I had the distinct pleasure of presenting at An Event Apart 2009 in Boston and Chicago (read about my experience), so imagine my delight when Jeffrey and Eric asked me to reprise my talk this year in Minneapolis and San Diego! AEA attendees are a tough crowd — they’re already smart, successful and very well-informed [Keep Reading…]
Archives for July 2010
Fun Times in Mini-Apple-Us
When I was asked to speak at An Event Apart Minneapolis, I thought, “An Event Apart, yes! Minneapolis, whatever.” I wasn’t expecting much from my trip to the Twin Cities — but I was dead wrong. Flying over Minnesota for the first time a week ago today, all I could see was a flat expanse [Keep Reading…]
Inspiration and Aspiration
The words inspiration and aspiration are often used interchangeably, and I think it’s important that we draw a clearer distinction. Inspiration is defined as, “the process of being mentally stimulated to do or feel something.” Aspiration is, “a hope or ambition of achieving something.” Stimulation versus ambition. Excitement versus action. And most significantly, external versus [Keep Reading…]
Wondering? Ask me on Formspring!
I recently set up an account on Formspring, a site that lets people ask and answer questions about anything at all. I’ve been asked 17 questions so far, and I’ve answered every one. So if you want to ask me something about user experience, consulting, writing, life in New York City, or whatever else is [Keep Reading…]
When You Startup With UX
On Wednesday, UX Magazine published my article, When You Startup with UX — a look into how a few successful startups are integrating user experience practices. I posed 5 questions to 5 people (4 folks at 3 different startups and 1 venture capitalist) to find out how they think about UX and what it means [Keep Reading…]
Pleasure and Pain in Other Languages
Receiving a request from someone who wants to translate your blog posts into other languages is thrilling and humbling. It’s such an honor to know that these pieces resonate with anyone at all — but to find out that they cross geographical and cultural barriers is truly amazing! Here are some of the translations I [Keep Reading…]
Evaluations of my STC Summit 2010 talks
A few months ago I wrote about my experience presenting at STC Summit in Dallas — my first time speaking at an event outside of UX and web design. Yesterday I received the evaluations of my two talks — 10 Most Common Misconceptions About User Experience Design and Evangelizing Yourself — and I’m quite pleased [Keep Reading…]
Whose life is this?
As my 28th birthday comes to a close, I can’t help but reflect on the past year. I experienced the deepest love, faced my greatest fears, and found accomplishments I never knew I could have. Life feels like it’s happening to me, like I’m largely out of control. And perhaps I am, but I need [Keep Reading…]
Email of the Week: I Do Software
Recently got this zinger in my inbox: Sorry if I find your site overwhelming. And I don’t want to be a UX designer. And I am too busy to blog or tweet. But I do software. So knowing about UX design is not an issue for me. That was the beginning. The rest was asking [Keep Reading…]
My Best Advice for Conducting User Interviews
In a previous life, I was a Professional Writing major and part-time journalist. I contributed to my school’s student newspaper, as well as the faculty and staff newspaper, and almost every week for two years, I wrote an arts column for the Pittsburgh City Paper — Western PA’s leading alternative newsweekly [read my old clips]. [Keep Reading…]