Mounds View: “A Lake That’s Seen Better Days”

A neighboring suburb’s struggles with branding and marketing made the front page of my neighborhood newspaper this week.

From the article “Mounds View continues discussing new tagline” by Kate Garlock, it sounds like a case of equal parts design by committee and crowdsourcing.

Both of which are fine, well-worn strategies and both have a significantly lower upfront price tag than the alternative – hiring a branding firm specialized in municipalities.

Seems to me the question is whether Mounds View is looking for a single all-encompassing solution that will serve the city well for years to come – or a quiver of potentially giggle-inducing, community-owned solutions.

The opportunity exists to pull off the latter. It will take as much commitment, organization, and leadership as going back to square one and bringing in the professionals.

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Recap: 10/12 UX Meetup @ Sen Yai Sen Lek Thai

We had a lively and varied discussion last Monday with the group that turned out for our October UX meetup.  Some topics that arose:

  • UnSummit compared to open space technology (imagine a summit with no set schedule or speakers, just one big question or problem to be addressed)
  • Mentorship – how can people find potential mentors, and how would mentorship be structured? This could tie in with a discussion we had a few months back about people transitioning into UX: how can we help provide opportunities for people to establish new working/learning relationships…
  • The wide variation in how IA and other UX terms are defined
  • Working with problematic requests/suggestions from clients: probe to find the intent behind those requests, and then find a better way to address that intent.
  • UX as a permanent state of mind (“You’re not just grumpy, you’re doing your job.”)

Thanks to Garrick Van Buren (Kernest.com) for sponsoring the meetup!

Upcoming meetups: November’s event on 11/9 will be the UX Book Club discussing A Project Guide to UX Design. We’re currently working on a topic for the December meetup.

11/9 UX Book Club discussion @ Wilde Roast, 6-8 PM

Please join us for our next UX Book Club discussion Monday, November 9, 6-8 pm at Wilde Roast in NE Minneapolis.

We’ll be discussing a recent UX title from New Riders, A Project Guide to UX Design: For user experience designers in the field or in the making, which came out in March.

When reading the book, please write down your answers to these topics/questions and bring them with you — they will drive our discussion (yes, you can still join us if you haven’t read the book):

  • Two things in the book that really struck a chord
  • One thing you either hated, disagreed with, or don’t understand
  • Do you see the ideas in this book influencing your practice/job/work, and if so, how?

DATE & TIME
November 9, 2009
6-8 p.m.

LOCATION
Wilde Roast Cafe
518 Hennepin Ave. E. • Minneapolis, MN 55414
612.331.4544
Map & info

PS – Don’t forget: next UX Meetup is Monday, October 12 (6-8 PM) at Sen Yai Sen Lek Thai in NE Mpls. Hope to see you there!

Your Twin Cities UX Book Club organizers:
Bill Dorman
Christine Anameier
Stephanie Hammes-Betti
Jennifer Bohmbach
Garrick Van Buren

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Headmix is looking for a front-end developer to help build out their employee-oriented social network.

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Twin Cities UX Meetup Oct 12, 2009 – Sen Yai Sen Lek Thai

The next Twin Cities UX Meetup will be on Monday, October 12 at Sen Yai Sen Lek in northeast Minneapolis.

This will be an open discussion – let’s hang out, talk UX and eat spring rolls.

If you have something you’d like to discuss (prototyping techniques, user research in the age of mobile Twitter, selling UX to Eskimos, etc) leave them in the comments.

Hope to see you on the 12th!

DATE & TIME
October 12, 2009 (2nd Monday of the month)
6-8 p.m.

LOCATION
Sen Yai Sen Lek Thai Rice and Noodles
2422 Central Avenue NE, Minneapolis, MN 55418
612.781.3046
Click for directions

Your Twin Cities UX Meetup organizers:
Bill Dorman
Christine Anameier
Stephanie Hammes-Betti
Jennifer Bohmbach
Garrick Van Buren

Sevnthsin seeks Interactive Design Intern

Sevnthsin is looking for an interactive design intern to start ASAP! Get more info over at jobs.sevnthsin.com

UX Meetup EXTRA

Content Strategy Night
Thursday, Sept. 17
6pm – 8pm

Meet visiting content strategist Rahel Bailie (Intentional Design, Vancouver) for an informal discussion on content, the Web, and everything.

Sen Yai Sen Lek
2422 Central Ave NE,
Minneapolis, MN 55418
(612) 781-3046

Where Pepsi Spends Its Money Competing with Coke

pepsi vs coke logos

Thanks to Aaron & Underconsideration.

UX Book Club: Seth Godin Tribes

Since Seth Godin is coming to the Twin Cities in October, we thought this would be the perfect book to read for UX Book Club. It’s not a User Experience book per se, but it is relevant to us. It’s also a great way to get warmed up for the upcoming MIMA Summit.

tribes

DATE & TIME
September 21, 2009
6-8 p.m.

LOCATION

Wilde Roast Cafe
518 Hennepin Ave. E. • Minneapolis, MN 55414
Line: 612.331.4544
View Map