IxDA '09 FINISH

Last day of IxDA '09 (Feb 8th) and it was awesome!!! not only it was my first interaction design conference that I attended but also it was my first time interacting with other designers without having to be introduced by other designers or professors. The day began at 8am, meeting up with Fiona Raby along with Ben Ku, Jack Sam, and Vicki Molder. We had a nice coffee meeting with Fiona and talking about the projects that we do in SIAT and introduced the ItaliaDesign Field School to her, which she was interested in. Had a nice conversation about what she does at the Royal College of Arts (RCA) and the kind of projects that her students work on.

After a nice coffee meeting with her I booked myself to all the other keynotes and lightning round that I could get myself into. The first keynote of the day was How to Change Complicated Stuff by Marc Rettig, which talked about the idea of context of not only changing the things the design by shifting the value of what we are about to design. Meaning, shifting the way we process our ideas. The lightning round that caught my attention was Play in Social Tangible Interactions by Kars Alfrink and Understanding Contexts of Use by Miles Rochford, which I believe both were worth attending. The topics are similar to what I have learned over in Italy, which is working around existing elements, working within the context, and observing the embodiment that these interactions are being taken place. 

Finally the IxDA ended with the keynote: Each One, Teach One (and Other Ideas for Delivering on the Promise) by Kim Goodwin, which I believe was an inspiring presentation. The Keynote talks about the idea of not only understanding the process, context, embodiment, etc, but being able to have the ability to exchange our practice and to help grow your profession.