Last week we had the SA UX Forum Cape Town meet-up. 16 people braved the rain and cold to show up and share ideas about user experience.
Because user experience is just getting a foothold down here, we started at the beginning. I did a talk called “What is user experience and why do we care?” [PDF 8MB]
Led by Bertus “AJ” Kock, the group also took a look at various attendees’ computer desktops. We pondered what the different layouts said about them, and about the limitations of the desktop GUIs they used. Fun and fascinating.
Web and mobile services are growing fast in South Africa as broadband prices drop. And all the South African businesses I speak to are keen to get the benefits of UX. They know they need input, but don’t always know where to start. Hopefully the UX forum, and the face-to-face meetings, will help spread the word and raise awareness.
A few attendees (whose websites I know):
- Piet Alberts from Clayant
- Dennis Williams from DNA
- Jacobus Van Niekerk from Azapi
- Anne Sophie Leens from Apartment
- Vanessa Clark from burgeoning social media consultancy TwoKats
- Andrew Smith and Shane Dryden from Yuppie Chef
- Shaun O’Connell from Career Junction
… and many more wonderful people whose website addresses I can’t recall now. That’s just the Cape Town gang. The Johannesburg gang had a larger gathering a little while back – and there’s another one scheduled soon.
Overall the forum has 80 people. Maybe you should join too. (It’s free).