An Event Apart Boston 2009

Thanks for the Memories

This show has ended but the memories linger on. Our thanks to all who attended. Visit our Events page to find out where we will be next. You can also follow us on Twitter, become a fan on Facebook, or subscribe to our mailing list to stay informed, read speaker and attendee interviews, network with colleagues, and earn exclusive discounts.

Monday, June 22

1. 8:30am–9:30am

   Revealing Design Treasures from The Amazon

   

   Jared Spool, Founding Principal, User Interface Engineering

   Amazon.com isn’t flashy, but its pages hide secrets every designer should know about. In this entertaining presentation, Jared will share some of UIE’s latest research into the hidden treasures of (the) Amazon. Learn the simple yes/no question that increased revenues by more than $1 billion, the subtlety of Amazon’s security system, the hidden aspects of its business model (and why designers need to care), and more.

2. 9:45am–10:45am

   Content First

   

   Kristina Halvorson, Founder and President, Brain Traffic

   11th hour copy. Fix-it-later launches. Our users deserve more than the last-minute content we often get stuck with. And you have the power to change the game. Learn how to introduce (and sell) content strategy into your web design process.

4. 11:00am–12:00pm

   Thinking Small

   

   Jason Santa Maria, Web Designer

   Even the most useful and usable websites can stand improvement. As designers, we’re all focused on the big picture of what a website has to say, but that big picture is comprised of countless tiny design choices behind its creation. In this session, we’ll look at common design misconceptions, visual design strategy, and small and achievable ways everyone can improve their website designs by thinking smaller.

5. 12:15pm–1:15pm

   Future Shock Treatment

   

   Jeremy Keith, Author, DOM Scripting

   With deadlines looming, it’s tempting to cut corners and make websites that just work in the here and now. But the sites we build today need to be backwards-compatible as well as future-proof. With a little foresight, it’s possible to write solid maintainable markup, CSS, and JavaScript. Get your teeth into real-world examples, and learn how standards are the key to creating a lasting legacy on the world wide web.

6. 1:15pm–2:30pm: LUNCH

7. 2:30pm–3:30pm

   Designing With Psychology in Mind

   

   Joshua Porter, Author, Designing for the Social Web

   Web designers wear many hats. One of the newer ones is “psychologist,” thrust upon us by Twitter and its social software brethren. Join Joshua Porter as he eases us through this transition with a tour of how to take advantage of known psychological principles to not only get people clicking, but possibly get into their minds as well.

8. 3:45pm–4:45pm

   DIY UX: Give Your Users an Upgrade (Without Calling In a Pro)

   

   Whitney Hess, Strategic Partner, Happy Cog

   Have you fallen in love with your solution and forgotten the original problem? Are you certain that your product actually makes people’s lives better? Not every company can hire someone like me to help you listen to your users, so you’re gonna have to learn how to do some of this stuff yourself. I’ll show you five techniques to find out who your users are, what they really need and how to go about giving it to them in an easy to use and pleasurable way. And it doesn’t have to bankrupt you or kill your release date.

9. 5:00pm–6:00pm

   Implementing Design: Bulletproof A–Z

   

   Dan Cederholm, Author, Bulletproof Web Design

   As the browser landscape changes, so does our approach to implementing flexible design. Learn 26 ways to help your interfaces become more adaptable, worry-free, and bulletproof.

10. 7:00pm–?pm

    Opening Night Party

    Sponsored by (mt) Media Temple

    Clery’s
    113 Dartmouth Street
    Boston, MA 02116
    (617) 262-9874

    Clery’s is a very short walk from the hotel, about 5–10 minutes. Download this map for directions.

Tuesday, June 23

1. 7:45am–8:15am

   Beyond Pixel Pushing: A Simple Way to Better Websites and Happier Clients

   

   Brett Welch

   Sponsored by: GoodBarry

   Many web designers find themselves frustrated with the overreaching demands of clients as technology improves. But the question is: are clients being unrealistic, or are you unprepared? The answer lies in the middle; the “new web” requires you to go beyond pushing pixels and lead your client to the promised land. Learn a simple process to working effectively with your clients that helps you build effective and future-proof websites that clients will love.

2. 8:30am–9:30am

   A Site Redesign

   

   Jeffrey Zeldman, Author, Designing With Web Standards, 2nd Ed.

   When and why should you redesign? How can you change the way a site looks, while preserving the way its brand feels? How can “listening to your content” help you retool a design to more effectively (and more excitingly) meet your users’ needs? To uncover these lessons and more, Zeldman will review the thinking behind his recent redesign of a site you know well.

3. 9:45am–10:45am

   Flash and Web Standards – Getting Along on the Playground

   

   Dan Mall, Interactive Director, Happy Cog

   HTML and CSS have always been cordial. Over the past few years, you’ve even been comfortable enough to ask your parents if JavaScript could stay for dinner. But how do you play nicely with Flash without getting beat up after school? Often the black sheep, Flash has adopted a bad rap with standardistas. This presentation will show you how to harness appropriate and inventive uses of Flash’s power, but beware: it may soon become your new BFF.

4. 11:00am–12:00pm

   Accessibility – Experiments at the Edges of Experience

   

   Derek Featherstone, Group Lead, The Web Standards Project

   Experience web accessibility as you’ve never experienced it before. Dive straight into accessibility at the edges of user experience. Learn about tools and techniques you can use right away in your quest to craft the most usable and accessible of applications and sites. More importantly, we’ll look at the concepts behind the techniques so you can start experimenting on your own, and walk away inspired—and ready to inject accessibility into the web.

5. 12:15pm–1:15pm

   Findability Bliss Through Web Standards

   

   Aarron Walter, Author, Building Findable Websites: Web Standards, SEO, and Beyond

   Connecting with your audience is objective number one for any website. Findability—the discipline of helping users discover the content they seek—not only helps businesses get their message out, but it improves the user experience, too. The secret to attaining findability bliss, both with search engines and beyond, lies in the wisdom of web standards.

6. 1:15pm–2:30pm: LUNCH

7. 2:30pm–3:30pm

   Change the World (Wide Web)?

   

   Scott Thomas, AKA SimpleScott, Design Director, Obama for America

   The web has accelerated our communications, made the daily grind more efficient, and allowed each of us to have a voice, but how will it change our politics, make our society more efficient, create a better world for us and our children? It will be our generation’s responsibility and opportunity to design a web that no longer traps us, but frees us to pursue the highest form of happiness.

8. 3:45pm–4:45pm

   Surprise & Delight

   

   Heather Champ, Community Manager, Flickr

   All the planning in the world can’t prepare you for how real people will use your website. Heather will share lessons she’s learned as the Director of Community at Flickr on how to shepherd a passionate community.

9. 5:00pm–6:00pm

   Walls Come Tumbling Down

   

   Andy Clarke, Author, Transcending CSS

   Should you be preoccupied worrying about the future, or could you instead find new ways of working? Would improving your methods give you more time to be creative? Could you work more efficiently, be more profitable, and help safeguard your job or your business? In this positive presentation, learn how limitations and constraints can focus your mind and help you develop more creative approaches.