Insights

A couple of weeks ago, Matt and I had the chance to speak at Digital Shoreditch 2015: sharing ideas about creating the best user experiences with responsive web design. I explored how we can build better communication between development and design teams, avoid misunderstandings and the consequences for the final product.

At our annual Quack Hack, the teams were challenged to create projects, inspired by the Internet of Things, in just 32 hours. The Cuckoo Quack was our winner, turning an antique clock into a web notification system.

This Friday, 22nd of May, we’ll be running our fourth workshop at UX London: an introduction to user-centred design, with an Internet of Things twist. The conference begins tomorrow, giving user experience designers three days of inspiration, education and skill development.

This year I’ve been thinking and talking a lot about how we need to adapt our workflows for the multi-device landscape that we’re designing for, looking at how can we be better at embracing uncertainty and managing people’s expectations. Last week, I debuted a new presentation at Digital Shoreditch, about designing responsive experiences that go further than simply applying a few media queries and a fluid grid to make our designs look slick across different devices. Here’s a transcript of that talk.

Pint of Science was founded in 2012, aiming to present scientific research in a fun and interesting way. Where better than the pub? This year, we’re sponsors and will run our own tech-themed event to kick-off the festival.

At Cyber-Duck, we constantly seek new ways of creating innovative products for the benefit of our clients. Symble is another great example of that work ethic. A lean, intelligent CRM platform, Symble was built to cater for the specific needs of research analysts, investor relations, and professionals within the financial industry. The innovative, unique project won 'Best Tech' at the Wirehive 100 Awards.

Last month, Cyber-Duck were involved with Talk UX, a brand new conference exploring new user experience concepts and ideas: from accessibility and design, to the digital afterlife. I travelled to Manchester for the event and left feeling inspired. I’ve summarised the main themes within this article.

The Cyber-Duck team worked closely with Cambridge English, part of the University of Cambridge, to present ‘Shop and Drop’. Applying innovative gamification techniques, we launched a fun game that helps international children improve their English language skills through play.

The Application Developers Alliance is an international organisation that “supports developers as creators, innovators, and entrepreneurs”. In 2015, their App Strategy Workshop series will see 15 events across 7 countries in Europe, North America, and the Middle East. I was invited to host the Putting the U in UX panel on 26th March in London.