20th March 2018 ThoughtWorks Office Brisbane
So, this past Tuesday I attended my first UX Brisbane event at ThoughtWorks Office in Brisbane. Can I just say first, that the design space is so good!! And there is like a kitchen in the middle of the office, with so much and food drinks! Goals!! Back to the topic, the event was on Accessibility in the Digital and Real Worlds. What I really liked about this event was that there was a panel. Natasha Chee who works in commercial workplaces, buildings and management, as a project manager, I guess represented the 'Real World' and Charlie Carter who is a Director and Web Accessibility Consultant represented the 'Digital World'.
I have to be honest, sometimes I zone out depending of the topic, speaker and visuals of the presentation. But, having a panel made things interesting engaging. It was awesome to listen to how accessibility standards are similar and different in both the 'Real' and 'Digital' Worlds and how we encounter and tackle similar problems. There were several questions that were asked, such as inclusive design, similarities of how to approach a problem, challenges, legislative and successes when designing for accessibility. I found it really interesting considering how to design for the disabled (physical and blind) l as it is very challenging to design. Also coincidentally, it reminded me of my honours thesis focusing on the disabled elderly to access public transport easily.
There were a few videos that we saw on virtual worlds and one on redesigning parking signs. If I find the link to the video, I will update this blog- but it was such a good redesign, makes understanding when you can park and where. There were a few critiques that the panel did on signs and buttons that are located inside and outside of the lifts. Sometimes they can be confusing, especially if there are no numbered buttons to press, beside the open and close buttons. And then getting suck in the lift...Exhibit A below.......
This was the topic of the night, haha. But yeah, apart from that, my goal as a designer or fresh design graduate is to network this year. Through this event I was able to get my first freelance gig!!! Wooo!! I'm so happy about it! Especially, since I have been looking for a full-time design job since I finished my internship in my final semester of uni last year, and finding clients for freelance is actually kinda challenging (hard*). I guess this is a good way of building good relationships with connections in the industry and getting my name out there. The good thing about the design community in Brisbane, is that it is small, so I'm always seeing familiar faces around, which makes building connections easier and stronger. Can't wait to go to more events. My introvert self is getting use to this social thing, haha.