Getting Started In The User Experience Field (UX Australia conference)

Getting started in the user experience field
CaronneCarruthers-Taylor

UX
What!? What do you do?

How humans interact with computers ...
their overall experience taking into account the social, cultural & physical environment.
User Experience design

Educate yourself
Learn & actively participate!
Publications
Blogs
Books
Local communities
Organisations
Mailing lists
Webinars
Workshops or courses
Conferences
(Whitney Hess)

“I been looking at your poster in the hallway for weeks. I’m interested in what you guys do. It’s amazing! I work in IT Security down the corridor ...”
http://www.datphan.com/headshot_4_crop_large.jpg

The UPA poster ...
User-Centred Design process, with suggested activities for each phase
http://www.upassoc.org/upa_publications/ux_poster.html

Organisations
Usability Professionals Association (UPA), www.upassoc.org
UX Network, http://uxnet.org
Canberra IA Community, www.iacanberra.org
UX Bookclub, www.uxbookclub.org
Web Standards Group (WSG), http://webstandardsgroup.org/
Computer Human Interaction Special Interest Group (CHISIG), www.chisig.org
Australian Web Industry Association (AWIA)http://www.webindustry.asn.au/
And more ...

Education
Human-Computer Interaction (HCI) & cognitive psychology
Specialise in information architecture, usability engineering, interaction design, user-centred design, visual design, content strategy & copywriting, web analysis, user research, online marketing, or web strategy
For example:
UTS Digital Information & Interaction Design, www.handbook.uts.edu.au/subjects/95566.html
UNSW HCI, www.cse.unsw.edu.au/~cs9511

eternity is the amount of time
it takes to know everything
Zen Comics II, IoannaSalajan

Skills & abilities
Human psychology & research methods
Basics of graphic design
Interest in technology
Interpersonal skills
Verbal & visual communication skills
Negotiation & facilitation
Creativity & vision
Enthusiasm!

References & credits
Starting a Career in User Experience Design, Nick Finckhttp://www.nickfinck.com/blog/entry/starting_a_career_in_user_experience_design
So you wanna be a user experience designer — Step 1: Resources, Whitney Hesshttp://whitneyhess.com/blog/2009/06/30/so-you-wanna-be-a-user-experience-designer-step-1-resources/
Nine Essential Characteristics of Good UX Designers, Fred Beecherhttp://userexperience.evantageconsulting.com/2009/07/characteristics-good-ux-designers/
Top Twitter feeds for UX Designers, @dpanhttp://www.openthewindow.net/?p=506
Articles, feeds and links, Steve Batyhttp://www.meld.com.au/blog

Last but not least ...PASSION

Thank you
CaronneCarruthers-Taylor
User Experience aficionado, Interaction designer, Usability specialist
Twitter: @caronne
www.linkedin.com/in/caronne