We've got an amazing line-up for you this year. It's two full days across two tracks, so that's four times as much content as last year! We've also got four full day in depth workshops so you can really get stuck in to the topic of your choice.
Track 01:
Conference Day 01 ~ 18 May, 2010
Track 02:
Conference Day 01 ~ 18 May, 2010
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Track 01:
09.05 - 09.45
Play. Destroy. Create.
Brendan Dawes - Magnetic North
All Brendan Dawes ever wanted to do was make things; magical things that provoked a reaction from the people who used them. Now, more than ever, we're surrounded by wonderful toys and tools that allows us as designers to make delightful things. In this session Brendan shares some of his thoughts on his creative ethos to make the most of these exciting times.
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Track 01:
09.50 - 10.30
How to Get Started with CSS3
Dan Cederholm - Simple Bits
Dan Cederholm returns to FOWD with a session pulling together the easiest ways to jump in with CSS3, providing fictional case studies and real life examples from personal projects.
Track 02:
09.50 - 10.30
Advanced HTML5 Class
Peter Lubbers - Kaazing
You already know HTML5 is the future of the Web. That is why Peter Lubbers--one of the specially nominated Carsonified rising stars--is not going to bore you with another HTML history lesson. In this "masterclass in the dark arts of HTML5," Peter will show you how you can use some of the more advanced HTML5 features and APIs to code up compelling HTML5 applications that use features such as Geolocation, Web Sockets, Web Workers, Canvas, and more to address real-life use cases.
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Morning Break - Including Speed Networking: 10.30 - 11.25
A chance to meet up with your friends and have a cup of coffee on the house!
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Track 01:
11.25 - 12.05
jQuery for Designers: All You Need to Code
Remy Sharp - Left Logic
jQuery is the JavaScript library that's taken web developers by storm, but it's also on a lot of designers radar as a method of creating interactive effects without having to truly understand the ins and outs of JavaScript. This talk will introduce some more advanced features of jQuery, expose common development issues and help you to identify specific areas jQuery can help build part of your application.
Track 02:
11.25 - 12.05
Graceful Degradation of CSS3
Denise Jacobs - Denise Jacobs
The passion for CSS3 grows steadily as more designers become familiar with its properties and ease of use. In this session, Denise R. Jacobs will discuss the few complications that stand in the way of the seemingly perfect love affair, and then will get down the nitty-gritty of how to execute designs for the present and future while using graceful degradation techniques to respect the browsers of the past.
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Track 01:
12.10 - 12.25
Accessibility in Web Design
Robin Christopherson - AccessibilityNet
A member of the Guild of Accessible Websites, Robin joins us to lend his first hand appreciation of the importance of good web design practice, with regards to access and usability.
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Lunch: 12.25 - 13.55
Break for lunch on us. Networking, some time to catch up with each other, and a bit of a breather before the afternoon sessions start up!
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Track 01:
13.55 - 14.15
Learning to Love Humans: Emotional Interface Design
Aarron Walter - MailChimp
Humans, though cute and cuddly, are not without their flaws, which makes designing for them a challenge. By understanding how the wet, mushy processor works in these hairy little devils, you can design interfaces and web experiences that will have them hopelessly devoted to your brand.
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Track 01:
14.20 - 15.05
10 Tips for iPhone Interface Design
Sarah Parmenter - You Know Who
The jump from designing for the web to the iPhone is a bigger leap than most designers anticipate, dodging through the Apple Interface Guidelines and the app approval process can be an art in itself. Sarah Parmenter helps us take this leap of faith by neatly guiding us through the 10 Principals of iPhone User Interface Design.
Track 02:
14.20 - 15.05
UX Masterclass with Web Standardistas
Web Standardistas - Web Standardistas
Back by popular demand - Web Standardistas take a well earned place on our Rising Stars Track to lead a masterclass session on UX.
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Afternoon Break - Including Design Clinic: 15.10 - 16.15
Time for another break, and a much needed coffee.
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The Design Clinic: 15.10 - 16.15
Relly AB, Mike Kus, Molly, Jon Hicks & Simon Collison
This is your chance to get a one on with the experts and talk about your projects.
Get feedback, advice and direction from our top panel of designers. -
Track 01:
16.15 - 16.35
Web Design Redefined, with Web Fonts
Allan Haley - Monotype Imaging
Typography has often been a thorn in the side of Web designers who have traditionally been confined to a limited number of system fonts or forced to embed type within graphics. New technologies promise to bring Web designers the same level of typographic choice and freedom that print designers enjoy. Discover more about the emerging world of Web typography how it will impact you.
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Track 01:
16.40 - 17.20
5 New Skills that Every Web Designer Needs to Know
Paul Boag - Headscape
What does it mean to be a web designer? The chances are its a lot more than design and front end coding. As the web becomes increasingly complex so do client demands. In this talk Paul highlights 5 essential skills you must have in order to meet their needs.
Track 02:
16.40 - 17.20
Smart Tips for Wireframing
Brad Haynes - Paramoreredd
Great strategy results in great work. Understanding the unique aspects of individual projects is essential to success. This talk will explore the different wireframing methods and tools available to designers to help them become a strategic force to be reckoned with, no matter the project.
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Goodbye & Announcements: 17.25 - 17.30
Time to wrap things up for the day...
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Party Time! 19.30 - LATE
It's time to let your hair down and party!
Track 01:
Conference Day 02 ~ 19 May, 2010
Track 02:
Conference Day 02 ~ 19 May, 2010
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Track 01:
09.05 - 09.45
Progressive CSS3 Design
Molly Holzschlag - Molly.com
After a decade, CSS 2.1 has finally become more consistent across browsers, giving designers and developers more creative options than ever before. Of course, with work well underway in CSS3, we find ourselves again challenged by how to tap into CSS3's wonderful features such as real fonts, HSL color, transparency/opacity, media queries - the list of features goes on and on. But once again, we find ourselves hungering to use these powerful technologies, yet battling browser inconsistencies. By using progressive techniques, Molly will show you how to make these features available in the majority of browsers useful today, while ensuring that those browsers without support get a good experience, too. Even in IE6!
Track 02:
09.04 - 09.45
Google Analytics Masterclass
Niamh Phelan - iQContent
This session takes a ‘teach you to fish’ approach to Web Analytics with particular reference to the free tool Google Analytics. No prior knowledge of analytics is assumed, however the talk will progress quickly to advanced techniques.
Niamh will cover the configuration necessary to ensure you have clean data in your GA account and that you are tracking downloads. She will cover how to set up and analyse goals and funnels in GA, because it is not enough to count visits, you need to know about the quality of the visits in order for your web analytics to be actionable. Implementing and analysing front end tracking on discrete pieces of functionality, for example a feature selector, can reveal usability issues and insights into customer behaviour and following this talk, you will be able to implement similar tracking on your own sites.
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Track 01:
09.50 - 10.30
What will Web Design Look Like in Two Years?
Simon Collison - Colly.com
Will we meet user expectations in the near future? How will we be using and synthesizing existing technologies? What role will next-generation platforms play? How might we take augmented environments online? What role will traditional design theory and best practice play in all of this? Importantly, will we break the rectangle? Simon travelled to 2012 and back in order to find out.
Track 02:
09.50 - 10.30
Web Accessibility for Happy Designers
Sandi Wassmer - Copious
Web Accessibility starts with Understanding and leads to Happiness. When it begins with Assumptions, it usually ends in Mistakes. Sandi Wassmer will take you on a tour of the assumptions, myths and misnomers about Web Accessibility that lead to the most common and easily avoidable mistakes. She will show you how a little understanding goes a long way and will put you on the right path towards making Accessibility an integral part of the design process.
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Morning Break - Including Speed Networking: 10.30 - 11.25
A chance to meet up with your friends and have a cup of coffee on the house!
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Track 01:
11.25 - 12.05
How to be More Successful Through Self-Promotion, Without Selling Your Soul
Elliot Jay Stocks - Elliot Jay Stocks Ltd
Elliot's talks often revolve around the idea of thinking outside of the box: designing sites that stay ahead of current trends, pushing things forward with progressive enhancement, and daring to venture beyond what's considered to be the accepted way of making stuff for web and print.
What if those same principles were applied to web design business? Since leaving full-time employment to become a freelancer and then evolving into a company, Elliot has found himself to be what he calls "an accidental businessman": someone who has had a decent amount of success while still keeping creativity the number one motivation for work (rather than money).
In this occasionally controversial presentation, Elliot reveals the lessons he's learned so far that have helped him run a successful design business, focusing on the importance of self-promotion and the confidence to do things your own way.
Track 02:
11.25 - 12.05
The Art of Emotional Design: A story of pleasure, joy, and delight.
Aral Balkan
Most apps suck. Making an app that doesn't suck is hard work and requires uncompromising focus. We call apps that don't suck "usable". However, in the Age of User Experience, making apps that are merely usable is no longer good enough.
So how can you go beyond making usable apps to creating exceptional experiences that evoke powerful emotions in users?
In this inspirational session, Aral will offer you an impassioned glimpse into his approach of authoring apps that people find joyful and fun; apps that people fall in love with.
Delight, story, empathy, character, voice, beauty, fun, and play are just some of the topics that will be covered and illustrated with examples from Aral's decade-long experience in authoring web, Flash, desktop, and mobile apps, including his latest top-selling iPhone app, Feathers.
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Track 01:
12.10 - 12.50
How to Build a HTML5 Website - Live Demo
Bruce Lawson - Opera
We start at the very beginning (as it's a very good place to start) with a blank file in a code editor. Like a rollercoaster ride through a world of angle brackets and monospaced typefaces, we'll thrill to the HTML5 doctype, gasp at syntax rules looser than Kevin Bacon's feet in Footloose. Weep with joy at the new structural elements, laugh like a loon as we apply CSS with no classes or IDs .. even in Internet Explorer! Tremble with terror at the mighty new HTML5 forms! Hide behind the sofa from the horrifying typos!
Track 02:
12.10 - 12.50
Freelancer Survival Tips
Anna Debenham - Maban
Part of being a freelancer involves finding yourself ridiculously overworked, or embarrassingly underworked. Then there are the client phonecalls at midnight, the dreaded tax forms, the cabin fever, and of course the hours spent trying to get it through to your friends and family that you do actually have a real job.
With many losing their jobs in the recession, and university graduates struggling to get that first step on the career ladder, freelancing is becoming an ever more desirable and ultimately an increasingly competitive option.
This session will cover how to set up as a freelancer, working out how much you should charge, keeping track of expenses and writing a contract. There will also be plenty of tips on how to be a better freelancer including effective remote working, keeping your sanity, staying competitive without reducing your rates, and how to get decent clients (and keep them) without spending a penny on marketing.
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Lunch: 12.50 - 14.20
Break for lunch on us. Networking, some time to catch up with each other, and a bit of a breather before the afternoon sessions start up!
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Track 01:
14.20 - 14.40
Rethink Your Job (and Earn More Money).
Brett Welch - Adobe
It's time for us all to rethink what web design is about - and what your clients really need from you. In fact, should terms like "website", "hosting" and "disk space" even be in your vocabulary? Brett Welch returns to FOWD to share some proven ways to re-think your projects, lead your clients to happier pastures, increase your own profits... and generally amp up the awesome-meter.
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Track 01:
14.45 - 15.25
Icon Design
Jon Hicks - Hicks Design
Jon Hicks, the creative force behind Hicksdesign, takes to the stage to speak on the secrets of great icon design. With a brilliant portfolio of work behind him (Mailchimp, Opera Mini 5, Fontexplorer Pro icons) this isn't one to miss!
Track 02:
14.45 - 15.25
Tips for Making Your Web Design Business More Successful
Thomas McLeod - Page Lime
How not to get run over, running a web design business. Thomas McLeod takes you on a multimedia walk through some of the key decisions and milestones that every designer faces. Start up, freelance or company man: leave with a better understanding of life, business and the pursuit of entrepreneurial success.
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Afternoon Break - Including Design Clinic: 15.25 - 16.20
Time for another break, and a much needed coffee.
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The Design Clinic: 15.10 - 16.15
Paul Boag, Sarah Parmenter, Elliot Jay Stocks, Remy Sharp & Dan Rubin
This is your chance to get a one on with the experts and talk about your projects.
Get feedback, advice and direction from our top panel of designers. -
Track 01:
16.20 - 16.40
Partner Session
Speaker TBC
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Track 01:
16.45 - 17.25
Blending Usability Testing with Interface Design, Prototyping and Rapid Iteration
Dan Rubin - Sidebar Creative
Presented as a case study review, Dan explores examples from a real life project, explaining the method of testing and prototyping used, and showing the value of making adjustments to a design during testing, exposing changes in behavior that could not have been otherwise observed.
Track 02:
16.45 - 17.25
Diverse Creative Practice: Jack of all Trades, Master of None, Lover of Many
Gavin Strange - Jam Factory
Being diverse and applying your creative excitement and enthusiasm to new mediums helps strengthen your skill set and opens up lots of wonderful new opportunities! Let Gav, a jack of all trades, convince you to throw caution to the wind and make the time to dive head-first into the unknown, only good things can happen!
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Goodbye & Announcements: 17.25 - 17.30
That's it for another year! See you in 2011 everyone...
This year we have 4 Workshops to choose from. They're full day workshops, so you can really get stuck in and learn loads about the topic you're most passionate about.
4 Workshops to Choose from:
Workshops Day ~ 17 May, 2010
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01:
09.00 - 17.00
How to Run a Successful Web Design Business
Paul Boag - Headscape
We like to think that being a successful independent web designer is about creating great websites. Its not. Running your own business is about a lot more than having the right professional skills. Paul’s workshop will reveal the hidden secrets to building a successful, profitable web design business.
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02:
09.00 - 17.00
Accelerating Creativity in ActionScript 3 using HYPE
Josh Davis - Josh Davis Studios
Flash is a wildly creative medium and ActionScript 3 is amazingly powerful. But many designers and developers find it incredibly frustrating to get up to speed with these tools, and even then, working with AS3 can be quite time-consuming, requiring the investment of a significant amount of up-front effort in the planning and setup of your Flash movies, before you can actually get anything done. This is frustrating for anyone, but particularly so for creative talent.
When you have an idea, you don't want to spend half a day setting up your class files (if you're even comfortable doing that) before you can express it. You want to start expressing yourself immediately! And that's exactly what this workshop will show you how to do. In this intimate workshop, internationally-renown and award-winning artist Joshua Davis will lead students through the concepts of rapid-prototyping creative work in Adobe Flash. Specifically, across more than 15 classroom hours, Joshua will illustrate how to start building fun, creative and rewarding Flash work in minutes instead of hours, utilizing the HYPE AS3 framework (developed by Joshua Davis and Branden Hall).
All students will leave with tons of source files, including the HYPE framework, and many samples of how to use it for the rapid expression of creativity in ActionScript 3.
Skill Level:
A basic understanding of Flash and ActionScript is essential.
Course Outline Media & Techniques:
Adobe Flash CS4 and ActionScript AS3 on your computer. Advance your basic Flash design skills to develop working prototypes of interactive design and animation, presentation of concepts to speed up production, and achieve more flexibility.
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03:
09.00 - 17.00
HTML5 and CSS3 (Sold Out)
Molly Holzschalg - Molly.com
An in depth workshop that will help you gain the knowledge to put you in the front line when it comes to inovations in HTML5 and CSS3.
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04
09.00 - 17.00
Words and Pictures: Copy and the design process
Relly Annett-Baker - Poppy Copy
A workshop for designers to learn about working with content as part of the design process, as opposed to making empty boxes for content to go into, and what to do when faced with creating content themselves. This is aimed at designers who may freelance or design for a number of smaller sized projects - not big enough to justify a full-time strategist - and those that often leave the designer to make decisions about placeholder copy, interaction instructions, or designing without good knowledge of what might end up being on these sites.
