This Thursday, November 7 is World Usability Day, a day dedicated to making the world a more user friendly place. From the
World Usability Day website:
Technology today is too hard to use. A cell phone should be as easy to access as a doorknob. In order to humanize a world that uses technology as an infrastructure for education, healthcare, transportation, government, communication, entertainment, work and other areas, we must develop these technologies in a way that serves people first…
World Usability Day was founded in 2005 as an initiative of the Usability Professionals' Association to ensure that services and products important to human life are easier to access and simpler to use. Each year, on the second Thursday of November, over 200 events are organized in over 43 countries around the world to raise awareness for the general public, and train professionals in the tools and issues central to good usability research, development and practice.
Each year World Usability Day is centered around a different theme, and this year it's Education: Designing for Social Change, with events and activities focusing on:
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Designing with an intentional outcome of sparking change in how people behave, communicate, and do things in the world; and
- Examining the concept of cultures and how culture impacts usability
In support of this theme, I wanted to share some videos from UX Week 2011. I learned a tremendous amount of valuable information at this conference and each of these mainstage talks contributes something to the idea of Designing for Social Change.
To find out more about World Usability Day events in your area, visit:
http://www.worldusabilityday.org/events/2010/map.