From User Experience Design to Event Experience Design
The Power of Why
“But … WHY?”
When I was a little girl this was my favourite word - WHY. My mother has told me many times that she would send me to bed early so her ears could get a rest from my relentless curiosity. I needed to know, to understand, how the world worked, why things are the way they are and what can be done with the knowing of it. As a child, I also had a love of storytelling and creating a moment of connection with others. I loved to connect, to entertain. When I was young, that was expressed in my love of theatre and, such was my love of creating and playing in alternative worlds, I went on to study Drama and Costume at college. As I have grown older, my need to understand why has never diminished and my love of storytelling has never dimmed - so what’s a girl to do? - I turned it all into a profession!
The Adventure of University
I studied Web Development at University, hoping to turn my love of knowing and weaving tales into a living. At university my favourite subject was Human-Computer Interaction - the psychology of why people interact with technology the way they do, and how that understand can be used to create great experiences. I didn’t realise it at the time, but the study of why watered a seed of the love of Experience Design within me.
The Long Road of Work
When I left university, I started working as Front End Developer - hoping that this would lead me down the road to telling engaging stories for brands. My job was taking finished designs, extracting the assets from Photoshop, making them in HTML, CSS and JavaScript. As I sliced up the images, I often wondered why these design decisions had been made? Who was making the decisions? Were they really the best way to get the information or service to the end customer? What patterns were used in its design to encourage people to do this or that? My love of finding the why and telling the story then lead me into User Experience Design. I finally for to play with the why of it!
My daughter and I explore the joy of drawing
The Making of a Human
After a few years of working with UX Design for web and mobile I had a baby and moved around the world - beautiful, lush green Sweden, bustling London and majestic Washington State in the USA. During that time I got to see the wonder and relentless curiosity of another beautiful mind exploring the world for the first time. I got to tell the stories of why things are and imagine how they could be with her. I got to plan my own wedding in Sweden (from London!), many birthdays, dinner parties and game nights.
The Next Adventure - Event Experience Design
Now it’s time for a new adventure and I feel the pull of the story yet to be told. I’ve never stopped learning and now I have turned my ever-curious eye to another brand of Experience Design that I had never explored before - Event Experience Design!
It’s the perfect blend of storytelling, theatre, psychology, craft, communication and community! Events take a village and I want in.
Now, how does one go from digital experience design to real-world event design? Why, by jumping in excitedly with both feet! I am volunteering - helping to plan an event for 400 people in rural Wales, all the way from Glastonbury, England!
But jumping in without any knowledge of Event Design would be a bit silly, right? RIGHT?! So I have set my feet to the path, and my soul to the work, of learning all I can about Event Design as I dive into the process of planning this event with it’s organising team.
I’m reading all the books I can, listening to podcasts, watching lectures and even considering going back to University to study Themed Event Experience Design! I’m following my passion wherever it may lead. Join me for the ride, won’t you?
Resources I am Learning From
Books I’ve Read
The Art of Gathering, Priya Parker
Designing Experiences, J. Robert Rossman
Books on my To Read pile
Creating Memorable Worlds, Theron Skees
How does Disney do that? James Warda, Theron Skees
Podcasts
The League of Extraordinary Storytellers