user experience

WebTypeDrupal_JPamental.pdf

Arial's days are numbered, and we should all celebrate. Come learn about the evolution of web font embedding, how it works, what it can do for your site and your users, and how to make the most of the biggest advance in design for the web since the deprecation of the blink tag.

Intended audience

Designers, design directors and front-end developers - we'll cover why we should use web fonts and how to make it easy to incorporate in our workflow

Questions answered by this session

Why should I use font embedding?

Where does it work (or not) and on what?

How do I do this in Drupal? (To module or not to module)

I'm a developer - how do I make this not kill my page load time?

Should I host or use a service for embedding?

form-builder.pdf

Through the history of Drupal, there have been several different modules that allow the building of forms: Profile, Flexinode, Survey, Webform, CCK, and D7's Field. All of these set out with specific purposes in mind, whether collecting surveys or creating node content. The task of actually building the form was secondary to the task of using the form. This is where the Form Builder project comes in. Form Builder provides a single, universal interface for creating form structures.

Intended audience

This talk is intended for primarily for developers interested in developing using Form Builder. Users interested in user interface design and experience may also be interested.

Questions answered by this session

What is Form Builder?

How is it useful right now?

How can it be used for in the future?

How do I prepare for Form Builder?

How can I implement my own functionality using Form Builder?

design-web-systems-final-2011-08-24.pdf

Update 2011-08-25: Slides can be downloaded here. Due to file size restrictions, we had to remove many of the image-heavy slides. You can download and view the full slide deck on SlideShare.

Intended audience

This session is intended for anyone who has had to create or implement sitemaps, wireframes, and mockups. Those unfamiliar with Drupal will learn what Drupal "wants" to do and will be able to more easily prepare these materials, and those who already work with Drupal will learn tips and tools for managing the expectations of clients whose designs haven't been optimized for Drupal.

Questions answered by this session

What should a designer know about a project before architecting a site or creating its look and feel?

Why are sitemaps, wireframes, process flow diagrams, and mockups important, and what are they supposed to communicate?

What happens when you're given a design that wasn't created with Drupal in mind?

What are the challenges a design firm faces when they aren't the ones implementing their design?

What tools and techniques can be used to accelerate the design process in Drupal?

of_constraints_and_capabilities_v2.pdf

In software design and development we often overlook the role of our customers in applying their own capabilities to achieve their goals, often creating solutions that are bloated, complex, and inefficient. We are also prone to look at constraints as obstacles rather than opportunities to bound and clarify the services we offer. By applying systems thinking, designers and devlopers can create idealized designs that deliver the most value to customers and businesses alike.

Here are the presentation slides and speaker notes:

Intended audience

Those who design, plan, architect, and evaluate software and digital services.

Questions answered by this session

What is systems thinking, and why is it important?

How does an idealized design differ from other types of design?

How can a mental model help in designing and architecting software?

Why are constraints good?

How do I know what my audience can and will do for themselves?

Final Presentation_for distribution.pdf

This session will cover:

• Methods to flush out requirements and uncover both good and bad ideas
• Tools and methods to accelerate user interface design
• Tools and methods to test designs for accuracy and measure for continued improvement

All of the above will provide you with tools and processies to ensure that you are both building to meet your customers needs by making informed design decisions, and getting better over time.

Intended audience

Designers looking to learn to accelerate their artform Developers looking to include design, or some of it's user centered practices into their artform Business or product owners looking to build products that map to user needs and improve over time

Questions answered by this session

How can I make sure that my work improves the product I'm working on?

How can I weed out bad ideas and focus on good ones? What processes can I put into place to validate my thinking?

What tools can help me during the lifecycle of concept to creation?

How can I accelerate my design practice while including feedback from my peers and users?

How is Acquia applying this to Drupal. What are we doing to ensure our contributions are good ones?