, let alone interact? Focusing on a smaller, more intimate “camp-like” retreat puts us in a position to connect 30 unique individuals who can more easily walk away as friends.
We want campers to feel like they have something to contribute to their community (because they do.) At UX Camp they have a safe place to learn from each other, to make mistakes, to guide and be guided, and to find that their work and way of thinking is valued.
It’s exactly the event we’ve wished existed.
Want to help us achieve our diversity and inclusivity goals for UX Camp? Reach out to me at steven@uxcamp.com for sponsorship options, or consider donating to our scholarship fund!
