Blog

  • 07 May 2007 5:00 PM | Deleted user
    Less than a month now until DCampSouth! Have you signed up? If you have, why not invite your friends and co-workers? DCampSouth is open to anyone who wants to talk (and learn) about design undefined not just designers.
  • 25 Apr 2007 5:00 PM | Deleted user

    It's official, DCampSouth will happen on Saturday, June 2nd at the School of Communication Arts in Raleigh, NC.

    Date: June 2, 2007
    Place: School of Communication Arts

    What happens next? Well, it's time to spread the word about DCampSouth. You can help us out by posting information to weblogs, groups, and mailing lists. Let you co-workers know! Let your friends know!

    Also, we're still looking for volunteers to help organize the event. If you're interested, email Jackson Fox (jacksonfox@gmail.com).

  • 12 Apr 2007 5:00 PM | Deleted user

    Hey there DCampers! I wanted to post a quick update on the status of DCampSouth. We’ve had several suggestions for locations and are very close to selecting both a day and a place. Speaking of dates, I’m interested in hearing which of these days work best for people: May 19th, May 26th, June 2nd.

    The next big step is to put together a planning committee to start hammering out the details of the event. If you are interested in helping to plan DCampSouth, please email me at jacksonfox@gmail.com. I’m looking for 5-6 people to help out. If you’ve already emailed me about planning, I’ll be in touch soon!

    Thanks to everyone who offered suggestions on locations, and a big thanks to everyone who has signed-up on the wiki. If you haven’t signed-up yet, don’t forget to add your name to the Campers page on the wiki.

  • 31 Mar 2007 5:00 PM | Deleted user

    Triangle UPA is excited to announce that planning has begun for DCampSouth 2007, an unconference for anyone interested in design and user experience.

    When: June 2, 2007
    Where: School of Communication Art, Raleigh NC

    Learn more at the DCampSouth 2007 Wiki

    In May 2006 I had the good fortune to attend DCamp at the SocialText headquarters in Palo Alto, CA.

    Masterminded by Rashmi Sinha and Stacie Hibino, DCamp brought together over 150 people to talk about design, information architecture, usability, and user experience. It was a huge success. I learned a lot, met some really interesting people, and left feeling inspired.

    At the end of the day it occurred to me that folks in Silicon Valley shouldn't be having all the fun, so I stood up and announced that I hoped to bring the DCamp idea back home to Durham, NC. Well, it took a little while, but the time has come to make DCampSouth happen.

    The goals of DCampSouth are simple.

    1. Have fun
    2. Meet interesting people
    3. Learn a lot
    4. Build the community

    To achieve these goals we're going to need CAMPERS, ORGANIZERS, SPONSORS, and most importantly... A LOCATION. Unconferences are democratic things, so we're putting the call out to anyone interested to get involved.

    We can't set a date until we have a location, but we're hoping to find a Saturday in May to hold the event.

    To stay informed, you should watch the DCampSouth wiki, subscribe to the DCampSouth Google Group, and follow the TriUX weblog. In the mean time start thinking about how you want DCampSouth to work, and share your
    ideas on the wiki.

    We hope to see you at DCampSouth!

    Updated: We have a date and location now!

  • 31 Mar 2007 5:00 PM | Deleted user
    The first event in TriUPA's 2007 program series was held Tuesday, 3/20/07 at GSK. Art Swanson from Insight provided an introduction to Windows Presentation Foundation (WPF), and Microsoft's Blend application.WPF is the user interface and graphics framework for applications developed with Microsoft's .NET 3.0. As Art demonstrated, Microsoft's rethinking of this fundamental technology has led to some major advances for designers, and (potentially) for users.WPF is based on XAML, a markup language for specifying user interfaces. By moving user interface layout description into a markup language, Microsoft has achieved a high level of abstraction--something more often associated with HTML/CSS than desktop applications. In essence, the "style" of desktop applications can now be specified by the designer separately from the underlying application code and logic. (Just as Web designers have been able to achieve dramatically different presentation styles by applying CSS to well-structured HTML--see CSS Zen Garden for examples).This ability alone would be interesting, but hand-coding complex XAML for complex desktop applications might cause designers to quickly lose interest. Microsoft's Blend tool provides extensive visual design tools for building WPF interfaces. Using Blend, designers can specify complex interactions, such as using a slider to control the size of another element of the interface, without any hand coding. Even a brief demo of these tools was extremely compelling, so I'd suggest that anyone interested download the Blend trial from Microsoft's site. In particular, Blend could be extremely useful for rapid prototyping of interfaces to support usability testing or other UCD activities.Thanks to Art for sharing his expertise on these important new technologies! --Abe Crystal
  • 29 Mar 2007 5:00 PM | Deleted user

    Capstrat has generously offered to host the April social event for TriUPA.
    Come out this Tuesday evening for drinks, snacks, and the good company of your fellow usability professionals.
    Usability students graduating soon should take special note the benefits of being in a room full of potential future employers ;-)

    WHAT: TriUPA Social
    WHEN: Tuesday, April 3 6-8 pm
    WHERE: Capstrat

    http://www.capstrat.com/cs/contact.cfm#map

    1201 Edwards Mill Road
    Suite 102
    Raleigh , NC 27607
    919.828-0806 (main number)

    There are no special parking instructions.
    The building locks at 7:00 , but may be open later for the event.
    If it is locked when you arrive, please call the main number.

    Capstrat will be providing beer, soda and snacks.

    Interested? Please RSVP online by Monday, April 2nd.

    (To RSVP, click "Register Now," then log in if you are a TriUPA member, or enter your contact information if you aren't a member).
    Contact Abe Crystal, TriUPA President, or Virginia Ingram at Capstrat [vingram@capstrat.com], with any questions.

  • 23 Mar 2007 5:00 PM | Deleted user

    Peter Warren, TriUPA VP of Membership, recommends this new book by Prof. Jon Kolko at the Savannah College of Art and Design.

    Thoughts on Interaction Design
    It is the primary goal of this text to better define Interaction Design: to provide a definition that encompasses the intellectual facets of the field, the conceptual underpinnings of Interaction Design as a legitimate human-centered profession, and the particular methods used by practitioners in their day to day experiences. This definition and investigation centers around the issue of argument and rhetoric, and illustrates that Interaction Design is a form of communication that can be thought of as identical in nature to language. As Interaction Design is a vast subject, this text attempts to touch on many topics in a slight manner rather than one topic in a deep manner.

  • 15 Mar 2007 5:00 PM | Deleted user
    Gel 2007, in New York City, April 19 - 20. It's one of the most acclaimed conferences around, with an array of innovative speakers that inform, but go way beyond, mainstream user experience work. Register by March 20 for the best rate.
  • 15 Mar 2007 5:00 PM | Deleted user

    The first TriUPA event of 2007 is here!
    Windows Presentation Foundation & Windows Vista
    The release of Windows Vista and Microsoft Presentation Foundation
    (WPF) provides designers with a powerful set of new tools for
    developing Windows user experiences. Art Swanson will introduce us to
    the possibilities afforded by Vista and WPF.As an extra special bonus, we're giving away free 1-year TriUPAmemberships to
    new folks who attend the event!
    Location: Ruvane Auditorium at GlaxoSmithKline (see directions below)
    Date: March 20, 2007
    Time: 6:30pm - 7:30pm
    RSVP
    at TriUPA.org.

    Directions from Raleigh
    * Take I-40 West to the Durham Freeway (147) North.
    * Follow the Durham Freeway and take the Alexander Drive exit.
    * Turn left off the exit and move to the right lane.
    * Take a right into the GlaxoSmithKline campus at the 2nd stoplight (Moore Dr).
    * Go to the fourth driveway and turn right, the sign will say Administration #1.
    * Park in the parking deck, there is a walkway from the parking deck to Ruvane Auditorium.
    * Sign in at the security desk, the event is held in the auditorium to the right of the lobby.
    Directions from Durham
    * Take the Durham Freeway (147) South to the Alexander Drive exit, and turn right off the exit (stoplight).
    * Stay in the right turn lane and turn right at the next stoplight into GSK (Moore Dr).
    * Go to the fourth driveway and turn right, the sign will say Administration #1.
    * Park in the parking deck, there is a walkway from the parking deck to Ruvane Auditorium.
    * Sign in at the security desk, the event is held in the auditorium to the right of the lobby.

  • 05 Feb 2007 5:00 PM | Deleted user

    NCSU DesignTech Looking for Interested Students

    Dr. Ben Watson (Computer Science) and Pat Fitzgerald (Art+Design) heads up a great Summer Research Program. It's open to students from the UNC School System. Last year participants came from NC State University, NC Central University, Meredith and Peace.

    To get an idea what we were up to last time...

    From DesignTech home page http://designtech.ncsu.edu/:

    Design Tech -- Sparking Research in Interactive Visual Design

    Design Tech, an REU site funded by the National Science Foundation (NSF) Research Experiences for Undergraduates (REU) and the Department of Defense (DoD) Awards to Stimulate and Support Undergraduate Research Experiences (ASSURE), is an interactive visual design hothouse with projects spanning artificial intelligence, graphics, visualization, and visual design. Projects include cinematic camera control for interactive narratives and games; automated tours through virtual, visualized environments; agent-based visualizations of streaming data such as RSS feeds and sensor telemetries; and PDA-based navigation tools.

    The Design Tech undergraduate experience involves a 12-week summer research program that provides outstanding research opportunities in the areas covered by Design Tech faculty research interests. Students receive a stipend, travel and living expenses during their participation in Design Tech. This Research Expereinces for Undergraduates (REU) program is supported by the National Science Foundation and the Department of Defense.

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