
15 UX Tools that make my work stand out.
A top designer like me relies on his tools to create true craftmanship in UX. Due to massive demand by the universal design community, I will let you in on my 15 top tools & tips.
So yes, the websummit, the tech event of the year that lets everyone inspired by technology cross roads with each other, in search of the next big thing. It’s the first time I’ve visited the event in Lisbon and the second time I joined a network group of entrepreneurs, this time with Bloovi, the Belgian inspirational content platform that regularly organizes network trips, but more on that later.
To kick off with what we came here for, the Websummit is a huge tech conference that hosts more than 1000 speakers on 20 different topics over 3 days, 5 halls and 17 stages. There’s much to say about the event and -from a customer experience viewpoint – quite a lot to improve on as well. What’s on offer is simply too big to tell, so I’ll just boil it down to the essentials and take it from there.
The core of the event was of course the endless line-up of talks and presentations. The stages primarily host panel talks, which have a moderator ask the panel members questions on the topic at hand. On that account, the summit attracts world-class speakers like Tim Berners Lee, Jimmy Wales or Noam Chomsky. Any of the speakers we saw were definitely experts in their field, except for that one guy who thought he invented the wheel.
It would have been nice to catch the big waves of their thoughts but the 20-minute duration of the talks was just too short to dive into the topics deep enough. Some of them didn’t even really touch the content description you came for at all. Consequently it mostly covered the basics, distributed over curtailed opinions and cast in obvious truths you hear your 20-year old colleagues at the coffee machine say every day. On the other hand, I probably wouldn’t know how to say it any other way given the small timeframe, so no offense to the speakers there. I’m looking at the organizers here!
On a personal note, I’d prefer lesser talks but spread over more time to allow the speakers to elaborate more. What I also missed besides the panel talks were the typical audience-entertaining keynotes where you get sucked into a story and inspired just by the sheer energy of the speaker, think TED. Panel talks are good, but in my opinion, a great tech event can’t go without. The few I saw lacked the energy you’d expect them to have. However, fair is fair, some of the talks did spill some interesting insights, which is what you come here for in the first place. Maybe I’ll learn more from hearing myself speak to the mirror.
In between the stages you had – again – a massive amount of startups setting up camp for a few days, with an offer that changes by the day, generating a total of more than 2200 startups over 3 days. Any ambitious tech-lover might manage to catch a few startups pitch their ideas, but the offer was just too overwhelming to even get a clear oversight of what was what. But then again, that’s not necessarily the idea. For me personally, it left me feeling a bit discouraged and indifferent the first day, but when I did manage to re-catch my breath the second day, I had some genuinely interesting talks with startup founders teeming with energy. It’s definitely invigorating to see so much ambition out there, even if every self-proclaimed unique business model out there shares at least 1 similar business model at the summit, which is perfectly normal given these times. Glad to also see that the summit represented a fair share of what the world has on offer, showcasing startups from Albania to Zambia.
All that was on offer was beautifully organized in a clear and concise mobile app, which I – as a UX Designer – considered a real treat. It displayed a distinct schedule, gave the right notifications at the right time and recommended the best talks, based on your interests. Furthermore it featured a smooth way to connect to other people through the chat and scan function. If you didn’t have the app or you were left without battery, you were in some bad luck however. And that’s also the reason you had people, about 70000 of them, bumping into each other the whole time, looking at their screens while rushing between pavillions. I’m very much guilty on that matter as well. But hey, kudos to the app-makers! I could have done a better job for sure but that’s just me, the Pimp.
A careful reader might notice that I wasn’t all that generous with compliments so far. It’s true, although I had a good time at the summit, overall I wasn’t a huge fan and personally wouldn’t recommend anyone paying 900€ for it. But that’s me, don’t ever let that hold you back from going next year. Maybe the best way to describe the event in short is that it was an excellent way to portray a general future of what our society at large is heading for in terms of technological innovation. It touches all those points in a high level way, leaving you with just enough indication of what it all means, and it’s a great way to connect to likeminded people to get in deeper if you wish or if you came with a certain focus. I also appreciated the fact that it did go wider than just technology itself, touching viewpoints on future societies and climate-awareness, but then again, maybe it felt a bit too much too shallow. In short, the summit in itself was one big wave of enthousiasm, especially seasoned for the more intermediate surfer. Finally it’s the unrivaled get together of a world of techies trying to connect, sell and be on top of the future. If you want to feel a part of it, the Websummit is a great place to start.
A final word for our Bloovi organizer, who put together this amazing 3 day-trip with a little under 60 people of different professional background and age. As with most organized network-trips I’ve been on, it’s been a fantastic way to connect to new people on a deeper level than you’d ever do back home. We were all very ambitious to get to know each other and I genuinely learned new things, again. Besides that I feel some seeds have been planted for later collaboration with some of the fellow travelers, which is the desirable goal of such a trip. I wish the time allowed me to get to know everybody in greater depth, but just like the Websummit itself, it was a perfect first wave to surf.
As they say in Portugal, ‘mantenha suas calças levantadas!’ and see you next time!
A top designer like me relies on his tools to create true craftmanship in UX. Due to massive demand by the universal design community, I will let you in on my 15 top tools & tips.
How is it possible that for an interaction billions of people engage in daily, there are only a few modes of communicating? Why can’t the honk be designed to communicate different messages? Read the story of Angry Adam.
The most extensive guide ever written, featuring 25 fundamental laws!
Designing a website isn’t as simple as you always thought. There’s a lot to cover. Fortunately, Pimp has written the most extensive guide ever written, with 25 fundamental laws he invented. A must read for anyone with the intention to ever design a website, or look at one.