SapientNitro and IxDA Present: The return of the Great UX Debate at Interaction 13, January 31, 2013 from 9:45-10:45 AM, Metro Toronto Convention Centre

In February 2012 the debate started.  UX Titans from around the globe came together at Interaction 12 in Dublin.  Armed with Guinness & an array of Irish delights, they debated into the night with one shared interest – to debate the top UX issues of the time.  The response was positive to say the least.  The IxD community wanted more and the feeling was this debate needed to continue.  And so it shall as we bring The Great UX Debate to Interaction 13 in Toronto!

On January 31st, 2013 as part of the general conference programming for Interaction 13, a selection of the heaviest hitters in User Experience and Interaction Design will come together with an audience of 500+ conference participants and IxD practitioners to resolve the greatest UX questions of the moment.

The panel and the audience will thrash it out over topics dictated by YOU, the IxD Community.  How?  Register your attendance and/or debate statement in any of the following areas by selecting a ticket through Eventbrite:

• Interaction Design
• User-Centred Design
• User Research
• Information Architecture
• Content or Customer Experience Strategy

Our IxD13 UX Debate host, Robb Stevenson will choose the most potent of the submissions to hit the illustrious panel and UX Debate audience. Fear not, the audience will also get their say & we need this one to get FEISTY!

Join in the banter on twitter @uxdebate and don't be a stranger, remember it’s YOU, the IxD community who shape our industry.

Why You Should Attend?:

• This will give every IxD13 ticket holder the opportunity to dissect, discuss and debate the hottest topics in the UX sphere (must be an Interaction 13 conference registrant or day pass holder)
• Your chance to hear and be heard by the movers and shakers of the industry (and those are just the other attendees let alone the expert panel!)

Details:

• Where: Interaction 13, Metro Toronto Convention Centre
• When: January 31, 2o13, 9.30AM-10.30AM (general session)
• How: Everyone who is an IxD13 ticket holder can attend the debate however we need you to register (here) so you can submit your questions/topics for discussion.

Follow @UXDebate for updates :).  Check out the UX Debate panel below:

IxD13 UX Debate Host

ROBB STEVENSON - Experience Design Lead - SapientNitro

Experience Design Lead out of the Santa Monica office, Robb has amassed 14 years of successful engagements in product, marketing and communication strategy and execution.

He is a recognized innovator in crafting immersive brand experiences across multiple channels and devices including TV, Mobile, Tablet, Web, Gaming, & Kiosk.

When it's all said and done, Robb aims to be remembered as someone who cared deeply about the consumer and brand experience, a person with a keen interest in the form and function of things, and a design-mind with a penchant for creating products that are astoundingly useful, usable, engaging, and beautiful.

IxD13 UX Debate Panel

LOU LENZI - Director, Industrial Design Operations - GE Appliances

Lou Lenzi is the Director of Industrial Design  Operations for GE Appliances in Louisville, Ky. Lou leads a team of industrial designers, user interaction designers and human factors engineers responsible for the design of GE’s line of major appliances, marketed under the GE, Profile, Café, Monogram and Hotpoint brands. Lou is a Fellow of the Industrial Design Society of America (FIDSA) and is a 1980 graduate of the University of Cincinnati with a B.S. in Industrial Design. Prior to joining GE Appliances, Lou held design management positions with IBM, Thomson/RCA, GE Healthcare, and Audiovox Consumer Electronics.

GE made headlines recently for its billion-dollar investment in bringing back manufacturing to the U.S. and is influencing a ripple effect of related supplier production facilities. In 2012, GE opened new assembly lines to make innovative appliances in Kentucky at its legendary Appliance Park.

DONALD CHESTNUT - Chief Experience Officer - SapientNitro

Donald is SapientNitro’s Chief Experience officer, and the global lead for SapientNitro’s Experience Design practice. Over the course of his 17 years as an experience designer, he has worked with some of the world’s leading brands, including Disney, HSBC, Target, Wall Street Journal, Bed Bath & Beyond, United Airlines, BP, Citibank, Associated Press, Hilton International, UBS, Sprint, PetSmart, JetBlue, Staples, and Unilever.

In addition to leading SapientNitro's Experience Design practice, Donald also lead's SapientNitro's Experience Innovation team, a team focused on defining strategies for future customer experiences, and the impact that emerging technology will in have in transforming businesses of all types, including retail, financial services, media, and more.

In Donald’s work, he takes customer-centered thinking and applies it to a wide-variety of business problems, from communications to commerce, and including content, community and digital service design. Donald’s work requires leading a broad range of team members, including strategists, designers, information architects, content strategists, writers, developers and user researchers in the design and development of ground-breaking customer experiences that not only win awards, but also exceed the business goals that have been defined.

ANGEL ANDERSON - VP Experience Director - Crispin Porter + Bogusky

Angel Anderson has 10+ years of experience humanizing products and services for clients such as Old Navy, Dominos, American Express, and Best Buy. Her design expertise has helped shape cross-channel brand ecosystems, enterprise software, large-scale websites, mobile experiences and touch-points in the physical world. Recent projects have focused on the mobile retail experience, loyalty, and the link between physical and digital shopping.

MIKKEL MICHELSEN - Lead UX Designer - eBay

Mikkel is leading the UX design of eBay's products in Scandinavia, where he works on eBay Classifieds Group brands with designers, developers and product managers designing a complex ecosystem of both horisontal and vertical e-commerce products across mobile, tablets and web. Mikkel has a 1997 masters degree in HCI and Information Science from the University of Aarhus, Denmark and a degree in Business Administration.

Prior to joining eBay, Mikkel has worked with mission critical interaction design for military and healthcare, and business critical transaction management systems for trading environments. He has pioneered the design of a mobile touchscreen battle management system used by NATO forces in Afghanistan and worked on UX design for the F35 Joint Strike Fighter.

In his daily work, Mikkel is an outspoken UX evangelist and interaction design specialist who enjoys both strategy and working hands-on in all design fidelities leading to the end experience.

Mikkel is an IxDA conference veteran (all 6!), former IxDA local leader and IxD09 speaker on mission critical design.

TERESA BRAZEN - Curriculum & Marketing Strategist - Cooper U

As Curriculum & Marketing Strategist for Cooper U, Teresa Brazen pulls from her experience across many disciplines (film, design, journalism) to inspire curriculum, teach, communicate and build community. Her passion is evangelizing and creating intentional environments for teams and organizations, alike. The thoughtful design of these "“environments”" (both physical and figurative) results in outcomes that are co-created, co-owned--and, of course, creatively charged.

In her free time, Teresa makes short films. She interviews people at the edges of industry and culture, and shares their stories in her podcast, ""Tea with Teresa."" With the aim of exploring what makes people tick, Teresa uses video, installation, prose, and performance to expose universal emotions that people are often uncomfortable sharing publicly. Her work has exhibited internationally in Guyana, Malaysia, China, Italy, and the Getty Museum in Los Angeles. Follow Teresa on Twitter.

Looking forward to seeing you there :)