Design by Fire Conference 2011

Context is king in the world of devices — location, motion, position, audio, video, photo and social. But ultimately mobile is not about the device, it's about the environment and how, when, where and with who it's used or accessed. With a new context come new design challenges, but more importantly: new prospects.

A mobile context is very powerful, yet also limited in many ways with a necessity to simplify flows and interactions. The input box is not an experience, instead there's a need for single touch, tap or click interactions that delight people — and comprise some magic!

Everything we do is supported by design. Whether we meet friends, work out or travel, we continuously make use of products and services. Design is not a neutral means to an end, but fulfills a shaping role in these activities. By stimulating, propagating, encouraging, obstructing or discouraging behavior, design influences how we live our lives.

In this session, Nynke will disentangle the influence of design on human behavior and will show how we can use design to contribute to social change. Examples illuminate what may be the unique value of design in comparison to regular interventions like campaigns, subsidies or regulation.

Interaction design has played a strong role in creating better digital products and better experiences for people who use those products. However, there are opportunities beyond the screen to practice their craft. Service design provides these opportunities.

In this presentation, Jamin will discuss the current places for interaction design and why it is well suited for service design. He will talk about service design, why it's important, and the challenges designers face advancing their practice to tackle service solutions.

As the systems we design become more complex, work is changing from a solo activity to a team sport, where individuals, teams, partners and customers need to work together. Cross functional collaboration requires new skills and practices. How can you engage more people in the process, without losing the creative culture and energy that fuels the process?

Applying game thinking and game mechanics can help to form simple models of complex systems. Charlie will show how to involve others in your thinking, explore systems and experience them from within - while having serious fun doing so.

Due to family circumstances, Maarten Volders is unable to speak at the Design by Fire Conference. We are very glad that Charlie Mulholland has agreed to step in.

Catalogtree is a multidisciplinary design studio founded in 2001. The studio's guiding design tactic is “Form = Behaviour”. Typography, generative graphic design and the visualization of quantitative data are daily routines. Other recent endeavors include: D.I.Y. structured-light 3D-scanning, bristle bot development and the visualization of financial tick-data.

Through a visual essay, Daniel and Joris will discuss the design process of some their key projects. Amongst the presented projects will be an interactive iPad documentary on High Frequency trading and the flash crash of the Dow Jones on 6 May 2010.

As we move towards digital services, we are slowly leaving behind physicality in our lives. We are becoming more dependent to computers and smartphones. Digital music, books and other publications are not consumed the way they used to be and this is bringing new challenges to us as designers.

Industrial design is embracing all these new opportunities, but are we really doing a good job in making our lives easier? This talk is a reflection about how everyday objects have changed over time and how we used to do the same tasks in the past.

Narratives shape our journeys through data. Those stories don't have to be complicated to have a huge impact. All you have to do is think about your audience — your companions — and where you want to take them.

But when 'stories' can mean anything from links to infographics, what lessons can help us make sure these journeys stay relevant and compelling?

Using charts, tweets, diagrams and Doctor Who, Matthew will explore the benefits and skills involved in creating compelling data narratives... as well as the pitfalls that await those who fall short.

George Orwell, the author of ‘1984’, wrote: He who controls the past commands the future. As designers, we have controlled the past. It is now our task — our duty even — to define the future for the many millions of people who lack our opportunities, imagination, and passion.

Let's not think of innovation as merely a new idea, but as a reproducible method that enables us to solve a problem effectively. Let's not let our understanding of the past place constraints on our imagination. We cannot allow ourselves to waste more time trying to define the very boxes we want to think outside of. Let's not worry about where we will be tomorrow, but let us think where we want our children to be in 10-20 years.