Stunning line-up at this year's MEX mobile user experience event!

Oh my word, this year's MEX conference in London is looking epic! Such a prestigious and diverse selection of speakers, not just from the mobile industry but other areas that have been exploring how mobile can enhance peoples' lives and the way they connect with businesses, brands, media, artwork and so on. The speakers hail from big names like Nokia, ITV News, Plan (yup that's me), TouchType, Jawbone, Qualcomm, Native, Deutsche Telekom’s T-Labs and so on.  As always the topics are at the forefront of UX thinking.

Apparently there are a few tickets remaining, so sign up ASAP.

I'll be speaking about 'Super local connectivity', looking at the short-range interaction between mobiles and other devices. There's going to be an explosion of activity in this area in the near future (starting with payment), so I'm excited to be a part of the discussion. There are a number of technologies fighting it out in this space (NFC, image recognition, RFID, GPS, etc.), but more importantly a whole new palette of experiences will be made possible that blur the divide between the digital and physical worlds.

Pic: Akihabara, Tokyo, no particular reason other than it looks dead futuristic.

Gamification: harnessing our innate desire to win

I went to an interesting event in Holborn last night called "Social Gaming to Gamification - Time to stop playing by yourself". It was all about applying a "game layer" to the way we interact with products and brands. This doesn't just mean having a little flash game on the website, it means tapping into the underlying playful nature that all humans have. One of the speakers, Nicholas Lovell, pointed us towards his 10 rules of gamification which provides an articulate exploration of the concept and the pitfalls of applying it to business. Quoting game researcher Richard Bartle, Lovell categorised different types of game behaviour that all gamers combine in different quantities: killers, achievers, explorers and socialisers. He explained that designers planning to apply game mechanics to their products should be able to empathise with all of these characteristics.

Matt Maxwell from digital agency Blue Barracuda came up with some interesting case studies of brands that have "winning" as part of their core message. He said that Nike have built up a platform of competition with their online fitness community and iPod tie-ins, but explained that the message was already embedded in their products. He described how Persil have updated their "win condition" (a concept devised by Tim Jones of BBH), from simply having a very clean family and home, to having a very active family who get dirty from running around being healthy outdoors, then get clean again thanks to Persil. Some other examples of services that use game mechanics are obviously Foursquare, Gowalla and Hunch. But also think about Ebay (remember how exciting it used to be to win an auction!!) and Google Analytics (tweaking a website, then watching the resultant behaviour of site visitors is a never-ending game).

The event took the format of a panel discussion, chaired by a very provocative Tony Fish, who kept the 2-hour discussion fizzing along and prevented the panellists from launching into personal diatribes. It was a fascinating insight into the use of game mechanics to influence the behaviour of consumers. Gamification has the potential not just to make consumers engage more with brands, but also to incentivise society to pursue healthy lifestyles, education and recycling.

Image by Aled Lewis, creator of awesome...

Edit: Should probably mention the app developer Scvngr after their prominence at this year's SXSW, heralding a new generation of location-based games in which users create their own challenges (thanks Rob)

MEX Event Nov 30th - Dec 1st 2010

I'm speaking at the MEX event this year on the topic of new form factors, and the ubiquity of the slate. See you there! (sorry for the short notice)

Love Art London

Love Art London is a great little idea for busy Londoners who are missing out on the amazing range of galleries, private collections, art sales, exhibitions and magnificent buildings around the city. Members of LAL are given after-hours access to unique and amazing cultural experiences: intimate private viewings, talks by artists, even a candle-lit tour of a stately home.

The company was started by a former Sotheby's employee, Chris Pensa, and is fueled by his love of art and desire to share it with like-minded people. The guestlist is full for the launch party next week, I've been roped in to pour wine all night, dressed as Andy Goldsworthy! Costume preparation (/thesis procrastination) has started, see below:

D&AD New Blood

Last night I went down to Kensington Olympia to meet up with Jonny and the ShellsuitZombie crew at the private viewing for D&AD's annual New Blood event. It was a great opportunity to catch up with what they've been doing, and to find out about the organisation beyond the blog. They have done an amazing job hooking up with the D&AD, and from what I could see, they were attracting a lot of attention from design professionals, students and recent graduates with hands-on design tasks, sexy posters and vintage rock music in a lo-fi, cardboard covered booth.

I've enjoyed contributing to the blog, and I look forward to seeing where the project goes next.

DBA Inclusive Design Challenge 2009

I popped down to the RCA last night for the award ceremony of this prestigious competition, in which 5 of the country's leading design consultancies pitched their response to the brief: Sedentary Lives - enabling people who are inactive through difficult circumstances or pure laziness to be more active. Rodd Design (met Ben Davies, one of their designers at the Tokyo Challenge) were one of the consultancies, but the eventual winner was a collaboration between Matter and Herman Miller to create an ingenious reinvention of the cushion. Internal polymer springs spread the weight of the sitter, while being breathable, washable and lightweight.

Until Japan I thought inclusive design was about making products accessible to those impaired by age or disability. But at the Tokyo Challenge I realised that it's more than that, by working with impaired users who are failed by day-to-day design, it is possible to identify ways of making simpler products that are widely appealing and commercially viable. I think the cushion is a great example of this: it is not only useful to the elderly or wheelchair-bound, it has uses in schools, outdoors, in gardens, for kids etc.

DMI Webinar: Design Leadership Series

On Wednesday 4th I participated in my first "webinar" - a surreal experience. 6000km away Valerie Jacobs of LPK Trends presented Seeing Around Corners: How Trend Forecasting Can Illuminate the Curves in the Road Ahead - meanwhile I was sat at my computer in Cambridge (I could have been naked) listening intently and typing questions about trends and design.

I asked how they translate trend forecasts into product forms. She answered that they identify the aesthetic implications of a forecast/scenario and visualise them on trend boards using relevant images. They then use these images to generate a set of design principles that design teams should follow when developing their products - be they specific lines, colours, mood, or reference objects. She also implied that these design principles should be considered as inspiration not gospel and should compliment the principles of the product brand.
(I would add that they should also enhance the functionality and technological content of the product.)