Mex Design Talk

Accessible design is good design, whether motivated initially by the needs of users with specific disabilities or broader goals of social and economic inclusion. Neil Milliken talks to MEX founder and podcast host Marek Pawlowski about his work leading accessibility at Atos, one of the world's largest digital services companies, and the AXSChat community he co-founded. The conversation ranges from Neil's early career to the academy he is building at Atos to teach accessible design skills. Show notes with links to everything discussed & bonus content: http://mobileuserexperience.com/?p=4009 Contact: T: @mexfeed E: designtalk@mobileuserexperience.com

In this episode we share 6 digital design inspirations, from a sci-fi film script written by artificial intelligence to a fashion collection influenced by sound waves. Prompted by a move to Basecamp for MEX collaboration, podcast co-host Alex Guest introduced ‘Friday inspirations’, a recurring task for each member of the team to share a weekly ‘find’ with colleagues. Alex and co-host Marek Pawlowski take turns explaining why they picked each inspiration and how it relates to digital experience design. It leads to a discussion about how the project has influenced the work of the MEX team and how tangential inspirations inform the day-to-day of MEX research and conferences. Show notes with links to everything discussed & bonus content: http://mobileuserexperience.com/?p=4002 Contact: T: @mexfeed E: designtalk@mobileuserexperience.com

Design improves in proportion with how accurately users’ true feelings are understood. However, are user experience practitioners doing enough to look outside their own field to evolve new research techniques? We spoke with Aaron Garner of the Emotional Intelligence Academy about the methods he uses to understand microexpressions – fine nuances which are often more reflective of users’ real reaction to a product, before they are quickly hidden in the interests of social etiquette. Aaron’s current work is in areas such as security and human resources, but a conversation with podcast hosts Marek Pawlowski and Alex Guest reveals valuable cross-industry lessons which could be applied to digital experience design. You can find detailed show notes, with links to everything mentioned, at http://www.mobileuserexperience.com/?p=3973. Don't forget the MEX/16 conference at http://pmn.co.uk/mex/. Email designtalk@mobileuserexperience.com.

This special edition of the MEX podcast takes you hands-on with the user experience of virtual reality, with bonus photos and videos. In episode 12 we went in-depth on the design principles of augmented, virtual and mixed reality with Greg Taylor of Tigerspike. When Greg took delivery of his HTC Vive – arguably the most immersive virtual reality experience available to consumers today – he invited Design Talk hosts Marek Pawlowski and Alex Guest to spend an afternoon exploring it in Tigerspike’s London studio. The podcast recounts first-hand impressions of the Vive and expands into a discussion of how this new form of digital experience might change design agency strategy and individual practitioner skills. You can find detailed show notes, with links to everything mentioned, at http://www.mobileuserexperience.com/?p=3933

Many of us are now in the ideas business and, of course, those ideas have to come from somewhere. Sometimes they’re iterative and result from the day-to-day work we’re already doing. Sometimes they spin off from specific client projects. But what about those transformative, tangential ideas which seem to come out of nowhere and surprise us with their potency and unexpected ability to solve difficult digital experience challenges? This episode is all about those random insights, where they come from, how valuable they can be and how you can invest in nurturing them. You can find detailed show notes, with links to everything mentioned, at http://www.mobileuserexperience.com/?p=3914

Automotive is an industry in transition. The challenge is two-fold: an immediate need to enhance digital elements of the vehicle experience, while contemplating the longer term – and arguably more significant – conceptual revolution in personal mobility enabled by pervasive computing. Parrish Hanna, Global Director of Interaction & Ergonomics at Ford joins Design Talk hosts Marek Pawlowski and Alex Guest for a discussion which ranges from lessons learned in smartphone design and the intricacies of user testing to new ways of shaping automotive brand experience and design skills for the future. You can find detailed show notes, with links to everything mentioned, at http://mobileuserexperience.com/?cat=360.

What does it take to create digital experiences which positively impact our health? How do user experience requirements change as digital evolves from a method for simply self-tracking health metrics to becomes a platform for diagnosing and even treating conditions. What are the requirements from different stakeholders, from end user patients to their casual networks of supporting friends and family, prescribing clinicians and the insurers and national health services which manage the costs. Hosts Marek Pawlowski and Alex Guest discuss examples, explore design principles and user research challenges. You can find detailed show notes, with links to everything mentioned, at http://mobileuserexperience.com/?cat=360

Understanding user behaviour and translating what we learn into actionable insights is the core of experience design. Host Marek Pawlowski is joined on the show by Ahbishek Gupta, UX Director at Lumosity and a practitioner with a strong personal interest in frameworks for behavioural insight. The discussion ranges from practical examples of these frameworks in action to Abhishek's own career path, mentors and favourite product experiences. Find detailed show notes linking to everything discussed at http://mobileuserexperience.com in the podcast section.

What will the experience feel like for the first users of virtual, augmented and mixed reality? How might designers prepare for this new, multi-dimensional digital canvas? Hosts Marek Pawlowski and Alex Guest discuss with Greg Taylor, General Manager of Tigerspike Next in London, a pioneering digital agency. Greg has been thinking about ways of breaking outside the traditional form factor of digital screens for many years, including a prescient talk at MEX in 2010, entitled 'Screen today, gone tomorrow'. You can find show notes linking to everything mentioned in the podcast section at http://mobileuserexperience.com.

Hosts Marek Pawlowski and Alex Guest examine user experience trends from 3 points on a timeline: 10 years past, the present and 10 years into the future. Alex discusses scenarios relating to his travels in Patagonia, trust, social networking and the sharing economy, while Marek focuses on cycling, quantified self and digital memories. The conversation goes on to look at how design approaches must evolve to cope with the growth in data, sensors and the role of digital in users’ lives. You can find show notes linking to everything mentioned in the podcast section at http://mobileuserexperience.com.

Nathan Benaich, a partner at VC firm Playfair Capital, joins hosts Marek Pawlowski and Alex Guest to talk about the confluence of artificial intelligence, machine learning and user experience. Playfair specialises in investing in this area and is actively building London’s growing community of AI start-ups and experts. Marek, Alex and Nathan share examples of digital experiences shaped by artificial intelligence and discuss the relationship with user-centred design. You can find show notes linking to everything mentioned in the podcast section at http://mobileuserexperience.com.

This episodes explores how trust can be created in digital UX through visual, interaction and service design techniques. Richard Lewis, Head of UX, Digital, RBS, joins co-hosts Marek Pawlowski and Alex Guest for the discussion. In addition to the theme of trust, Richard talks about his long career in UX, ranging from advertising agencies to large telcos and retailers like Orange and Tesco. The conversation touches on changing customer expectations of trust in the digital environment, the role of in-house teams versus agencies when driving large-scale change, Agile methodologies and user experience practices. You can find show notes linking to everything mentioned in the podcast section at http://mobileuserexperience.com/.

Starting with the theme of ‘Innovation has many guises’, co-hosts Marek Pawlowski and Alex Guest sit down for a discussion with Ramona Liberoff, CEO of the Spring Accelerator. Spring supports businesses which could have a transformative effect on the lives on adolescent girls, particularly in areas such as East Africa and South Asia. It is backed by both the British and American development agencies, UKAID and USAID, as well as the Nike Foundation. In addition to discussing Ramona’s own career, the conversation goes in-depth on how user-centred design principles are playing a role in the work of the Spring Accelerator. Show notes with links to everything mentioned can be found at http://mobileuserexperience.com in the podcast section.

Timo Ahopelto, founding partner at Lifeline Ventures, talks to Marek Pawlowski about start-up UX culture and developments in mobile, health and gaming. Lifeline Ventures raised a new EUR 57m fund in February 2016 to invest specifically in these areas. Show notes with links to everything mentioned can be found at mobileuserexperience.com in the podcast section.

Dr. Mike Short CBE, VP of Public Affairs at Telefonica, is interviewed by Marek Pawlowski and we catch-up on the latest happenings in the MEX community, from robot and IoT design principles to welcoming a new MEX/16 patron. Show notes with links to everything mentioned can be found at http://mobileuserexperience.com in the podcast section.

Louisa Heinrich is interviewed by Marek Pawlowski about robot user experience and her career in design. There's also the latest news from the MEX community and a user story all about FaceTime calling in the real world. Show notes with links to everything mentioned can be found at http://mobileuserexperience.com in the podcast section.

Digital consumption UX is the theme for this episode. Co-hosts Marek Pawlowski and Alex Guest discuss examples and extract design principles. Sabrina Majeed, a design manager at Buzzfeed, talks to Marek in an in-depth interview about how she's designed for content consumption throughout her career. We finish with a user story about subscription surfing for sports TV and Gameboy usage in a surprising demographic. Show notes with links to everything mentioned can be found at mobileuserexperience.com in the podcast section.

Peter Law is interviewed by Marek Pawlowski about his career in multi-sensory experience design, from the pioneering iOS audio game Papa Sangre to the Tate Sensorium, which combined art, digital and all five senses. There's also a user story about tap-to-pay in a rural backwater and the latest news from the MEX community. Show notes with links to everything mentioned can be found at http://mobileuserexperience.com in the podcast section. Co-host Alex Guest returns in the next edition.

Alex Guest and Marek Pawlowski discuss user experience for creators, starting with examples of creative apps, then digging into what happens to user behaviour at the intersection of consumption and creativity. Ed Rex talks to Marek Pawlowski about his start-up Jukedeck, composing music and the challenges of building great user experience alongside a powerful artificial intelligence engine. This edition's user story is all about using photos as digital breadcrumbs. Show notes with links to everything mentioned in the podcast section at mobileuserexperience.com.

Marek Pawlowski & Alex Guest discuss user experience considerations as digital intelligence becomes embedded in physical surroundings. Patrizia Bertini talks to Marek about her career as a user experience research director and Lego Serious Play facilitator. This edition's user story is all about a little face and a big screen. Show notes with links to everything mentioned in the podcast section at http://mobileuserexperience.com.