[Sigia-l] February IxDA NYC Event: Marc Rettig Presents "Interaction Design is Language Design"

[Ashley LaFrenais]

Don't miss this special IxDA NYC Monthly Gathering on February 14!  
Come share your passion for interaction design!

Marc Rettig Presents “Interaction Design is Language Design”

In this seminar Marc Rettig will explore the idea that when people  
use an interface, they are engaging in an act of language use.  
Designing an interface, therefore, amounts to designing a new  
language. Designers associate symbols with meanings. They create ways  
for people to use symbols in sequence to express complicated  
meanings. But what meanings? What symbols? What sequences? Can we do  
better than seat-of-the-pants answers to those questions? The notion  
of a "design language" has been with us for years, but if we take the  
idea seriously, perhaps ideas and frameworks from linguistics can  
help us design *better* interfaces.

The goal of topic is to create a grounded practice using the explored  
principles. The seminar is not meant to be a completed theory, but a  
work in progress that participants get to explore with Marc during  
the seminar and after on their own work.

EVENT DETAILS

When: Tuesday, February 14, 2006, 6:30 – 8:30 pm
Where:
   Parsons Design Lab
   55 W. 13th St. on the 9th Floor
   (map info: http://tinyurl.com/b26u2 )
Getting There:
   F, V, L at 14th & 6th Ave.
   N, Q, R, W, 4, 5,6, or L at 14th & Broadway

COST

$25 in advance; $40 @ the door (if space is available)
(A rare IxDA event to help cover speaker travel costs)

We only have about 30 spaces available for this event, so to secure  
your space, please RSVP to nyc (at) ixda (dot) org with your name and  
email address. We will send you a confirmation email containing  
information on how to pay your registration fee. Your space is not  
guaranteed until you have paid. If you are bringing guests, please  
send us each guests’ name and email address so that we can email them  
as well.

ABOUT MARC RETTIG

Marc Rettig is a founding principal of Fit Associates  
(www.fitassociates.com). After a twelve-year career as a software  
developer, Marc is now thirteen years into a second career as a  
designer, educator, and researcher. As someone committed to shipping  
"design that fits people's lives," Marc's work is to facilitate  
interdisciplinary efforts to translate customer research into good  
design and strategy. His clients include Whirlpool, BBC, the U.S.  
Army, Crate and Barrel, and Microsoft. He has taught both lecture and  
studio courses at Carnegie Mellon's Graduate School of Design (where  
he was the 2003 Nierenberg Distinguished Chair of Design) and the  
Institute of Design, IIT, in Chicago.

Marc has an undergraduate degree in Anthropology and Linguistics, and  
completed requirements for a Master's in Computational Linguistics at  
New York University. Marc frequently speaks and conducts hands-on  
workshops in industry and academic settings around the world. He   
serves on the advisory boards of the Interaction Design  Association,  
UXNet, and Rosenfeld Media.

ABOUT IxDA

The Interaction Design Association (IxDA) is a non-profit  
professional organization whose focus is promoting both the field of  
interaction design and the interests of an international community of  
practitioners, managers, educators, and students of interaction  
design. Our organization’s goals are to:

- Communicate the unique perspective that interaction design brings  
to both industry and the broader design community
- Promote awareness of the discipline, craft, and value of  
interaction design among business leaders, academia, consumers, and  
our colleagues
- Advance the discipline of interaction design by encouraging the  
adoption of innovative methods
- Encourage and recommend high standards of practice among  
interaction design professionals
- Help establish standards for academic programs in interaction design
- Develop an active, close-knit community of interaction design  
professionals worldwide

For more information about IxDA, or if you are interested in getting  
involved, contact us at nyc (at) ixda (dot) org or visit our web site  
at http://www.ixda.org.