Strive: The 2019 UXR Conference
A letter from the UXR Collective co-founders
It was one of our very first meetings as the UX Research Toronto team when we had the idea to fly in some researchers for the Bay Area for a few talks. Then we figured, why not make a day of it?
Without realizing what we were doing at first, we started planning our very first conference.
With the help of an amazing team of volunteers, some wonderful sponsors, and our overall awesome community, the first #UXRConf came to be in March 2018.
We did it really, really fast, on a shoestring budget, over a lot of late nights.
And you showed up: 450 of you, to be exact!
What we saw that day was a remarkable hunger for more and better research, from the speakers and the crowd.
We heard a call from Vivianne Castillo for researchers to interrogate our understanding of empathy.
We were inspired by Matt Gallivan to advocate for a seat at the table for research among the highest powers of leadership.
450 of you came together that day to listen, learn, and talk about research.
In his closing remarks, one of our Co-Founders, Alec, reflected back on the day, noting that we all share a passion for making better experiences for humans, and we’re at a special moment of experimentation in the world of UX research.
That’s what inspired our theme for this year’s conference: Strive.
UX research is on the rise. More and more companies are building UXR practices, and opportunities for innovation and leadership are popping up everywhere. We believe that this is a critical moment for the UXR community to be ambitious and experimental. It’s time to strive.
But don’t worry, it’s not all on you! Here’s our end of the bargain.
We strive to put on another amazing conference next year, bringing together speakers who are on the cutting edge—who interrogate the way things are done today, and who are using the methods and mindsets of tomorrow.
We also strive to be better. We listened to your feedback from last year, and we’re introducing an additional day of talks in smaller groups, so you get the chance to get to know more of the UXR community, and to pick out content to attend that’s tailored to your expertise and context.
Oh, and we’re also holding the conference at Roy Thomson Hall, so we can fit a few more of you, too.
All you have to do is be there — to level up your research practice, make friends, and get inspired.
Early early bird tickets are on sale now. We’ll see you there. Until then, as always, happy researching! And happy striving. 🚀
Yours,
Danielle Klein, Maggi Mitchell, Alec Levin, Tammy Le & Stefan Jovanovic
UXR Collective Co-Founders & Directors
P.S. Interested in sponsorship packages or group rates? Hit us up!
P.P.S. We see you, students! Student pricing will be released in the coming months. If for any other reason you will not be able to afford a conference ticket, please reach out.
P.P.P.S. If you’re thinking, hey, what’s this UXR Collective business? Well, UX Research Toronto recently incorporated under the name UXR Collective — scales better, don’t you think?
Learn more about the 2019 UXR Conference.
And stay in the know for all things UX Research TO:
📥 Sign up for our newsletter to be the first to know about our next event
💬 Join us on Slack to connect with other UXRs
🐦 Follow us on Twitter
📷 Follow us on Instagram
