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Together: The Essential Fusion of Culture and Design

When
11 Mar 2021
6:00 PM - 7:30 PM
Location
Online

Registration is closed

Together: The Essential Fusion of Culture and Design

Mobile First? In reality, it’s *humans* first. We cannot preach outwardly about empathy for those we’re designing for (re: human beings) if as designers, researchers, architects, developers (and on and on) we’re not supporting each other. The notion of being human-centered has an innate synergy between the design process (and ultimate product) and office culture (and empathetic interactions). To the benefit of both dynamics, those touchpoints are identifiable and exploitable.

For example, culturally, the Swedish concept of fika transcends a mere “coffee break.” The value is slowing down – the act of pausing with intent during a typical day – and making time to have a dialogue with someone (though a good cup of coffee is certainly a vital part). In office culture and team-specific dynamics, this type of time has the same value. People need time to decompress and recalibrate, and cultivate a dynamic of team-based empathy. It must be a known quantity within a team’s creative culture, as well as protected and actively utilized. It’s about the human connection.

In design process, the concept of slowing down (pausing with intent) has equal value. Instead of getting a product manager’s Powerpoint wireframe in your inbox with a request to “make it look nice,” or being in receipt of a client request to crank out a design for their approval by end of day, we must slow down to understand the people who will be interacting with our design (and the design’s potential impact on others, the environment and community in which it will be utilized, and so on). Rushing to get something done to tick an account manager’s “client appeasement box” at the expense of the human experience is to sacrifice empathy, quality, and any prospect of innovation. And this is just one touchpoint.

A “human-centered mindset” means people are at the center of everything in a business: empathy and compassion guide our hand across personnel, process, and product. Creating with compassion in an environment fueled by compassion means we never lose sight of what it’s all about: people and the environment in which they exist. Beyond functioning in this manner because “it’s the right thing to do,” quality of work, loyalty internally (team) and externally (users), and product innovation are all benefits to reap.

Join Justin as he demonstrates how putting humans and their environment first – in our design process *and* in the workplace -yields a successful end product and an endless fountain of inspiration. Across quality of work, quality of culture, and quality of life, the result is nothing short of product and industry transformation.

About Justin Dauer

Justin is a multi-faceted, multi-pierced, multi-tattooed designer, author, and speaker. He wrote the celebrated book, Cultivating a Creative Culture, speaks internationally on culture and design, and is the Vice President of Human-Centered Design and Development at bswift. With Josef MÌ_ller-Brockmann and user advocacy claiming equal parts of his creative heart since graduating The School of the Art Institute of Chicago, he’s immersed himself intangible and digital media over the past 20 years.

As a perpetual student of human-centered design, observation, and creative process, Justin builds teams and cultivates cultures around the perspectives and skillsets we already use daily in our work: empathy, objectivity, and creativity.

Schedule

6:00 pm - 6:30pm: Networking
6:30 pm - 7:15 pm: Talk
7:15 pm - 7:30 pm: Q&A

Location
We will be using an online networking and conference tool called Airmeet to deliver this live presentation.

This event will be recorded and Triangle UXPA members will have access to the recording post-event.

We will provide additional sign-in details closer to the event.

Read our Code of Conduct for expectations of all event attendees.