User-Lab to host International Design for Engagability Conference (iDeC)

Birmingham Institute of Art and Design’s User-Lab to host International Design for Engagability Conference (iDeC)

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The Birmingham Institute of Art and Design’s User-Lab http://www.user-lab.com will host host International Design for Engagability Conference (iDeC) in July 2004.

User-Lab is a unique facility in art, design and media education, based in Birmingham, West Midlands. The lab aims to facilitate knowledge transfer between designers, businesses and technologists in growing area of experience design. The first iDeC will bring together, researchers, designers and organisations and focus on issues in providing accessible, usable and engaging products and services.

iDeC will take place on 6-7th July 2004 in Birmingham, West Midlands, comprising of presentations and keynote speakers from commercial and research organisations. The aim of conference is to bring together a wide range of practitioners with their own unique insights into understanding user experience.

"Engagability is how companies can add value to customers. Old school usability ensured that user could operate products but did little to address why people value some products and not others. This conference will bring together researchers at cutting edge of engagabilty and demonstrate methods for increasing user satisfaction", adds John Knight Usability Engineer at User-Lab.

Pleasure, enjoyment, positive emotions, hedonic values have recently been applied to user experience. The emphasis on positive leads to some interesting questions about user experience: For example, Should education experience be a joy? Is pleasure important in game playing? What happens when all products are pleasurable? If computer is a theatre, is it a tragedy or comedy? Is self-actualisation less rewarding, if it is easy to attain? Is familiarity or unfamiliarity pleasurable? Can pleasure be guaranteed? Is pursuit of pleasure, rewarding or healthy? Is one person’s pleasure another person’s pain?

The conference will address aforementioned and be of interest to those involved in researching, designing and manufacturing user-centred products and services (usability and accessibility) and are areas that will be addressed at iDeC.

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Registration to conference is free to speakers (and up to three colleagues), press and students, but excludes cost of catering and proceedings.

1.) Payment Options - vary from country to country, therefore offering flexible payment options are important. While PayPal might be a good option for consumer-oriented products, this service is not widely used by businesses and is only available to customers in specific countries. In order to attract global customers, businesses must provide a variety of payment options that customers, in different countries, are familiar and comfortable with.

2.) Currency Distinction - provides added convenience to a potential customer, and shows an understanding and respect for global audiences. A currency converter is a good option, especially for large companies who may be dealing with many countries. When listing prices clearly indicate country currency, such as between US dollars and Canadian dollars. This distinction will prevent misconceptions and prevent customer dissatisfaction.