MiniConf #8 - Design Edition with IDEO - Series of Lightning Talks

MiniConf is a series of Lightning Talks that explore current topics in tech.

This time we have a specific focus on Design!
The event is hosted by IDEO Tokyo.

We are excited to have 4 amazing speakers joining us!

AGENDA

19:00 - Doors Open
19:30 - Intro (Sharp!)
19:35 - 21:00 Lightning Talks (4 x 15 min) & Q&As

1. What is a Creative Technologist? And How I Got Here.
2. Fragments of a Hologram House
3. How to Intentionally Integrate Design and Agile?
4. The Cost of Designers Working Solo

21:00 - Networking
21:30 - END

SPEAKERS

Freya Berkhout
Technologist @ Blakthumb

Topic: What is a Creative Technologist? And How I Got Here.

Creative Technology is a new and exciting area within the tech space. It encompasses immersive and interactive brand activations to computational architecture, digital exhibitions, startups and beyond.

Anyone interested in the nexus of the creative and technical can join. Also young people curious about different roads to the tech industry, artists who want to upskill and future-proof their careers, programmers who want to do something more creative can find takeaways from the talk.

Freya Berkhout is a multi-award winning film composer and creative technologist. Her latest projects include delivering an education programme for school-age girls to dive into creative tech, learn about the future of work and close the gender gap in STEAM, as well as working on interactive projects involving computer vision, graphics, 3D printing and all sorts of sensors for brands like VW, MARS and Data61.

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Cory Seeger
Senior Environments Designer at IDEO

Topic: Fragments of a Hologram House

The experience we share with the artifacts of any given space are the only things that matter. These objects curate our understanding of the types of spaces we occupy. We must imagine the digital environment as simply just another material. If previously the architect’s toolkit consisted of stone, metal, concrete, glass, and so on, now it includes digital representation, manifested and blended with the physical artifacts of architecture.

The purpose of this talk is to explore the constraints and possibilities of architecture in its relationship to emerging digital technology. For coders and non-coders alike.

Cory is an Environments Designer at IDEO Tokyo. His interests as an architect lies in the combination of atmosphere and emotion into physical and virtual environments, finding new ways to explore subjectivity in space making. Previously working as an architect for Michael Maltzan Architecture and junya.ishigami+associates as well as an indie video game developer for HomeMakeLabs, Cory engages in storytelling from the concrete to the sublime.

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Chelsea Hostetter
UX Designer at yamaneco

Topic: How to Intentionally Integrate Design and Agile?

Learn why agile and design integration is often talked about in theory, but so few teams are doing it well.

Design and agile communities have grown up independent of one another. And recently, agile teams have wanted more design thinking and design teams, more agile thinking. But even the current hybrid solutions have been difficult to implement. Why is that? We'll be uncovering some reasons why and learning about the problem space of agile and design integration.

Chelsea Hostetter is a UX Designer at yamaneco Agile Consulting in Tokyo. She has been working as an interaction designer/design researcher hybrid for over six years, working with international agencies to elevate their strategy and design.

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Ivy Li
Senior UX & Service Designer at ustwo

Topic: The Cost of Designers Working Solo

We often see designers working alone on product teams, both in startups and larger enterprises. This decision may have been made consciously to cut costs, or unconsciously without realizing the potential the value to be gained. So what is the cost of having a designer working solo? What are the questions we should be asking ourselves when we create a team?

Welcome!