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a meaningful structure optimized
for social engagement, knowledge
transfer, and, frankly, other forms
of human nourishment—which
means great snacks and plenty of
breaks for fresh air and coffee! Even
some musical interludes to break up
the frequencies of attention, or as
palate cleansers between sessions to
help shift mindsets a bit. Consider
those transitional moments that
guide the audience (and speakers)
across the thresholds of topics and
discussions, and how to facilitate
such movements with a sense for the
tempo and temperature.
Useful artifacts. Yes, this can refer
to the swag bags, filled with fun albeit
banal toys and shirts with logos. But
this also refers to other artifacts that
shape the arenas of social encounters:
the posters, signage, name badges,
schedules/brochures, and interstitial
slides. And don’t forget book signings,
whiteboards, job boards, tables with
LEGOs, and stickies and markers for
ideation! Some are take-home, while
others serve as references along the
exploration of pathways across scenes
and exchanges.
The people. This is the whole crux
of the matter, right? But who, really,
is the audience you’re staging this
event for, and who else is involved?
Remember to consider the speakers
(what do they stand to gain and
strive to convey in their talks?);
the sponsors (how do they want to
get their name out and empower
their brand?); the staff/volunteers
(typically uncompensated, so what
will they get out of it? How can you
create an opportunity for volunteers
to really contribute and serve as
gracious hosts or leaders?); and of
course the attendees—what are
their expectations and goals? Never
forget the cycles of feedback from
the attendees and others, to sustain
productive future iterations!
It is clearly a complex endeavor to
stage the social-interaction encounters
to achieve shared understanding
and significant knowledge exchange,
with valuable outcomes. But it is well
worth the pressures and stresses of
the challenge, if only to help everyone
feel more illuminated about the topics
and practices of design. So, the next
time you’re at a buzzy UX conference
or messy workshop, consider how
multiple pieces came together for
you—or didn’t! There is of course
inevitably the “madness of the launch”
of the conference or workshop itself—
worthy of another essay on logistics
and Murphy’s Law—but in the end
it’s all about setting the stage for
compelling conversation. To design
such professional social events is to
manifest a shared story, sparked by
some question or problem, whereby
you are intentionally shaping the
conditions for crucial conversations.
These should be about the essence
of our practice, our arts of creating
meaningful interfaces and interactions
that may linger in the form of those
golden nuggets each of us seek to pass
along to our peers for our community
of practice.
Uday Gajendar ( ghostinthepixel.com)
has been a prolific UX designer and leader
for more than 15 years, shipping designs
for Pay Pal, Facebook, Citrix, Adobe, and
others. He also enjoys coaching startups
on UX fundamentals.
→ udanium@gmail.com
DOI: 10.1145/3181370 COPYRIGHT HELD BY AUTHOR
