Hosting UX Fest

I quite enjoy interviewing people. I don���t mean job interviews. I mean, like, talk show interviews. I���ve had a lot of fun over the years moderating panel discussions: @media Ajax in 2007, SxSW in 2008, Mobilism in 2011, the Progressive Web App Dev Summit and EnhanceConf in 2016.

I���ve even got transcripts of some panels I���ve moderated:

@media 2007 Hot Topics PanelBuilding Portable Social Networks at SxSW 2008,@media 2010 Hot Topics Panel,Mobilism 2011 Mobile Browser Panel,@media 2011 Hot Topics Panel.

I enjoyed each and every one. I also had the pleasure of interviewing the speakers at every Responsive Day Out. Hosting events like that is a blast, but what with The Situation and all, there hasn���t been much opportunity for hosting conferences.

Well, I���m going to be hosting an event next month: UX Fest. It���s this year���s online version of UX London.

An online celebration of digital design, taking place throughout June 2021.

I am simultaneously excited and nervous. I���m excited because I���ll have the chance to interview a whole bunch of really smart people. I���m nervous because it���s all happening online and that might feel quite different to an in-person discussion.

But I have an advantage. While the interviews will be live, the preceding talks will be pre-recorded. That means I have to time watch and rewatch each talk, spot connections between them, and think about thought-provoking questions for each speaker.

So that���s what I���m doing between now and the beginning of June. If you���d like to bear witness to the final results, I encourage you to get a ticket for UX Fest. You can come to the three-day conference in the first week of June, or you can get a ticket for the festival spread out over the following three Thursdays in June, or you can get a combo ticket for both and save some money.

There���s an inclusion programme for the conference and festival days:

Anyone from an underrepresented group is invited to apply. We especially invite and welcome Black, indigenous & people of colour, LGBTQIA+ people and people with disabilities.

Here���s the application form.

There���ll also be a whole bunch of hands-on masterclasses throughout June that you can book individually. I won���t be hosting those though. I���ll have plenty to keep me occupied hosting the conference and the festival.

I hope you���ll join me along with Krystal Higgins, David Dylan Thomas, Catt Small, Scott Kubie, Temi Adeniyi, Teresa Torres, Tobias Ahlin and many more wonderful speakers���it���s going to fun!