What is User Centred Design (UCD) and why is it important? How can UCD be applied to interaction design projects, and is it really worth the effort? This evening seminar presents practical case studies alongside a critical examination of the theory.

User Centred Design is an approach towards design and innovation that places the end user of the product or service at the heart of the development process.

UCD approaches aim to get as close as possible to the real context of use for any given design; they focus on trying to understand people's latent and unexpressed needs as well as those that are more immediately obvious.

UCD emphasises the business value that can be unlocked by a deep understanding of how people live and act in the world (as opposed to how they say they do). It subordinates the data-driven abstractions of market research, and the instincts of the designer towards situated observation and the rapid testing and iterating of products based on end-user feedback.

User Centred Design claims to produce better results than the 'launch it and see' marketplace Darwinism of traditional new product development. This evening seminar will examine this claim in the interactive space, presenting practical case studies alongside a critical examination of the theory.

Topics include:

• How is UCD applied in the real world?
• How can I convince clients of the value of User Centred Design?
• Does it really work?
• Who is a 'user' anyway?
• What comes after ucd?

Speakers

Confirmed speakers include:

• Dr Bill Gaver, Senior Research Fellow, Royal College of Art
• Luke Skrebowski, User Experience, Oyster Partners
• Jane Austin, Co-Founder, Recollective
• Amy Branton, Co-Founer, Skybluepink
• Sarah Morris, Co-Founder, Skybluepink

Profiles

Dr Bill Gaver, Royal College of Art
Bill Gaver is a Senior Research Fellow at the Royal College of Art. He has pursued research on innovative technologies for over 15 years, working with and for companies such as Apple, Hewlett Packard, IBM and Xerox. His research has spanned auditory interfaces, theories of perception and action, and collaborative systems. Currently he focuses on design-led methodologies and digital devices for everyday life, and is principle investigator of the RCA’s involvement in the Equator IRC, including explorations of digital devices that offer ludic opportunities for the home.

Jane Austin, Recollective
Jane Austin studied for a MA in Philosophy at Glasgow University before traveling and teaching English as a Foreign language. She became frustrated with the bad design of English teaching CDRoms which promted her to start another MA, this time in Hypermedia, where she studied the design and build of CDRoms and websites. After graduating Jane became a usability designer at renowned agency Deepend, and after that agency's demise set up Recollective with other ex-Deependers who shared her belief in the importance of user centred design. Recollective's combination of beautiful and usable design has led to them creating sites for D&AD, Virgin, NESTA, and an online shop for the Design Museum, as well as allowing Jane to fulfill her ambition of working on language learning CDRoms.

Amy Branton, Skybluepink
Amy Branton gained her Masters in Computer Related Design at the RCA, where she explored her interest in tangible interfaces. She worked as an interaction designer for Pixar animation studios, Symbian Ltd and Ragdoll Ltd. Having become frustrated with technology-led product & service development, she co-founded Skybluepink, an interaction design company who create innovative design solutions for people not 'users'.

Sarah Morris, Skybluepink
Before co-founding Skybluepink, Sarah Morris worked as an interaction designer for Swim interaction studio, RazorFish and IDEO London, working for clients including Vodafone, Financial times and Sony. She has an MA in Computer Related Design and a BA (Hons) in Visual Communication Design. She has recently been working on projects for Orange and the Future Foundation.

Luke Skrebowski, Oyster Partners
Luke Skrebowski is an Experience Architect at Oyster Partners, where he focuses on the user's experience of interactive systems. At Oyster he has worked with companies including Orange, BT, Vodafone and UKeU. Having a particular interest in how traditional mass media will be transformed by interactive technology he has spoken, written and consulted on the topic. He is a graduate of Cambridge University.