What? Where? How? (Top FAQs)

Welcome to Colorado! Brief answers to your top questions:

How do I get to Boulder from Denver International Airport?
Here are a few options: http://interaction11.ixda.org/boulderama.html

Where can I pick up my badge?
THURSDAY 8:00am – 6:00pm
FRIDAY  8:00am to 12:00noon
University Memorial Center (UMC)
1669 Euclid Avenue

The iPhone app shows events starting an hour later than the website — which is correct?
This website has the correct times. An older version of the iPhone app had a bug; a new, fixed version is available in the app store. Morning sessions start at 9:15am each day.

Where and when can I get the conference shuttle?
At our conference hotels, starting at 7:45am each morning. If you’re a guest of the Best Western, duck over to your neighbor, The Boulder Outlook.

The last buses leave around 9:30am each morning.

The Boulder Shuttle Tracker shows conference shuttle positions in real time: http://interaction.ixda.org/xmarks Look for student volunteers to help you.

What if I need a taxi from downtown? How else can I get around?
Boulder locals say taxis are elusive. Your best best is to hoof it to the St. Julien Hotel–900 Walnut Street–and source one there.

I have a car, where should I park?
The cheapest parking option for a full day is the St. Julien’s valet, $10. Other local parking is operated by the City of Boulder at a rate of $1.25/hr for the first 4 hours, $2.50/hr for all subsequent hours.

At UMC, there Euclid Avenue Autopark garage, east of the venue. $20, but convenient. Map

What’s the URL for… ?
IxD11 iPhone App
Shuttle tracker
Speaker and presentation feedback – http://spkr8.com/ixd11
Dash-bus Confessional Videos
IxDA Awards

Got other questions? Tweet with #ixdhelp for the quickest response, or email us: interaction@ixda.com



Important conference details!

In a little over a week we’ll be gathering in Boulder! Earlier today we emailed everyone some key information, and hopefully you read it already and have it committed to memory. But just in case, here’s a recap of some of mission-critical details.

1. ONLINE REGISTRATION WILL CLOSE FEB. 3
Our online registration system will close on Thursday, February 3rd, at 12:00 midnight US Eastern time. If you need to transfer your registration to another person, agree to the Activity Waiver, change the name on your badge, or update any personal information — now is the time! After that you will need to email ixda@gomeeting.com for any changes.

2. GET CONNECTED
If you have an iPhone, be sure to download our shiny new conference app by visiting http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/ixda/id415594021 Or just search for “IxDA” in the iTunes Store. The app will give you immediate access to the conference schedule, speaker info, and more great features. Courtesy of @smudgeproof_llc.

Remember, you can always find conference information by visiting this website. And the detailed day-by-day program is here. A mobile web version is coming shortly.

Start networking before the conference by joining us on Crowdvine. People are already using it to organize ride-shares, special events, and other forms of meetups, so check it out!

On Twitter, be sure to follow @IxDConf for all kinds of announcements. Use the tag #ixd11 for all your tweets and post. You can also find some of our speakers and sponsors by following these lists:
Keynotes
Workshop organizers
Lightning Session speakers
Sponsors

3. ARRIVING IN DENVER, GETTING TO BOULDER
If you are flying into Denver and haven’t yet arranged your ground transportation to Boulder, a variety of options are here.

4. SHUTTLES
We will offer shuttle service during the conference with coverage between all venues and the following hotels: St Julien Hotel and Spa, Boulder Outlook Hotel and Suites, Boulder Creek Quality Inn and Suites, Best Western Boulder Inn, Hotel Boulderado, and Boulder Marriott.

Here’s the map overview of where you’ll be hangin’ during the conference. We’ll also provide shuttling for all the special events, connecting our main conference venue and hotels to event locations. Physical and digital maps will be available providing specifics about how to get from Point A to Point B.

This year, the conference shuttle becomes part of our “hallway conversations” so we have a fun project in the works to capture and share some of what goes on in these “hallways”. So, when you’re riding that bus, don’t be surprised if one of our volunteers invites you to give a “Dash-Bus Confessional” interview. More info coming soon to the conference website.

5. REGISTRATION/BADGE PICKUP
Stop by to pick up your badge and attendee packet from our friendly and hard-working conference folks:

Wednesday, February 9th
8:00am – 10:00pm in the St. Julien Hotel, main lobby
Note: If you’re attending a Wednesday morning workshop, plan to arrive by 9:00am; afternoon workshop attendees, plan to arrive by 1:30pm

Thursday, February 10th
8:00am – 6:00pm at the University Memorial Center (UMC), second floor
Note: If you’re arriving Boulder *after* 6:00pm Thursday please bring photo ID to The Boulder Theater (Opening Party venue)

Friday, February 11th
8:00am – 2:00pm at the University Memorial Center (UMC), second floor

6. WEATHER
The weather report is looking good, but you never know with Boulder. Plan on highs of 40-45F (4-8C) with below-freezing nights – bring warm outerwear including a winter hat and gloves. Boulder may see snow but knows how to handle their snow business.

7. LOST, CONFUSED, QUESTIONS, COMMMENTS?
Conference organizers and student volunteers will be onsite, identifiable by their badges, and ready to help with questions or concerns.

You can also tweet questions tagged with #ixdhelp and we’ll do our best to help you.

And you can always email us: interaction@ixda.org

See you in Boulder!
The Interaction11 Conference Committee
@IxDConf



Keeping track of your conference schedule? There’s an app for that.

If you’re an iPhone owner and you’re attending the conference, you’re in luck. Thanks to the generosity of the talented folks at smudgeproof, now you can get the official Interaction 11 iPhone app. It lets you browse the full schedule of events, create your own personalized schedule, and map local venues and hotels. And it’s free!

If you’re on an Android or some other device, we’re sorry, “No app for you!” You’ll still be able to access all the important conference information by browsing to a mobile optimized version of the site (COMING SOON!), and hard copies of the conference schedule will also be within easy reach.

Click here to get the app



Congratulations to the winners of Microsoft give-away!

An amazing 235 entries were received in answer to “Why should Microsoft send YOU to Interaction11?” between Tuesday evening and noontime today, Friday. (Microsoft was giving away three complimentary registration passes.)

Entries were reviewed solely on content. “We were very impressed by such enthusiastic participation. In our review, we looked for people whom we believed to be truly revealing of themselves and who would add to the larger conversation; people we all would like to meet at the conference.” The field was eventually narrowed to 26 favorites from which a random selection was made and then the names were revealed.

The winners are…

  • Aurea de Souza
  • James R. L. Martin
  • Juan Rafael Lopez

These three lucky individuals have been notified by email and will have until 12 noon U.S. Eastern Time on Monday, January 24 to confirm they will attend. Three runners-up were also selected (but not notified) in case one of the winners is unable to accept.

Diamond conference sponsor Microsoft thanks IxDA for their assistance in facilitating the give-away. And IxDA thanks Microsoft for their generous patronage!

UPDATE: All three winners have accepted and are now registered to attend. IxDA and Microsoft thanks everyone who entered.



Have your conference t-shirt experience on Cafe Press

Our crack team of collateral designers have cooked up an innovative new t-shirt experience for conference attendees. To ensure this bold new t-shirt design solution is a contextual match for each conference user, they have made a variety of styles, colors, and sizes available. Choose from a range of sizes cut specifically for men and women in blue, with color alternatives in olive for men and pomegranate for women.

– Men’s sizes S-XL in pacific blue or olive green for $23.99 + shipping + tax (size 2XL available for $3 more)

– Women’s sizes S-XL in galaxy blue or pomegranate pink for $22.99 + shipping + tax (ladies, these run a little small)

Order ASAP to pay the lowest shipping price and get your shirt in time to wear it in Boulder!

Visit the Interaction11 store on Cafe Press to order



Getting around in Boulder

Welcome 2011! February 9-12 is just around the corner now. Many of you have already made your travel and lodging arrangements; if you’re one of those last-minute people, check out our Boulderama section for full details. Once you’re in Boulder and staying at one of our six conference hotels, rest assured, we’ve got your transportation covered to and from all the official conference venues. Everything is within about a one-kilometer radius (very walk-able if you’re so inclined) but we’ll be getting you around via dedicated shuttle buses on a loop. This will be no ordinary busing experience though: be prepared for some fun and interesting “interactions” associated with the shuttle loop, courtesy of a crackerjack BDW student team as well as IxDA Global-Local Committee Chairs Angel Anderson and Josh Kaufman. Stay tuned…we’ll have detailed maps ready for you shortly.

Calling all alpine enthusiasts: Tickets are still available for CP+B’s Epic Mix experience at Vail and special IxDA discount rates are now available for ski-on-your-own options at Eldora and Breckenridge.



Interaction11 news and information

Hello Attendees!

You’ve probably heard that Interaction11 in Boulder is sold out, and then some! The Interaction11 team is incredibly excited about the program we’ve put together, and we want to make sure you get the most out of your conference. We’ll send periodic email newsletters to let you know about details, deadlines, developments, and other information.

Today, we’ve got info about:

  1. Workshops
  2. Deadline for activities sign-up
  3. Get to know your fellow attendees with Crowdvine
  4. Media Partnerships
  5. Articles about and or by I11 Speakers (+ an article by Conference Co-Chair Jon Kolko)

Cheers,
Josh Damon Williams & Erik Gibb
Marketing and PR Co-Chairs for Interaction11
@IxDConf


WORKSHOPS

Workshops provide you with the opportunity to learn more about a specific aspect of interaction design from recognized leaders in the field, and in a small-group classroom setting. Workshops all have limited space, and they’re filling up fast so look through the list of topics and don’t wait to sign up!

Q&A with Indi Young about her workshop “Stop Thinking, Start Listening: How to Get the Whole Story”

Q: Whom would you recommend this workshop to?
A: This workshop is for those with interviewing experience. Even though I’ve been conducting interviews for 15 years, I am still learning to get better. I pick up little hints and tips in lots of places and try to incorporate them into my practice. You’re probably a lot like me: you’ve got a lot of interviews under your belt, you know what to avoid, and yet it couldn’t hurt to improve with every session.

Q: What will people learn in your workshop?
A: Workshop participants will approach their next set of interviews in a whole new state of mind. Rather than “making sure I get the right stuff‚” you will be focused on “making sure I understand the participant.” In other words, instead of being aware of the process of conducting the interview, you will instead be focused on what the participant is saying and finding out more about what they mean and why they’re saying it. One of the key practices is to skip the list of interview questions and walk into the interview with a small, blank square of paper on which to jot maybe 10 or 15 words as they come up during the interview. The workshop will equip you to adopt this somewhat alarming practice with confidence.

Find out more about Indi’s workshop

Q&A with Karen McGrane & Bill DeRouchey about their workshop “Interaction History for Interaction Designers”

Q: Who should take this workshop?
A: Since these topics are rarely covered, all interaction designers could benefit from this workshop. However, interaction designers who have never worked on software products or physical devices will benefit the most, as this workshop will introduce them to principles that go beyond the web.

Q: What will they take away?
A: The core principles of interaction design are rooted in the history of how humans interact with technology. Assumptions that we take for granted were design decisions of previous generations. Whether principles were first created in physical products or early computers, a core set of interaction concepts were handed to our generation. Understanding these concepts will help inform design decisions today.

Q: Why are the ideas they take away are important?
A: Even though technology change is so turbulent right now, the current generation of designers is likely to set the interface standards for the next generation. It’s important to have a historical sense of how even the smallest design decisions can have a great impact on future generations. QWERTY, anyone?

Find out more about Karen and Bill’s workshop


DEADLINE FOR ACTIVITY SIGN-UP

Our Friday Activity Sessions allow you to explore Boulder, stimulate creativity and connect with your fellow attendees outside of the traditional conference setting. Most attendees signed up for an activity when they registered, but some have not!

On January 7th (5:00PM EST) Activity selection will be CLOSED. Those who haven’t selected an Activity will be assigned to one of the free ones automatically.

Additionally, a bunch of conference registrants didn’t check the Activity Waiver checkbox. Criticisms about poor form design aside, we really do need that checkbox checked. If you can’t remember, double-check your registration!


GET TO KNOW YOUR FELLOW ATTENDEES WITH CROWDVINE

Back by popular demand, we’ve integrated Crowdvine into the Interaction11 website so you can connect with fellow attendees — all 600+ of them — and generate some conference buzz of your own. Now you can get a head start on networking and the great conversations about interaction design that IxDA is famous for.

Visit Crowdvine to set up an account or log into your account from last year!


MEDIA PARTNERSHIPS

We have three awesome media partners who will all be doing their part to cover the conversations in Boulder. Johnny Holland and Core77 have been ongoing supporters of Interaction. And we’ve found a new media partner in Webgrrls International, who has a goal of helping women — at a global level — succeed in the technical workplace through networking, exchanging job and business leads, and teaching new skills.


ARTICLES ABOUT AND OR BY I11 SPEAKERS (+ AN ARTICLE BY CONFERENCE CO-CHAIR JON KOLKO)

In case you missed these, Johnny Holland has run some fantastic articles on some of our Interaction11 speakers. Check them out!


QUESTIONS? COMMENTS?

Send us an email at interaction@ixda.org or shout out on Twitter at @ixdconf.



Interaction11 welcomes media partner Webgrrls

Interaction11 is pleased to announce a media partner alliance with Webgrrls International, whose purpose is to help women succeed in an increasingly technical workplace and world through networking, exchanging job and business leads, and teaching new skills. Like IxDA, Webgrrls is a mission-led global community organization that believes business can–and should–be a positive force in society.

We look forward to Webgrrls’ blog coverage of Interaction11 over the coming months, particularly interviews with our speakers whose work is in the realm of women in business and technology. Follow us at @IxDconf and @Webgrrls to catch the buzz!



Connect with attendees through Crowdvine

Back by popular demand, we’ve integrated Crowdvine into the Interaction11 website so you can connect with fellow attendees — all 600+ of them — and generate some conference buzz of your own. Now you can get a head start on networking and the great conversations about interaction design that IxDA is famous for. Visit http://interaction11.crowdvine.com to set up an account or log into your account from last year!