Ever tell yourself, "If only I knew then what I know now?" In this talk I will divulge techniques gained over the last ten years designing award-winning interactive experiences within seemingly unreasonable timelines. I will share an approach for making awesomeness by summarizing the most-used tips, tricks and shortcuts to designing great work in half the time. And yes, if you know your stuff, spending less time on design yields better work.

There are many ways of performing usability tests - all of which will get you feedback, allow you to make alterations and gradually iterate until you have a solution. But these methods often take time. Let's look at an alternative process which will speed things up tenfold: leveraging social media. This talk will cover: Fitting user testing into a lean workflow Recruiting customers to help and keeping them engaged How to set up a test...

Data visualizations have become increasingly common on the Web, usually as a way to simplify or draw attention to information in a world where we are bombarded with data. Sometimes, accessibility can suffer, but it doesn’t have to… not when you have SVG and emerging APIs to enhance accessibility. This presentation will focus on the pragmatic aspects of usability and accessibility, with simple tips you can follow that work in browsers today to make their...

In January, the UX team from American City Business Journals pulled the curtain back on what it’s been like to build and maintain a UX department within an existing enterprise. It’s time to check in and see what they managed to accomplish this year, how they adapted to organizational change, and what adjustments they’re making for success in 2015. The Topics: UX Team Management Will Hortman, Director, User Experience Designing for the Conversation Joshua Mauldin,...

For nearly every client, when asked if they have a launch date in mind the answer is always ASAP. What clients do not understand is the cause and effect of ASAP. During this session we will have an open discussion surrounding the following topics: How to set client expectations around deadlines The cause and effect of missed dates The benefits of planning and working in a cushion How to become focused on quality not on...

Over the years as designers have transitioned from print to the web we've had a reluctant relationship with code. Pixel perfection is a demanding standard. It's required us to get close to the metal and learn HTML and CSS. Some of us have transitioned well and have actually grown to love our curly-braces and semicolons, but it wasn't what we trained for. For programmers on the other hand, writing code and doing it well is...

One of the largest problems that we face on teams and within organizations is the allusion that communication has taken place. In most cases, when we are faced with the necessity to confront emotionally or politically risky issues we tread lightly in order to avoid hurting feelings. Conflict plays an important and necessary role in the the design process. Healthy conflict increases trust, creates effective dialog and improves collaboration. During this session we will discuss...

For the past few years all of our Charlotte meetup and tech groups have gotten together to celebrate our fantastic tech community. Food and drink will be provided. Join us as each group will share what they have in store for 2015.