There are a handful of conferences held each year that stand apart as being totally unique in terms of content and attendees. Sponsored by The Target Corp. and The Ringling College of Art & Design, the Sarasota International Design Summit clearly fits this description.
Every year, the conference picks a unique theme that all of the sessions touch on in some way or another. For folks working with creative technology... this is the year to shine. The theme for this year has been summarized as "visual. social. mobile", but followed up with "How design and design thinking are transforming technology innovation".
I am honored to have been chosen as a keynote speaker at the conference, and when deciding how to best approach the subject at hand as it pertains to the Web, I thought it might be most interesting to look at how design has driven technology companies to provide tools that can bring big ideas to digital reality.
In my position at Roundarch, I manage the partnership relationships with both Microsoft and Adobe and work with both of the software giants' platforms to design, develop and deploy next-generation applications where user experience drives the technology and often blurs the line between desktop and Web functionality.
To help me tell the story of where the Web (and software in general) is going, I decided to recruit two of my associates to pitch in and take the stage with me. I wanted the basis of my talk to be the evangelism of the importance of design as it applies to digital experiences. We are far past the point where technology alone is enough to differentiate digital experiences.
Who better to assist me with my story telling adventure than officially titled "evangelists" for both Microsoft and Adobe?
Fortunately, I know a couple of these folks, and they were more than happy to share the experience and seize the opportunity to address such a unique audience about the future of the Web and digital interactions. I work with both of these gentlemen on a regular basis and respect them both for their thinking on the topic at hand.
So, who are they?
Chris Bernard is a user experience evangelist for Microsoft. His job is working with the software design, development and business domains to communicate Microsoft's position on the importance of user experience in software design. To learn more about Chris, and understand what a wealth of knowledge this guy is, head over to his blog, Design Thinking Digest. Chris has a ton of experience in visual and interactive design and is no stranger to the challenges associated with enterprise-level software design and development and is considered an expert in his field.
Chris's unique approach to the design of products, services and systems often incorporates the principles of contextual research, cultural, human, physical and social factors.
Ryan Stewart works as a Rich Internet Application Evangelist for Adobe Systems. He has been tracking the Rich Internet Application (RIA) industry and doing RIA development for quite some time. Ryan's responsibilities at Adobe include being the evangelist for Adobe's AIR platform as well as the highly touted new software design tool that Adobe is creating, code-named "Thermo". Ryan is an integral part of the Adobe developer community and works every day to help companies understand Adobe's technology and how it can be used to create Rich Internet and Desktop software applications.
He is a regular blogger, both personally as well as for ZDNet, where he publishes "The Universal Desktop" Blog.
What to Expect
We have been kicking around a variety of ideas for how we want to present things. Aside from the amazing sample applications and examples that Chris and Ryan will have in their arsenal, I think that I will probably open the talk in an attempt to provide a little bit of context of "Where we've been" in our journey to create great user experiences that leverage the power of the Internet. After all, our thoughts are going to mostly focus on "The future" of the Web as we know it. I truly believe that before we can understand where we are going, we need to have some sort of context around "where we have been".
After a quick introduction on the topic, I am going to moderate a discussion where Chris (Microsoft) and Ryan (Adobe) will be able to share their perspective (and the perspectives of their auspicious employers) on a variety of topics.
I'd encourage anyone who happens to read this to contact me, or leave a comment with your own thoughts about what would make for interesting conversation with two experts who work on the bleeding edge of digital design and development.
Other Points of Interest at the Conference
This event looks fascinating. Every single one of the speakers has a unique background and equally unique message. Some of the people that will be featured that I can not wait to see speak and hopefully share ideas with include:
Michael Alexin, Vice President, Product Design and Development - Target
Michael joined Target in 2002 as Vice President, Softlines Design and Product Development, responsible for all creative direction, product design, materials R&D and technical development of Target's apparel and accessory products. He also is the executive co-chair of Target's Sustainability Council. Michael's previous experience includes leadership roles with Eddie Bauer, Nike, and Levi Strauss & Co.
Michael joined Target in 2002 as Vice President, Softlines Design and Product Development, responsible for all creative direction, product design, materials R&D and technical development of Target's apparel and accessory products. He also is the executive co-chair of Target's Sustainability Council. Michael's previous experience includes leadership roles with Eddie Bauer, Nike, and Levi Strauss & Co.
Brent Britton - Squire Sanders & Dempsey.
Brent C.J. Britton, is an intellectual property lawyer at Squire Sanders & Dempsey. He is also a radio personality, a software engineer, and the only lawyer who is a graduate of the MIT Media Lab. Britton published one of the first internet 'zines in 1985, was the first volunteer law clerk at the EFF, founded the first internet law journal, and, according to his wiki, was influential in establishing the legal framework that ushered in the late 20th century internet boom in San Francisco and Silicon Valley.
Brent C.J. Britton, is an intellectual property lawyer at Squire Sanders & Dempsey. He is also a radio personality, a software engineer, and the only lawyer who is a graduate of the MIT Media Lab. Britton published one of the first internet 'zines in 1985, was the first volunteer law clerk at the EFF, founded the first internet law journal, and, according to his wiki, was influential in establishing the legal framework that ushered in the late 20th century internet boom in San Francisco and Silicon Valley.
Charles Warren - Google
Charles Warren is a Senior User Experience Designer on Google's Mobile product development team, where he designs applications for iPhone and Android users, as well as for users in developing markets like Africa, India, and China. He's also responsible for Google Mobile's front-end product-concept development process.
Tom Crawford - VizThink
Tom Crawford is the CEO of VizThink, an organization dedicated to the creation of a sustainable, global community of people who use any form of the visual arts for learning and communication.
Bruce Damer - The DigitalSpace Corporation
In the 1980s, Bruce developed some of the first graphical user interfaces on personal computers while the 90s saw him help catalyze the virtual world and avatars medium. In the 2000s, Bruce brought online virtual worlds to NASA which uses them to design future missions. Most recently, in 2008, Bruce initiated the global EvoGrid project to demonstrate how evolution can be made to occur in Cyberspace. - Find out more about Bruce and the DigitalSpace Corporation
Charles Warren is a Senior User Experience Designer on Google's Mobile product development team, where he designs applications for iPhone and Android users, as well as for users in developing markets like Africa, India, and China. He's also responsible for Google Mobile's front-end product-concept development process.
Tom Crawford - VizThink
Tom Crawford is the CEO of VizThink, an organization dedicated to the creation of a sustainable, global community of people who use any form of the visual arts for learning and communication.
Bruce Damer - The DigitalSpace Corporation
In the 1980s, Bruce developed some of the first graphical user interfaces on personal computers while the 90s saw him help catalyze the virtual world and avatars medium. In the 2000s, Bruce brought online virtual worlds to NASA which uses them to design future missions. Most recently, in 2008, Bruce initiated the global EvoGrid project to demonstrate how evolution can be made to occur in Cyberspace. - Find out more about Bruce and the DigitalSpace Corporation
Jennifer Magnolfi - Herman Miller
Jennifer is co-author of Always Building, is an architect and technologist whose research explores the intersection among architecture, interaction design, and building systems.
Jennifer is co-author of Always Building, is an architect and technologist whose research explores the intersection among architecture, interaction design, and building systems.
Duane Bray - IDEO
Duane Bray is a partner at IDEO where he heads the firm’s global Software Experiences practice. Duane joined IDEO in 1995 to lead and develop the discipline of interaction design, now one of the firm’s most sought-after capabilities.
Brandon Oldenburg - Reel FX Entertainment
Brandon began his career as a co-founding member of Reel FX in 1995 doing a combination of design and special effects for television and film. There he worked with such clients as Troublemaker Studios, Pixar, Disney, Dreamworks and Blue Sky Studios. Early on, Brandon recognized the potential for limitless storytelling with computer animation.
October 27th - 29th 2008
Sarasota, FL
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