London: Ethnography and how it can inform design (CANCELLED)
Due to events in London today this event has been cancelled. A rescheduled date will be announced in due course.
We apologise for any inconvenience caused and hope that everyone is safe and well.
Ethnography Without Tears - What exactly is ethnography? What can ethnography offer the design and user experience communities? And how do we do it?
Speaker: Louise Ferguson
RSVP: To reserve your place, email: events@ukupa.org.uk with your name, stating whether you are a UPA member.
Date: Thursday, 21 July
Time: 6.30pm for 6.45pm - Followed by drinks and networking at 8:00
Venue: MSN, Microsoft House, 10 Great Pulteney Street, London W1R 3DG map
Cost: FREE for UPA members; £10 for Non UPA members (£5 for students)
We are seeing increasing numbers of articles in mainstream media extolling the merits of ethnography in the commercial world, while companies such as Intel have in recent years been busy hiring anthropologists to inform the design process. This year, Microsoft in Redmond is hosting the first Ethnographic Praxis in Industry (EPIC) conference.
But what exactly is ethnography? What can ethnography offer the design and user experience communities? And how do we do it?
Louise Ferguson will talk about the contribution that ethnographic approaches can make to the design and evaluation of 'systems' in their widest sense - illustrated with examples - and will discuss how to go about 'doing' ethnography, including pitfalls to avoid.
Bio:
Louise Ferguson consults on qualitative user research as director of Digital Habitats Ltd. She has conducted ethnography for user research, design, evaluation, and strategy in a wide range of contexts, including public sector, blue chip companies and micro firms.
Louise has contributed to user experience and technology projects and publications for organisations including the Design Council and The Work Foundation. She has been engaged in systems development since the early 1980s, holds a Master's degree in human-computer interaction, and is currently Vice President of the UK chapter of the Usability Professionals' Association and Director of the UK Voting Initiative, Design for Democracy (a joint international project between UPA and AIGA).