Articles culture

From the NA team and guest contributors. RSS.

Q1: book recommendations

NA team | January 2020

We asked our speakers, volunteers and organisers a few questions to help you get to know them. Firstly, we asked them to each recommend two books: one relating to our industry or their work, and another about something else.

Q3: what common fallacy should we wake up to?

NA team | January 2020

We asked our speakers, volunteers and organisers: what common fallacy — design, tech, or anything else — do you think more of us should wake up to?

Experience Gaps

Jordan Moore | January 2019

I hold a special place in my heart for Pearl Jam’s Yield album, released in 1998. It’s a remarkable album, easily overlooked. At first glance, the cover is pretty forgettable and not unlike something you would find scrolling through Unsplash, searching for the word ‘road’.

Living with a conversational object

Simon Collison | January 2019

I feel awkward talking to machines, and I always will. My comfort zone ends at the ATM or self-service checkout, where I’ll conclude transactions with a whispered ‘Thank you’.

Poem

Rizwana Khan | January 2019

We asked Rizwana to write a poem based on our themes for the 2019 event. We liked the poem so much, that we also asked her to read it from our stage.

Bookmarking

Robin Rendle | January 2013

I swear I use no art at all is a secret, work-in-progress love letter to book design by the author Joost Grootens.

Ten years of misadventures

Daniel Benneworth-Gray | January 2013

We gave Daniel free rein and he came back with a sort of The Secret Diary of Adrian Mole — but for web designers, and mercifully shorter.

Creative flow and the state of discomfort

Sam Hampton-Smith | January 2013

I find myself once again, devoid of ideas. I sit and wrack my brain for a creative solution to a user interface problem posed by a client, and there’s nothing there; no suggestion of even an ounce of creativity flowing through me.