Sessions at SXSW Interactive 2012 about Product Design in Austin Convention Center

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Friday 9th March 2012

• Fireside Chat with Vic Gundotra on Google+

  by Guy Kawasaki and Vic Gundotra

  Vic Gundotra will participate in a fireside chat with Guy Kawasaki to discuss the Google+ project. Vic will share how the product has grown since the initial launch, some of the lessons learned and the challenges the Google+ team faced along the way.

  • Google
  • Google+
  • lessons learned
  • Product Design
  • Startups

  At 3:30pm to 4:30pm, Friday 9th March

  In Ballroom D, Austin Convention Center

  Coverage video audio clip sketch note

Saturday 10th March 2012

• Designing Experiences for Women

  by Brad Nunnally and Jessica Ivins

  Women have become the digital mainstream. In the US market, women make up just under half of the online population, but they spend 58 percent of e-commerce dollars. Women are online gamers, shoppers, bloggers, and social media consumers. And yet, we still don’t know how to design for them.

  The immediate impulse when designing for women is to “shrink it and pink it,” meaning products are splashed with the color pink, and content and messaging are dumbed down. But women want what’s relevant to them. They want products and online experiences that are intuitive, not insulting to their intelligence. They want function, not frills.

  This session reviews the historical and contemporary landscape of designing for women. We’ll review misguided, yet well-intentioned designs based on assumptions and stereotypes that have flopped. Likewise, we’ll review success stories of well-designed products and experiences that truly meet women’s needs. We’ll also look at when gender should factor into your design and when it shouldn’t. Ultimately, when designing for women (or men, or both), you’ll want to get it right.

  • Content
  • Design
  • e-Commerce
  • Marketing
  • Product Design
  • Stereotypes
  • Women

  At 9:30am to 10:30am, Saturday 10th March

  In Ballroom BC, Austin Convention Center

  Coverage audio clip write-up

• Does Your Product Have a Plot?

  by David Womack

  What makes an experience—any experience—compelling? A well–told story transcends any particular medium and this presentation will focus on principles of narrative—such as plot, setting, and point–of–view—as they apply to designing digital products, websites, social media, and apps.

  By the end of the presentation, you will have a solid understanding of the principles of creating compelling stories and will be able to apply narrative techniques to the processes of creating and analyzing interactions. We’ll talk about why some digital experiences take off while others fizzle, how to define systems without using site maps, and innovative uses for user journeys.

  • Product Design
  • Storytelling

  At 3:30pm to 4:30pm, Saturday 10th March

  In Ballroom BC, Austin Convention Center

  Coverage audio clip slide deck