[Sigia-l] NH UPA January Meeting - Jared Spool: "What Makes a Design Seem Intuitive?" - Thursday, January 24, 2008, 6:00 PM

[Kyle Pero Soucy]

Please join us for the Inaugural NH UPA Meeting with speaker, Jared Spool!

For our first official UPA chapter meeting we will kick off the New Year
with special guest Jared Spool, an internationally renowned authority on
usability, to discuss what makes a design seem intuitive.

When:
Thursday, January 24th
Refreshments & Networking: 6-7:00 PM – Food & beverages will be provided.
Meeting: 7:00 PM – 8ish

Where:
University of New Hampshire (UNH)
Kingsbury Hall, Room N101
33 College Road
Durham, NH

Campus Map: http://www.unh.edu/map/UNHCampusMapcrop.pdf

Directions: http://www.unh.edu/transportation/visitor/directions.htm

Parking Directions: Park in Lot B – See Parking Details below.

Topic:

What Makes a Design Seem Intuitive?

Everyone wants an "intuitive" interface: the users, the designers, and the
content publishers. But building them is hard. User Interface Engineering's
recent research has given insight into why it's hard and how to get past
major obstacles.

To build an "intuitive" interface, a designer has to do two things: (1) Take
complete advantage of what the user already knows, so what they see is
completely familiar to them and (2) make the act of learning anything new
completely imperceptible to the user. It turns out, if the interface
requires the user to realize they are learning something, the "intuitive"
label disappears instantly.

In this talk, Jared will show:
+ How users need both tool knowledge and domain knowledge to complete their
tasks
+ How simple problems with designs can cause big problems for users
+ What successful teams are doing to create experiences that delight

Jared will show examples from Microsoft Word, MSN, Google Talk, Flickr,
Avis, and many more.

About Jared Spool:
Jared Spool is the founding principal of User Interface Engineering (UIE), a
leading research, training, and consulting firm specializing in website and
product usability.

If you’ve seen Jared speak about usability, you know that he’s one of the
most effective, knowledgeable communicators on the subject today. He’s been
working in the field of usability and design since 1978, before the term
“usability” was ever associated with computers.

Jared spends his time working with the research teams at the company, helps
clients understand how to solve their design problems, explains to reporters
and industry analysts what the current state of design is all about, and is
a top-rated speaker at more than 20 conferences every year. He is also the
conference chair and keynote speaker at the User Interface Conference, is on
the faculty of the Tufts University Gordon Institute, and is the author of
the book, "Web Usability: A Designer’s Guide".

RSVP:
Seats are limited. You must RSVP to attend, so don’t delay in reserving your
spot! Send RSVPs to info at nhupa.org. You will receive an email confirmation
once your name has been added to the list of attendees.

NH UPA meetings are open to anyone who is interested in attending.
Membership to the UPA is NOT required.

ABOUT OUR SPONSOR:
The UNH Department of Computer Science is well-known for sending skilled,
adaptable students into the workforce. Part of the College of Engineering
and Physical Sciences, our undergraduate and graduate curricula encourage
students to apply computer science in a broad set of areas, including
bioinformatics. Many of our undergraduate and graduate students end up
landing internships and jobs at local businesses; while others venture to
places like e-Bay in California and Microsoft in Washington State.  Our
faculty members have wide-ranging interests and research projects, with
concentrations in artificial intelligence, bioinformatics, computer graphics
and scientific visualization, database and knowledge base systems, operating
systems and computer networks, parallel computing and compiler design, and
theoretical computer science.

+  +  +

Stay informed about NH UPA meetings and events by joining the NH UPA Yahoo!
group at: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/nh-upa/.

+  +  +


Parking Details:
Attendees will be parking in B Lot, which is normally closed to the public
until 6 p.m., but they're going to stop ticketing at 5:30 for the purposes
of this event.

To get to B Lot follow 155A, or Main Street, up a hill past the Whittemore
Center. Stay straight at the stop light. Shortly after you pass Thompson
Hall (building with the clock tower) on the right, Main Street will turn
into a one-way street. Once it does, take your first right onto Mill Road.
You'll pass a small shopping plaza on the left and almost immediately after,
there will be a parking lot on the right. This is C Lot, but go beyond that
lot and take your second right onto McDaniel Drive. Shortly thereafter, B
lot will be on your right. Park on the opposite end of the parking lot,
closest to College Road. Walk towards College Road and take a left. You'll
pass McConnell Hall on the left, then Parsons Hall, then you'll come to
Kingsbury.

Parking Map: http://unh.edu/transportation/visitor/map.pdf


Hope to see you there!



Best,



Kyle

--
Kyle Pero Soucy
Founding Principal, Lead Consultant
Usable Interface
Usability and Interface Design Consulting

Phone: (603) 205-0315
Email: kylesoucy at usableinterface.com
Website: http://www.usableinterface.com