What do you like most about living in the San Francisco Bay area?

There are two things that make it perfect for me: the Silicon and the Valley. The “silicon” might be a dated term, but to me it represents all the technology companies and their constant spin-offs that are based in the Bay Area: Apple, Google, eBay, Facebook, Twitter, and so many more. You can’t go anywhere without bumping into people working on interesting things who are excited to talk about what they’re doing. That kind of passion is infectious and a constant source of ideas.

The valley is the natural environment out here. I’m just a few blocks away from the Santa Cruz mountains and I get out at least once a week to mountain bike up there on amazing terrain. The fact that this is California and I can do that ten months out of the year doesn’t hurt either.

You write books, track floods of data about mobile and other devices, are CEO of a hot startup, manage an incredibly busy speaking schedule, and have a family at home. How do you find time to do it all?

I don’t. There are always things I’m dropping that I just can’t keep up with. And to be honest, that’s hard for me. I’m interested in so much of what’s happening in this industry that it kills me when I don’t have the time to dig into something I want to explore, write about, or best of all, build. Over the years I’ve really been working on saying “no” more—often just to myself. I’m getting much better at it but if you see me doing a lot of stuff, that’s a result of me being too interested in everything.

One of the nice things about being CEO of a start-up is that it forces you to focus. There are so many things you could be doing and want to be doing but only so much time to do them all. So you’re constantly prioritizing and adjusting. It’s been really good for me.

What’s on your horizon right now?  Anything new in multi-device world?

Well, it’s no secret that we’re in a multi-device web and lots of organizations are struggling to adapt to a world of smartphones, tablets, laptops, desktops, and everything in between. There are still a lot to figure out just with providing a good web experience for people across these devices and new techniques and ideas pop up every week, it seems. But technology doesn’t know how to stand still so even while we’re wrestling with big questions like these, new, equally important, questions are coming up.

Top of mind for me is how do these devices interact? 13% of US adults have a laptop, tablet, and smartphone. We’re just starting to figure out how these devices can be used together. In fact, there are a number of emerging cross-device behaviors. Things like the flow of tasks and processes between devices, the ability for one device to push things to another or to simply take control of it, and likely a lot more we haven’t seen yet.

On top of that, there’s even greater device diversity coming our way: smarter TVs, watches, glasses, wearables, cars, homes, and whatever else you can imagine. It’s a really exciting time to be working on multi-device designs.

What are you presenting at AEA this year, and how does it differ from your workshop in 2012?

Not coincidentally, I’ll be talking about multi-device web design. My full-day workshop brings people up to speed on the latest thinking and techniques for taking advantage of the increasing opportunity that comes with more always-connected devices. I start with a framework that helps make sense of the device diversity we’re seeing today. Then I walk through examples of designs that excel in this environment, and finally walk through all aspects of multi-device design needed to create these kinds of experience.

Each time I give the workshop (city-to-city) I turn over a good amount of the content. So even if you attended last year’s workshop, about 75% or more is going to be new this year. That’s how fast this stuff is changing.

What was your first AEA experience like?

Honestly, I didn’t know what to expect. I thought of it like every other conference I had been to before. It was only after I sat in the audience for a full day did I realize this was something special. All the speakers brought their A-game and the audience was so involved. Back then it was live-blogging and posting Flickr photos. But I quickly got very nervous about my talk—I was in stellar company and unprepared. Somehow I didn’t screw up too badly because I seem to get invited back. So, big thanks for taking a chance on yours truly, what… six years ago. Wow, time flies. I guess I do keep busy!

When something new comes along, it’s common for us to react with what we already know: radio programming on TV, print design on web pages, and now web page design on mobile devices. But every medium ultimately needs unique thinking and design to reach its true potential. Through an in-depth look at several common web interactions, Luke outlines how to adapt existing desktop design solutions for mobile devices and how to use mobile to expand what’s possible across all devices. You’ll go from thinking about how to reformat your websites to fit mobile screens, to using mobile as way to rethink the future of the web.

An Event Apart will hold eight conferences in 2013—each featuring a different line-up of brilliant speakers, offering fresh takes on the topics that matter most to passionate practitioners of standards-based web design. Following each two-day conference comes an optional all-day workshop on multi-device design, featuring new material from Luke himself. Attend the AEA conference nearest you, or pick a city you’ve always wanted to visit. For the latest on AEA, follow us on Twitter and Facebook, or subscribe to our mailing list.

In this 60-minute video, captured live at An Event Apart Boston 2012, Scott Berkun (author, Confessions of a Public Speaker) tackles designer disempowerment head on. Discover how power actually works, and why developing salesmanship skills is a must, even if your job is not public-facing. Learn to stop being frustrated on the job, and develop practical behaviors for achieving your dreams at work.

An Event Apart will hold eight conferences in 2013—each featuring a different line-up of brilliant speakers like Scott, offering fresh takes on the topics that matter most to passionate practitioners of standards-based web design. Following each two-day conference comes an optional all-day workshop on multi-device design, featuring new material from Luke Wroblewski (author, Mobile First). Attend the AEA conference nearest you, or pick a city you’ve always wanted to visit. For the latest on AEA, follow us on Twitter and Facebook, or subscribe to our mailing list.

For more Scott Berkun goodness, read scottberkun.com, follow @berkun, or sink deliciously into Scott’s newest essay collection, Mindfire: Big Ideas for Curious Minds.

Session Summaries by Luke Wroblewski

If you weren’t able to join us for AEA Seattle 2013—or if you did join us but were overwhelmed by the amount of information our speakers dispensed—savor these notes by speaker extraordinaire Luke Wroblewski:

• An Event Apart: The Mobile Content Mandate April 2, 2013
• An Event Apart: Just Enough Research April 2, 2013
• An Event Apart: What Clients Don’t Know April 2, 2013
• An Event Apart: The Real Me April 2, 2013
• An Event Apart: Great Time To Be a UX Designer April 2, 2013
• An Event Apart: 10 Commandments of Web Design April 1, 2013
• An Event Apart: Strong Layout Systems April 1, 2013
• An Event Apart: Designing for Touch April 1, 2013
• An Event Apart: HTML5 APIs April 1, 2013

The Music

If you liked the music we played between sessions, you can have it for your very own: An Event Apart: Soul Giants is ready to play on Spotify, Rdio, and Last.fm.

So you live in the Boston area. What do you like most about living there?

It ain’t the winters, I can tell you that. Or the summers. Or the traffic. Or the ubiquitous sportsball talk. Oh god, guys, why do I live here?

In all seriousness, I love this town. I’ve been here for over a decade, and it’s safe to say Boston has its hooks in me. I’m not sure I can point to one thing in particular: I’m a sucker for autumns in New England, for how walkable this city is, and for how my home in Vermont or my friends in New York City are both only a few hours away. I grouse about the weather, about what passes for quote-unquote “mass transit” in Boston, and various other things, but I have a hard time envisioning moving away.

We know you’re a responsively unstoppable robot ninja, but what else do you do? Take us through your typical day.

Well, last year I left my client practice, and cofounded Editorially with a few close friends. We’re working on an collaborative writing and editing platform, something that we think will help foster a better writing process.

So that’s what I’m working on these days. It’s been a bit of a mental shift from working on client projects to designing a product, but I consider myself damned lucky to be part of this team; I’ve had plenty of help making the transition, and I’m seriously excited about what we’re building.

What’s on your horizon right now? Anything new in the responsive world?

Other than Editorially? Well, there’s been a lot of chatter lately about performance as it applies to responsive design, which is a discussion that needs to happen—the entire web, not just the responsive corner of it, has gotten heavier and slower, and there’s a lot of great work we can do to lighten it quite a bit.

What was your first An Event Apart experience like?

My first time speaking at AEA was the first time I’d attended and I have to say, I wasn’t quite prepared for just how, well, stellar the lineup was going to be. And every time I’ve been back, it’s managed to maintain that bar: folks from every corner of this industry talking about what they’re most passionate about, and doing so beautifully. Listening to Karen McGrane talk about mobile content strategy, or Jeremy Keith talk about data preservation, or Erin Kissane on content strategy? Yeah, I’d sign up for that.

(Of course, the high bar makes it an absolutely terrifying show to prepare for.)

Anyway. I know you guys are the organizers, but I’d say this even if you weren’t.  Whenever I’m chatting with the attendees, I tell them AEA’s one of the finest conferences I’ve ever attended. And I mean it every time.

What will you be talking about at AEA Boston?

I’ll be talking about how responsive design is really about honoring access—it’s about designing information that’s accessible on any device, no matter how capable it is. I might even be able to chat about this responsive web application I’ve been working on, too.

Ethan Marcotte is just one of twelve great designers and thinkers speaking at An Event Apart Boston. Reserve your seat before they sell out, or join us at the AEA 2013 event nearest you.

The Filament Group’s Scott Jehl (co-author, Designing With Progressive Enhancement) is a pioneer in doing it well. And in this 60-minute video, captured live at An Event Apart Boston 2012, he shares advanced and emerging techniques for improving the responsiveness (if you will) of responsive web design despite all the pitfalls, hazards, and unknowns of multi-device development.

You will learn how to think and build defensively, creating experiences that not only work most anywhere, but take advantage of the latest browser capabilities and are ready for your users’ next move.

For more Scott Jehl multi-device wisdom, read Luke Wroblewski’s notes on Scott’s presentation. You may also enjoy Jeffrey Zeldman’s new 60-minute interview with Scott Jehl on The Big Web Show podcast, episode 83 (February 28, 2013), in which the two designers discuss the very latest thinking on a host of web and multi-device design, development, and performance issues.

An Event Apart will hold eight conferences in 2013. Attend the one nearest you, or pick a city you’ve always wanted to visit.

For the latest on AEA, follow us on Twitter and Facebook, or subscribe to our mailing list.

Learn how to look at typefaces with a discerning eye, different approaches to typographic planning, how typography impacts the act of reading, and how to choose and combine appropriate typefaces from an aesthetic and technical point of view.

An Event Apart Boston 2012 featured 12 great speakers and sessions, plus a full day workshop on designing for mobile and beyond. More videos will be posted here soon. An Event Apart will hold eight conferences in 2013. Attend the one nearest you, or pick a city you’ve always wanted to visit.

For the latest on AEA, follow us on Twitter and Facebook, or subscribe to our mailing list.

You’re a local!  What do you like most about living in the Atlanta area?

I live in Athens, which is about an hour from Atlanta. It’s a culturally-rich college town famous for birthing musical giants like REM, The B-52s, Pylon, and Of Montreal to name a few. But in general, as a yankee turned southerner, I enjoy the kindness of the folks here. When people honk at you on the street, it’s because they’re saying, “Hey!”, not because they’re pissed you’re going too slow. It turns out that the clichés of Southern hospitality are founded on some truth. 

What does a user experience director at an email list managing software company do? Take us through your day. How much of your job involves coding? Writing? Design?

I find myself a bit divided these days between keeping track of projects, talking to people who use the stuff we make, working on UI design concepts, and doing managery stuff. I do still write code for MailChimp, though less as of late. It’s important for me to find a balance between thinking, making, and managing. Too much of any one and the wheels can fall off the bus.

My typical day consists of slogging through email correspondence in the early morning, usually starting as early as 5:00 AM. I drive in to work and take advantage of the precious few hours in the early morning when there’s no one around to knock a few things off my to-do list. Then I meet with members of the UX team to discuss the state of various design projects we have in the works. I really love design critiques and talking through code concepts. There might be a meeting or two peppered in the day, though they are kept brief. Collaboration continues throughout the day. I try to devote as much in-office time as possible to communicating directly with my team, so we can work efficiently.

I work from home two days a week. I use that isolated time to keep up with small tasks like writing app copy, creating wireframes or prototypes, user interviews, and the like. I find splitting the week this way helps me stay in touch with my team while not losing myself to the managerial spiral.

What’s new on the writing horizon?

I’ve been wondering that myself. I’ve been tinkering around with a few ideas about practical UX practices we’ve discovered at MailChimp, but a clear narrative thread worthy of long-form writing has yet to emerge. I will say this, though: I find writing to be very important to my learning process. Teaching a concept, whether in person or in writing, forces one to attain mastery. You may be able to do something yourself, but you don’t truly understand until you’ve taught it to another person.

You write books, hold down a powerful job, manage a busy speaking schedule, and have a family at home. How do you find time to do it all?

I wish there was some grand secret I could share, but in all honesty I am stumbling through life like everyone else. I keep lists and try to clear tasks as efficiently as I can, but I also hang out in front of the TV sometimes. Sometimes you just have to let your mind rest! And spending time with my family is always a top priority for me. In a busy life it’s always important to maintain perspective.

What was your first AEA experience like?

Oh, man. It was overwhelmingly exciting and incredibly intimidating. The first AEA I spoke at was in New Orleans in 2008. I was on the second day of an absolutely incredible, all-star line up of web luminaries. And then there was me. I had plenty of time to fret over my talk and helplessly succumb to my fears of incompetence. On the day of my talk, I woke, promptly threw up as my nerves got the best of me, then I went onstage and the world did not end. People enjoyed the talk. Jeff Veen complimented me after I walked offstage.

It’s very healthy to face bone shaking fear like this every once in a while to remind you what you’re capable of. Oh, and I still get super nervous before every AEA talk (though there’s less vomiting). The lineup of speakers is still unbelievable, and the audience is always at the top of their game.

What will you be talking about at AEA Atlanta?

I’m going to share some insights about branding and personality that I’ve been exploring. I’m fascinated by design that communicates a sense of the humanity of those who created it, and builds a fanaticism about it not seen in more reserved brands. I’m going to show some strong examples of each, and tie this idea back to specific UI design examples, then share some practical guidance about how to move your design in the right direction. This talk extends the ideas in my book Designing For Emotion. Anyone who found the book interesting will likely find this talk helpful to their work.

Aarron Walter is just one of twelve great designers and thinkers speaking at An Event Apart Atlanta. Reserve your seat before they sell out, or join us at the AEA 2013 event nearest you.

For years, we’ve been telling designers: the web is not print. You can’t have pixel-perfect layouts. You can’t determine how your site will look in every browser, on every platform, on every device. We taught designers to cede control, think in systems, embrace web standards. So why are we still letting content authors plan for where their content will “live” on a web page? Why do we give in when they demand a WYSIWYG text editor that works “just like Microsoft Word”? Worst of all, why do we waste time and money creating and recreating content instead of planning for content reuse? What worked for the desktop web simply won’t work for mobile. As our design and development processes evolve, our content workflow has to keep up. Learn how to adapt to creating more flexible content.

An Event Apart Boston 2012 featured 12 great speakers and sessions, plus a full day workshop on designing for mobile and beyond. More videos will be posted here soon. An Event Apart will hold eight conferences in 2013. Attend the one nearest you, or pick a city you’ve always wanted to visit.

For the latest on AEA, follow us on Twitter and Facebook, or subscribe to our mailing list.

Our 2013 playlist is a rambunctious little crowd pleaser, bustling with classic soul, funk, hip hop, and disco grooves. So get your platform shoes on and boogie down! You can enjoy the AEA 2013 playlist…

... on Spotify; short URL: http://cog.gd/4o0.

... on Rdio; short URL: http://cog.gd/4o1.

... on Last.fm; short URL: http://cog.gd/4nz

Please note: as with all licensed music sharing services, any tracks not licensed for use by Spotify or Rdio respectively will be missing from their reproductions of the playlist.