Explore the Future of the Web

Atlanta News

Nov 5, 2011Does Your Design Problem Have a Non-Design Answer?by katied

Nishant Kothary We’re all looking for the next “big success” in communication. But no matter what we try from fancy computers to consultants, to voodoo, most of us are not going to get there. Why?

In “Broken Telephone“, Nishant Kothary will draw from diverse fields like behavioral economics, neuroscience, cognitive psychology, even religion to explore the causes, effects, and remedies for some of the most annoying dilemmas of our profession.

Nishant writes on MIX Online; advises Microsoft teams on their Web strategy; writes on design & human behavior for publications like Smashing Magazine and UXMag; signs up for custom projects; and takes on the occasional speaking gig.

Nov 3, 2011Now, WebVisions on Mobile.by editor

Hello, Atlanta. WebVisions is approaching, and what better way to follow the schedule and keep up with the happenings than to load up our fabulous mobile web app. Created by our friends at Kojami, the app features info on the venue, schedule, registration, social media sites and more.

Best of all, the app loads nicely in mobile web browsers. No fuss, no muss.

» Check it out at webvisions.kojami.com

Nov 2, 2011All Shall Be Revealed – The Secret of Planned Luckby katied

Thor Muller The volume of information we deal with is exploding, the pace of life accelerates, pressure increases, and everything seems to be “right now.” What do you do when research and careful planning just isn’t possible any more?

Thor Muller explores some of the answers in “Get Lucky: The Business of Planned Serendipity.” Planned serendipity is the practice of making unexpected discoveries. By definition, we don’t know when serendipity will strike, but we can foster the conditions for it to occur early and often in and around our organizations.

Thor is CTO and co-founder of Get Satisfaction in San Francisco, where he founds and advises startups that make a difference to real people. His experience as a Web pioneer bridges design and technology. Thor is a true believer in social entrepreneurship.

Nov 1, 2011Scale Mt. Default, the Everest of Typographyby editor

Mt. DefaultLive type is revolutionizing web design. No longer do designers and developers need to choose from a limited set of six typefaces – with WebINK, overcoming the obstacles of default fonts is a thing of the past. As a fun way to celebrate the new era of web typography, WebINK will set up the Mt. Default photo backdrop at WebVisions Atlanta on Nov. 18th – take your picture in mountain climbing gear and post it on Twitter with the text “I scaled Mt. Default!” and include the hashtag #WebINKphoto.

The attendee who posts the funniest photo will win an iPad. Do you feel a yodel coming on?

Nov 1, 2011Web Fonts – Finally as Precise as Print?by katied

Thomas Phinney Using fonts on the web has been a frustrating balancing act between style, design, readability, searchability, and presentation. The results were often the worst of both worlds rather than the best. Live Fonts propose to change all that.

In his presentation, “CSS3 OpenType: The New Web Typography Frontier,” Thomas Phinney covers the new possibilities and choices available to designers.

Thomas is a leading expert on typography, and the senior product manager for fonts and typography at Extensis. He has long been involved in the design, technical, forensic, business and historical aspects of type, as well as font standards development. His typeface Hypatia Sans is an Adobe Original.

Oct 31, 2011You Can Learn About UX from Kermitby katied

Russ Unger In 1954, 40-50 years before most people knew about UX, Jim Henson was applying many of the core principals that UX designers today are using as part of our everyday work. If you’re a UX practioner, maybe all of the hours that you spent watching Sesame Street is finally paying off.

In “From Muppets to Mastery: Core UX Principles from Mr. Jim Henson,” Russ Unger takes a quick dive into the life of Jim Henson, with a view into his work from the perspective of how it pertains to what it is we’re doing today.

Russ is a UX Director for Happy Cog, a web design firm in New York City, Philadelphia and San Francisco. He is co-author of the book “A Project Guide to UX Design” for Peachpit Press (Voices That Matter) and is co-authoring a book on guerrilla research methods with Todd Zaki Warfel.

And yes, there will be muppets.

Oct 29, 2011Dive Into the New Reality of User Experienceby katied

Andrew HintonTechnology is changing the very idea of identity and location. Today context has become everything. Our brains are not necessarily keeping up and, too often, design is not addressing these changes.

In “The Context Problem: How We Broke it and Might Be Able to Fix It“, speaker Andrew Hinton gets to the heart of how our new networked reality has disrupted context. He suggests some possible ways to do a better job with digital design.

Andrew is Principal UX Architect at Macquarium, an Atlanta user-experience consulting firm. Andrew has designed information systems and interfaces for Fortune 500s, small businesses and non-profits alike, and is an internationally recognized speaker and writer on IA and UX.

Andrew is a big believer in the practice of information architecture, which he sees as an evolving field that we have only begun to understand.

Oct 26, 2011Be Usable! The Secrets of Progressive Enhancementby katied

Jason Cranford Teague Web page design is changing — fast, and it’s important for designers to recognize its weaknesses and strengths. Understanding this is core to creating web sites using progressive enhancement, where pages don’t have to look the same in every browser, they just have to be usable.

Jason Cranford Teague explores how to design interactive web pages using CSS3 technologies in “HTML5 + CSS3 = Your Web Design Future,” and provides practical tips.

Jason is the Managing Director of UX for Forum One, an interactive agency applying technology in creative ways to build a more positive future and is a prolific writer, with numerous books and articles published about all aspects of digital media and culture. He is also a semi-regular columnist for Webdesigner Depot and GeekDad where he writes about space, comic books, and sci-fi.

Oct 26, 2011Ready, get set, go! Choose Your Mobile Adventure.by katied

Jason GrigsbyMobile is still creating itself. There are so many options, and all of them are SO different. What’s a designer to do, to make the right choice for yourself and your customers? Picking the right path through the mine field can be daunting, but understanding your options can get you there.

In “Choose Your Mobile Adventure“, Jason Grigsby will sort out the different options for you so that you can make educated choices about what makes sense for your project.

Jason is a mobile web strategist, co-founder of CloudFour.com and MobilePortland.com, and co-author of “Head First Mobile Web”. He has a proven track record of identifying trends and taking advantage of new technology. He specializes in helping customers determine their best options online. His expertise includes information architecture, usability, and emerging technology like social media.

Oct 25, 2011Bold! Daring! Studio Tours!by katied

What are the cool kids doing in Atlanta? Sign up for the full conference deal and you’ll get a chance to tour local up and coming studios like ScoutMob, Studiocom and Neboweb, and take a tour of the fabulous Savannah College of Art and Design (SCAD, for short). This is your chance to see how these studios build brands, craft campaigns, and create an effective media presence for their clients. Maybe even get tips and tidbits for your own method. Instead of just thinking, planning, and talking about web and new media, you’ll go behind the scenes and see how it’s done.

If you’re a WebVisions regular, you know that we bring together an all-star lineup of experts for sessions, panels and keynotes – and the casual, collaborative atmosphere leads to all sorts of connections and opportunities. If you’re new to the event, sign up and see what you’ve been missing.