If you’d like to place it on your site, you’re welcome to link directly to the file on my server. Use this HTML:
]]>Hope everyone had as much fun as I did last weekend. Don’t forget that if you’d like me to post presentations here, send me your files or links. And of course I’d love it if you’d write about your experience at DE on your own sites. Matt Jones has a very nice post already.
I’m sure I don’t have to tell you that the flickr ‘designengaged’ tag has already started to fill up. There’s more style in this photo than I’m likely to see again in a month. And there’s not much makes me happier than this picture. Any other nominations for favorites?
]]>(If it’s important, you can try me by phone at +49-30 4862 3075.)
]]>Please plan to arrive at Spreeblick at 9:00 am on Friday November 11. (We won’t start quite so early on Saturday or Sunday.)
—> Download a map with directions to Spreeblick (372k .pdf file)
—> Download the complete schedule (44k .pdf file)
If you use Apple iCal, Mozilla Calendar, or another program that supports the iCalendar format, you can subscribe to the DE schedule using this link: webcal://www.designengaged.com/DE2005.ics
]]>“Bonjour” (which used to be called “Rendezvous”) lets your computer automatically discover other Bonjour users on a network with no configuration. This means you can join in the in-room chat without having to ask everyone for their AIM screennames.
If you have Trillian Pro 3 (the paid version), you’re probably already good to go. Otherwise, you’ll want to install two things:
I wanted to write briefly about what you can expect at this year’s Design Engaged, and to thank Mike Kuniavsky for helping with the planning work. We’ve tried to acknowledge what worked well last year and leave it alone, but have made some adjustments to accommodate our larger group this year.
Day 1 and the morning of Day 2 are for our individual short presentations. The afternoon of Day 2, we’ll get outside and explore Berlin in small groups, before meeting up for dinner together. Day 3 will involve brainstorming (and then presenting) in small groups on ideas for products, services, or projects based on themes that emerge from Days 1 and 2.
(We’ve got some other surprises up our sleeves, too.)
The main goal of Design Engaged was to take the good aspects of other conferences and workshops and social events but end up with something more playful, collaborative, and informal than other conferences. Design Engaged should feel something like a proper conference, but a also little bit like a three-day dinner party.
The reason for that is not just because it sounds like fun. “Experience design” is in many ways “participation design”: a satisfying experience comes from participating in ways that feel engaging to you. The “architecture of participation” is a phrase we’ve heard a lot this year, usually about software, but it really applies here, too. Just as we each have different learning styles, we don’t all participate in the same ways. Some people enjoy standing in front of a group talking to the audience; others prefer joining group discussions; and others feel most comfortable in a group of six, not thirty-five. Likewise, some people contribute by talking, some by drawing or making photographs, or in other ways. And we all can learn something by stepping, a bit, outside of the participation styles we’re comfortable with.
You’ll get more information next week, but a couple of people have asked about the following details:
Make something:
Show something (or someone) that inspires you, and talk about how it helped you solve a problem, or have a new idea. Introduce us to your favorite artist or economist.
Bring in a problem that you just can’t solve, or a partially-formed idea you just can’t make work.
Your life isn’t just work. What other interests do you have that have taught you something you can use in design? Maybe you repair old cars, or garden, or cook, or play music.
Where do you do your best thinking? Why there?
What do you wish you had time to learn or master? Why?
Finally, I’m still looking for a coffee-break DJ. ;-)
]]>If you haven’t before, you might enjoy checking out some of the presentations from last year’s Design Engaged.
Also, Pete Barr-Watson was kind enough to set up a wiki for us. If you already know where you’re staying in Berlin, add yourself to the list.
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If you’d like to place it on your site, you’re welcome to link directly to the file on my server. Use this HTML:
]]>Unfortunately, there is not enough time for everyone to give an individual talk. We also realize that some people don’t want to speak in front of a crowd. This year, there are two ways you can participate:
Some suggestions:
During coffee breaks and lunch breaks, people who do not want to give spoken presentations will able to do so. You don’t actually need to make a poster: “poster sessions” can be informal chats or show-and-tell sessions. We’ll probably schedule two or three people during each break.
Some suggestions:
Again, you must submit your presentation topic and title by October 15. If you want to discuss your ideas, please email, phone, or Skype me anytime.
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StyleCity: Berlin isn’t my suggestion for your only guide if you’re a first- or second-time visitor to Berlin. But it’s a great guide to the city’s small bookstores, restaurants, bars, and niche design shops.
Many places here will be window-shopping destinations, though there’s actually a lot even for the budget traveller. Think of it as a packable coffee-table book.
]]>(My rough estimates of commuting time between the hotel and Spreeblick are in italics.)
Circus Hostel, despite the name, is more like a hotel, with some very nice private apartments and double rooms. Some of these have fantastic views from their private balconies. Locations at Rosenthaler Platz (a two-block walk into central Mitte) and at Rosa-Luxembourg Platz (right in the heart of Mitte). (15 minutes by foot and U-bahn from either location.)
Pension on Gleimstrasse is well-located and inexpensive. Heather and I briefly lived around the corner from Gleimstrasse; it’s a great neighborhood. (20 minutes by foot and U-bahn.)
Die Fabrik is in Kreuzberg, pretty close to our meeting space at Spreeblick. It’s also a single subway stop or quick cab ride from Freidrichshein. Die Fabrik is also a hostel, but with some singles and double rooms. (15 minutes by foot and U-bahn.)
The stylish Art’Otel Mitte is a healthy walk or quick cab ride to Spreeblick’s office. Reviews suggest it’s not quite up to its swank promise, but the location is great. (20 minutes by foot, 5 minutes by taxi.)
The Hotel Kastanienhof is right up the street from the Circus Hostel and is just a bit more grown-up. It gets consistently good reviews. (25 minutes by foot and U-bahn.)
Riehmers Hofgarten is a lovely place in Kruezberg in a gorgeous building. (10 minutes by taxi.)
Honigmond Hotel is not nearly as awful as the site suggests. It’s an exremely pleasant and quiet place, with a good restaurant attatched, and it’s just a couple of blocks from the center of Mitte. My parents stayed here happily when they visited Berlin. (25 minutes by foot and U-bahn.)
Hotel Q! (Flash site) is the design hotel of the moment in Berlin. No corner is sharper than 120 degrees, and no color palette strays too far from the Constructivist. And there are naked people on its website. Q! is in West Berlin, certainly not walking distance to our meeting place in Kreuzberg. (25 minutes by foot and S-bahn.)
Hotel 26 is well-located in Friedrichshein, if you want to be slightly closer to guaranteed hipness. Its website makes it look pretty IKEA-standard to me, though. (25 minutes by foot and U-bahn.)
Propeller Island has crazy! design! themed! rooms. I recall seeing this hotel featured on various German popkultur TV shows 3 years ago about trendy Berlin, which you may consider either a good or bad thing.
You should also be able to easily find private apartments or rooms for rent if you’d like to stay longer than a few days. This option will be much cheaper than a hotel, although of course you’ll have to deal directly with a private owner. Your best bet is Craigslist Berlin.
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We’re officially sold out as of September 15. Here’s the final list of participants: