Internationally-renowned usability consultant and expert Aaron Marcus comes to Indianapolis on November 11th to mark the 2010 World Usability Day.
Marcus, president of Berkeley, California-based consulting firm Aaron Marcus and Associates, will address local businesses and researchers on integrating usability and interaction design principles in technology, products and services. Usability focuses on improving user experience through the design of accessible technologies and interfaces that not only solve problems, but are intuitive, functional and enjoyable to use.
Marcus is a leading pioneer in the usability and design fields, becoming the world’s first designer to be involved full-time in computer graphics in 1967. He has since gone on to receive numerous distinguished honors for his work, author six books and write more than 250 publications. His firm was instrumental in designing the user interfaces of what would become the first versions of AOL and Travelocity.
Scheduled for the IUPUI Campus Center, the 2010 World Usability Day event is presented by the Indiana Chapter of the Usability Professionals Association and the IU School of Informatics and Computing at IUPUI.
“Indiana is very privileged to welcome Aaron Marcus,” said Stephen Hatfield, vice president and conferences director of the Indiana Chapter of the UPA. “He is a pioneer in all facets of communication, technology and usability. This is an opportunity for Indiana professionals hear and learn from one of the best.”
To register for the 2010 World Usability Day, please visit www.indiana-upa.org or e-mail indianaupa@gmail.com. Registration is $50, including lunch. Students may register for $30. The event will take place on the third floor of the IUPUI Campus Center.
Hear Aaron Marcus discuss the 2010 World Usability Day in Indianapolis here (link will prompt an audio file to be downloaded and opened).
World Usability Day was founded in 2005 by the worldwide Usability Professionals’ Association in recognition that much of today’s technology is often prohibitively complex for the average user. Each year, on the second Thursday of November, more than 200 events in 43 countries are organized to raise awareness of usability among the general public, and to train professionals in the tools and issues central to good usability research, development and practice.
About Aaron Marcus
Aaron Marcus is the founder and President of Aaron Marcus and Associates, Inc. (AM+A). A graduate in physics from Princeton University and in graphic design from Yale University, in 1967 he became the world’s first graphic designer to be involved fulltime in computer graphics. Marcus is also a Fellow of AIGA, a member of CHI Academy, an ICOGRADA Master Graphic Designer of the Twentieth Century, and a SIGGRAPH Pioneer of computer graphics. He has written/co-written six books and more than 250 publications. He is the Editor-in-Chief Emeritus of UPA’s User Experience Magazine.
Marcus focuses his attention on the Web and wireless communication, mobile devices, helping the industry to learn about good user-centered, user-interface and information-visualization design, providing guidelines for globalization/localization, the challenges of “baby faces” (small displays for consumer information appliances) of ubiquitous devices, and cross-cultural communication.
Marcus is currently the architect of two concepts gaining worldwide attention. The first, My Green Machine, is a mobile phone concept design that seeks to change people’s behavior about saving energy. Four case studies have been published in the US, Europe, Africa, and South Korea. Learn more on YouTube.
A second, called Customized Currency, is a concept by which the US Treasury might earn $700 billion and thereby reduce the US FY 2010 deficit by half and/or reduce the US debt significantly. Learn more on YouTube.
About Aaron Marcus and Associates
AM+A provides user-interface and information-visualization development consulting services for consumer electronics, financial/banking, medical/health, media, travel, vehicle systems, and other vertical markets. AM+A brings 27 years of experience to thorough analyses and innovation and provides solutions that are usable, useful, and appealing. AM+A operates in Berkeley, California, USA, and includes Associates with backgrounds ranging from cognitive science, software engineering, and cultural anthropology to graphic design and branding. Find more at www.amanda.com.
About the Indiana Chapter of the Usability Professionals Association
The Indiana Chapter of the Usability Professionals Association was formed in 2002 by four international UPA members from Indiana to bring awareness and an organization for local usability professionals to connect and interact. The chapter is closely aligned with the IU School of Informatics and Computing at IUPUI and the Center for Information and Communication Sciences at Ball State University. Learn more at www.indiana-upa.org.
About the IU School of Informatics and Computing at IUPUI
The IU School of Informatics and Computing at IUPUI was established in 2000 as one of the first schools in the nation dedicated to education and research in informatics. Informatics uniquely integrates computing, social science and information systems design to study how we use technology to communicate, work and engage. That knowledge is then applied to develop innovative IT solutions impacting our communities, science, healthcare, entertainment, law and business. The IU School of Informatics and Computing is located on the campus of IUPUI and offers an array of certificate, B.S., M.S., and Ph.D. programs.
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