Currents 9

May 21, 2005 | 2 Comments

Currents 9 was a darn cool event. I was a little bit skeptical, to be honest, but it turned out great. Most of the sessions and talks I attended were great and while I can’t say there was a ton new for me; I did learn some things, met some cool people, had a great time and got some great ideas and inspiration out of the event.

I just figured I’d give y’all a quick run down on some of what was going on there, and come with a quick over all rundown of the event.

In general it was nice to see this kind of event well attended and full of energetic and optimistic folks. Between this and this years SXSW I’m really starting to get the feeling that our related industries might be pulling towards some great things. Either way, I left energized and full of ideas.

John Meada

The keynote was provided by John Maeda and was really fun and interesting. Where it wasn’t all that practical, at least that I could see, it was great to see all the crazy work he’s done and to hear him speak about technology and how much trouble we humans have with it.

In away I found him to be a kindred soul. I don’t particularly like computers and have said many, many times that I’d prefer it if they worked for me and not the other way around. Well he takes that notion a step further, and he showed many examples of exactly how unusable and fragile technology can be. As far as we’ve come, we’re still in the stone age when it comes to some things if you really think about it.

He had a few really great bits I feel are worth noting as well:

He talked about how if you want to do something really great and really meaningful it has to be 3D. Different, deep and difficult. So true.

He gave us three great tips on how to succeed in life:

Become independently wealthy.
Marry into money (kind of funny).
Work your ass off.

Kevin Grady & Colin Metcal from GUM Magazine

This was more of a show & tell, inspirational session. They talked quite about how they got to where they are and their design inspirations. One thing that struck me was their references to nostalgia and how their memories of what they liked as kids worked its ways into their designs.

They made a point to say that things in the past might seem “better” to them, but that it really might just be frame of reference.

They showed quite a bit of their magazine, which to be honest, I’d never heard of, but it looks pretty neat and I do like their work quite a bit.

They also talked about how hard it is for designers to “create content” and how you need to apply yourself to have fun. That got me thinking quite a bit.

“I Am My Design” by Mark Shimada

This session was a bit different. It started out with Mr. Shimada doing a sort of multi-perspective, autobiographical performance piece. It was done with a certain amount of authenticity, which made it worthwhile and more meaningful and I think he cut it off at the right time to explain to everyone what the heck was going on.

The idea he was trying to convey, at least how I took it, is that it’s impossible to detach yourself completely from your work and you will put yourself into your designs. The ramifications of this are widespread and varied and aren’t qualified by “good” or “bad”.

He also talked quite a bit about The Hero’s Journey and how people need to face their fears and such. Very philosophical and quite interesting.

One bit that really struck me is that he mentioned going with your first gut feeling, or “first voice” when making design decisions. He said a designer should take that “first voice” and get feedback as opposed to second guessing and “trading down.”

I’m totally with him on that.

Heidi Adkisson

I sat in on a session that I figured would just give me some time to check my email, etc. It was called “Intro to User Centered Design” and it was actually a great and even though much of what Heidi talked about was old-hat to me, it was a good refresher and I got quite a few new ideas while listening. Needless to say e-mail had to wait until later. One thing at at time!

One of the things she articulated very well was that when doing user research people will often articulate what they think is a solution (she used a pretty funny example of Homer Simpson wanting multiple horns in his car because he can’t ever find it when he’s mad) when really what they’re articulating is a problem. A good researcher should be able to sus that out and should be really actively listening for that problem.

Heidi has a nice blog and a pretty useful site dedicated to research and examination of Web design practices.

Marty O’Donnell from Bungie

The last session was really fun. Marty is the guy behind all the sound you hear in Halo and Halo2. He talked quite a bit about how the process works and I saw so many similarities between what he does with sound and what I do with experience design. It’s a different medium, but the ideas and process is similar.

He talked about bad sound design and how when your playing a game and the sound cuts out, say at a loading screen, you will experience a disconnect that pulls you out of your experience. It’s true.

A Fun Time

They wrapped up the even with a massive Q&A session with all the speakers. It was fun and pretty interesting. I just sat back and absorbed that bit, if you want to know more, Nick has some notes.

After the event I went out to drinks and dinner with Marty, Nick and Paul Ingram who’s a great guy and did a wonderful job putting this event on and getting it organized. All in all it was a very fun day and I’m glad I went. Much better than expected and everyone involved should be congratulated.

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