UXLx Talks

We are solving the challenges of building and maintaining diverse teams. Slowly. As a result we find people from minority groups being the only ones of their kind in a team, project, or company. For some this is an opportunity to stand out and excel. Yet for others, particularly from under-represented minorities, it is a position of vulnerability. Being "one of a kind" stops them from bringing their whole authentic selves to work. "I'm the only ______ person here, if I say it, they won't understand." "If I say the wrong thing will they think it's because I'm a ______ person." "They only invited me because I'm a ______ person." In this talk, Farai traces his career journey from contributor to lead, during most of which he was the only one of his kind in the room. He also shares insights from interviews he's conducted with tech contributors and leaders around the world. The result is a session filled with tactics that leaders can use immediately to better understand, mentor, and sponsor the "one of a kind" folks in their teams to their full potential.

For a business to thrive, it must find and retain strong UX talent that creates customer-centered products and services. Most professionals don't have time to continually expand their knowledge of new technologies and tools, but their work relies on this currency. How can we stay up-to-date in a world constantly in flux? 
This talk explores techniques to build a culture of continuous learning in the workplace for new and seasoned professionals who want to stay current on emerging tools and avoid stagnation. Learn techniques that UX teams can use to be agile and resilient in the face of ever-evolving technologies.

In the world and work of "social design," participatory methods and strategic approaches have been deepening and maturing. Since all work is social to some degree, our teams and organizations can learn from those approaches. How do we listen to the system that surrounds our work? How can we craft invitations that bring people together as co-creators? What does it look like to involve the people who will "live the change" as full participants in the creative process? Through examples, method snapshots, and long-term cases, this talk offers a glimpse into the methods of participatory emergence.

Is technology killing empathy? Studies suggest that empathy is on the wane and technology might be partly to blame. From self-care to selfies, fail videos to filter bubbles, existential loneliness to righteous outrage, we are confronting the possibility that human-centered practice hasn't created human-centered technology.
As if we needed more proof, technologists are now trying to solve the "empathy problem" with emotional AI, VR, and chatbots. One thing is clear, empathy is more than a step in the design process or a new feature to add on. In this talk, we'll consider what it might mean to design technology for cultivating a cohesive society where fellow feeling flourishes.

Can design have a greater impact beyond commercial settings? That's what Jim Kalbach, author of Mapping Experiences, pondered when a global counter-terrorism organization approached him to facilitate a workshop in Abu Dhabi. Earlier this year, Jim applied mapping techniques to help understand the experience of former violent extremists.
In this talk, Jim will discuss the details of his inspiring project and reflect on some of the experiences he had working with ex-hate group members. He'll then show his approach in applying principles of experience mapping and design thinking techniques to a non-commercial setting. In the end, our skills and methods can have an impact on the broader social good.

Technology moves fast. To keep up, we must be flexible and collaborative. While specialization is valuable for perfecting your craft, magic happens when cross-disciplinary teams come together to solve problems. In this session, Becki Hyde shows how product designers, software engineers and product managers can work closely together to deliver human-centered software in a world of ambiguity. Learn how the three disciplines can learn from one another, contribute to each others' work and grow their careers all at the same time.

As large organizations embed design systems, they'll often find they have multiple systems. A search for the "one source of truth" collides with another truth: change and coordination across business units is hard, alignment is costly and effortful, and sometimes there's good reasons for having many systems loosely coupled. In this conversation, we'll explore the nature of systems of systems, tiered for participation at many levels across an organization.

Embodied cognition is the study of how a person's physical body can play a role in the cognitive processing of information.  For example, scientists have found that humans perform better on memory tasks when we offload storage to our bodies and our environments.  Now, as Virtual and Augmented Reality technology becomes increasing common, there are new possibilities for designers to apply years of research on embodied cognition. Come learn how immersive technology allows for real-time feedback based on how the user is moving and where their gaze is directed. And how you can create novel interaction design patterns that improve a user's attention and memory and influence their decision-making and problem-solving. 

We need a new kind of designer, focused on problems of scale and the algorithms that can help - or exacerbate - matters. 
Historically, designers have improved the world through the thoughtful design of products and experiences. But these delightful moments mean little if we fail to design for the complex, dynamic, and increasingly tech-driven systems in which we now live. As designers, we need to start seeing ourselves as change agents. What new skills are required to design in this future?

In our jobs and our design projects we work with ideas all day long - but what do we really know about how ideas work? This entertaining and provocative talk will teach you timeless patterns and useful insights pulled from the history of great projects from the past, ones that can help you be more productive and raise the quality of the ideas you work with. From the surprising origins of the Eiffel tower, to insights from Amazon’s predecessor by more than 100 years, when this talk is over you’ll improve your creative and decision making confidence, and rethink how you think about thinking itself.