Strategic chaos: UX design in the wild is messy. And beautiful.

In college I was told that I would never cut it as a graphic designer. 

By. My. College. Professor. 

And yet another teacher in college told me in my flash web development class that I would never make it as a web developer. (Yes, flash). 

So was I really just THAT bad at both design and development in 2001? Well, maybe. Or was it that they didn’t understand why I couldn’t–and even flat out refused to–focus my studies on a single design medium or specialized skill? 

Fast forward to today, and the very thing that I was downgraded on has become the key to my success as a UX lead working on multi million dollar software and platforms. Not to mention teaching UX design and web development at the same university 15 years later. 

And flash is dead πŸ™‚

Understanding Web Accessibility From the Human Perspective

Making websites accessible to people with disabilities has become increasingly important as legal complications from non-accessible sites grow. Despite the rise in lawsuits and in available resources to learn about accessibility, it’s still a topic unfamiliar to many who craft websites. To many unfamiliar with the concept, a dismissive attitude can exist, seeing it as a lawsuit-driven phenomenon. This talk will look at the human side of web accessibility and demonstrate why these often simple changes can make a significant difference in the lives of almost 20% of the population.

WordCamp Minneapolis / St. Paul MN is over. Check out the next edition!