UI design sessions (and help decide where)

~ 23 October 2006 ~

I suppose it’s time I mention a recap of “Designing Elegant CSS Interfaces”, as well as related stuff on the table. All things considered, the workshop went really well, based on attendee reviews and those I spoke to after the fact. The Carsons threw together a fantastic overall workshop package, and hanging out with them was a veritable blast. And visiting London proper was certainly a treat, of course; the only letdown being a lack of time to hang out with other friends in the area.

For those who couldn’t make the transatlantic trip, similar conference material and workshops will be available in the coming months. Here are a couple:

  • “Fundamental UI Design Practices” at Refresh06 (Orlando). Join me for a fast-paced session in which I’ll present only the best material from my London workshop and pack it all into one hour.
  • “Interface Design & CSS” at Web Design World (Boston). This will be somewhat akin to the London workshop, with material split evenly between theory, design instruction, and CSS tutorials. The material tends to be suited for intermediate designers, though beginner and advanced designers won’t be ignored. PROMO: Use the priority code “AUTHC” and receive $200 off the full conference package. Offer expires November 8.

Additionally, I need your input on the following:

1. Where to hold “Designing Elegant CSS Interfaces” stateside? The Carsons would like to repeat the same workshop here in the states. Cast a vote for the city of your choice by leaving a comment.

2. Your interest in a virtual seminar? I’m also considering a 60-90 minute virtual seminar broadcasted by web/phone — similar UI design material — for those of you in more remote locations. Speak up if you’d be willing to pay to “attend” a seminar from the convenience of your own office.

 

85  Comments

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1   Joshua Brewer ~ 23 October 2006 at 01:57 PM

SAN DIEGO, BABY!


2   John-John ~ 23 October 2006 at 02:01 PM

1) New York City (Because I live here)
2) I would pay for a ‘Virtual Seminar’ LIVE, if I had access to review it in an ‘OnDemand’ style. I say this because the onsite ‘seminar’ gives you the option to be out of the office, socialize, share and not worry about someone bothering you while ur watching it in the office.

Where do i sign-up?


3   Ricky Irvine ~ 23 October 2006 at 02:04 PM

Louisville, KY.

Nothing ever comes here, yet it’s pretty centrally located. Plus, I’d be able to come. Louisville designers need this stuff more than anyone.


4   Geof Harries ~ 23 October 2006 at 02:08 PM

Whitehorse, Yukon! You could even invite Alaskans.


5   Nic Johnson ~ 23 October 2006 at 02:10 PM

1) Idaho Falls, Idaho. Yeah. [if not I.F., then Salt Lake. Close enough and you could return to the ol’ stomping grounds.]

2) Yes, I would pay on the condition of post-event access like John-John mentioned. My guess is that mine will be the only vote for Idaho Falls so this would be my only option. :)


6   Brad Dielman ~ 23 October 2006 at 02:18 PM

Cleveland, OH

Contrary to the perception of most people, Cleveland would be a great choice. Its cleaned up its act in the last few years and I think that Eric Meyer would back me up on that. I’d love to be able to attend a great workshop and this would give me the chance.


7   Matt Johnson ~ 23 October 2006 at 02:22 PM

1) Chicago.

2) I’m visual - as I would suspect most in the design field are. Maybe not - but I don’t think I’d pay anything higher than a few 10’s for a “virtual seminar” - it would be hard for me to get anything substantially useful from that I think.


8   Royal ~ 23 October 2006 at 02:23 PM

Virtual baby, virtual.
No need to pad the expense account or travel to Cleveland.


9   Steve ~ 23 October 2006 at 02:24 PM

New York, unless north western New Jersey is becoming a hot spot these days!
And yes, absolutely, I’d do an online seminar, even it was a voice and slide only thing like Dave Shea did a few months back. And I agree with John-John, the info should be save-able or be able to be viewed again as needed.
How about a Mobile seminar? Stream that over my Treo? We could do that with a video and embed some DRM into it so it doesn’t go viral on us! That would rock!


10   John Cade ~ 23 October 2006 at 02:25 PM

Nashville, TN.

It’s a great central location for all of your readers.


11   Cameron Moll ~ 23 October 2006 at 02:26 PM

Um, I’ll let you figure out the Treo streaming, Steve. :)


12   Jeff ~ 23 October 2006 at 02:26 PM

Seattle or LA!!


13   kory ~ 23 October 2006 at 02:32 PM

San Diegooooooo …. please. can we get some attention on so cal please : )

I’ll settle for L.A. …


14   Dan Mall ~ 23 October 2006 at 02:33 PM

Philly representin!

I dig the virtual idea too, but there’s nothing like being able to heckle in person.


15   Pat Brumfield ~ 23 October 2006 at 02:36 PM

I vote for Southern California: LA, OC, or San Diego.


16   Drew ~ 23 October 2006 at 02:47 PM

I’ll second the nomination for Chicago…


17   Adam Spooner ~ 23 October 2006 at 02:58 PM

My vote is for Atlanta, GA.

I’d go virtual too…nothing comes to NC. =(


18   Neil ~ 23 October 2006 at 03:00 PM

Chicago would be great, but as I live in Canada a virtual seminar would be great, too.


19   Brandon ~ 23 October 2006 at 03:01 PM

Probably the only one, but how about Kansas City? Nice, central location. Oh, and close to home to boot! :)


20   Jon Linczak ~ 23 October 2006 at 03:03 PM

Putting in my vote for Cleveland, OH too. Nothing ever comes to Cleveland that I’m interested in, and there would be some decent places to host it, so it would be cool to have it here. That, and I’m selfish because I live there too… :)


21   Jeff Richmond ~ 23 October 2006 at 03:07 PM

Fresno, CA? …Please?


22   Monique ~ 23 October 2006 at 03:10 PM

DC area! I have yet to see a major good web design conference mentioned that is in this area (of course, since this is where I am, it would be a situation of help is close to home (Home Hardware, anyone?)).


23   Ryan Romero ~ 23 October 2006 at 03:14 PM

New York City. Pretty pretty please?


24   David Mead ~ 23 October 2006 at 03:22 PM

1) Cleveland, OH

I second Brad as I live and work here (selfish) but a virtual option would be great too.


25   Jason Reed ~ 23 October 2006 at 03:22 PM

San Francisco, please!


26   mark wallis ~ 23 October 2006 at 03:57 PM

A virtual seminar would be great but being from ireland time difference would be a killer, any plans for a download of somesort ?? , a podcast and accomanied slides would a dream come true … (i know, i know, one can dream though)


27   Tim ~ 23 October 2006 at 04:01 PM

My vote is for San Francisco!


28   Julie ~ 23 October 2006 at 04:29 PM

I selfishly second Kansas City. Or St. Louis. Either one is fine with me—I live in between!


29   Daniel Scrivner ~ 23 October 2006 at 04:46 PM

Hey Cameron! Any conference in either California or Chicago would be great. And I would definitely be interested in an online seminar, only if it had voice and preferrably some videos of perhaps your Cason Workshops presentation, and only if I could download the presentation in PDF format.

Do it right, and I think you could charge a reasonable amount for it and get plenty of attendees.


30   Sam Anz ~ 23 October 2006 at 05:06 PM

New York City… (thats the third vote)


31   Meredith ~ 23 October 2006 at 05:12 PM

I’d say you can’t beat Seattle/Redmond, what with the general technology buzz all over the area and surrounding cities. Austin, TX or Louisville, KY would be my next selfish votes.


32   Seung-Hyo ~ 23 October 2006 at 05:19 PM

Anywhere in California, please. I’d love to see one of your presentations here. Preferably somewhere near the LA area.


33   Jim ~ 23 October 2006 at 05:26 PM

Another vote for SEATTLE. You will draw from Vancouver BC and Portland areas too. Just think of all the micro brews to pick from!


34   Jason Reed ~ 23 October 2006 at 05:40 PM

I’ve got a better idea… Cameron Moll World Tour 2007.

Can I get a tshirt?


35   Chris Peterson ~ 23 October 2006 at 05:54 PM

I’ll add to the California requests … San Francisco or San Diego would be great. Or perhaps the OC, so the Moll clan can take in Disneyland.


36   Hamza ~ 23 October 2006 at 05:55 PM

Anywhere in California, I’d drive 7 hours for it if I had to. San Francisco is a nice middle ground for everyone to flock to, and I’m sure you have a nice following in this State.


37   Chris ~ 23 October 2006 at 06:42 PM

I third the Kansas City. Great city, great central location and ready for a great workshop!


38   Kristin S. ~ 23 October 2006 at 06:51 PM

I am probably the only one who will say this, but here goes anyway — Minneapolis, cha cha cha!

The virtual seminar might be interesting, but as I’ve seen others mention here, being in the visual world means we tend to learn visually, too. I don’t believe I would benefit from a phone conference on the subject, but some type of interactive web presentation might work.

What would be cool is to have one of your full seminars videotaped and sold on DVD. That way I can learn in mostly the same manner as an actual attendee, but without the airfare and uncomfortable hotel beds.


39   Kristin S. ~ 23 October 2006 at 06:59 PM

OK, since I see Minneapolis is a long shot, put in a vote for me for either Seattle or Dallas. Or conduct three sessions: west coast, midwest, east coast. :)


40   Stephen T ~ 23 October 2006 at 07:48 PM

I vote for Dallas.

I know you were just here, but now I don’t have to pay for a hotel room that I won’t use. Plus there’s a lot more here than you can see in one visit.

If you won’t come to Texas, then I’d pay for a virtual seminar.


41   Mike ~ 23 October 2006 at 08:03 PM

Cleveland isn’t a bad idea. It’s a large city with easy access to flights.

I’d pay for a virtual seminar.


42   Amanda Kern ~ 23 October 2006 at 08:53 PM

Cameron,
You know Orlando, Florida would be the perfect place for this event. :o) But I think it’d fill quickly in any large scale city.

I must agree with Jason - the Cameron Moll tour sounds like a cool idea. But maybe not for the family.


43   Adrienne ~ 23 October 2006 at 09:06 PM

#1 Pacific Northwest: Seattle, Portland, Vancouver, BC (Yes, technically Vancouver is in Canada, but it’s a great town and once you get as far as Seattle you’re about 95% Canadian anyway…)

#2 California: SF. Or San Francisco. Or ‘Frisco. Or The City. Take your pick.


44   Jason Reed ~ 23 October 2006 at 09:14 PM

Adrienne- Any native San Franciscan will tell you that there’s no such thing as ‘Frisco. :)


45   Sean Sperte ~ 23 October 2006 at 10:36 PM

1. Pacific Northwest (Seattle)

2. I’d pay to hear you talk on my Mac, yes.


46   Addam ~ 23 October 2006 at 10:47 PM

I’ll selfishly request Chicago as well. But I’ll give you a few reasons why…

  • We’re fairly centrally located. Easy flight for the east coasters, a bit longer for those west coasters but still, not horrible.
  • You want to spark creativity? Look at our skyline. It’s a constant inspriation.
  • We’re a rather large city so there are a lot of hotel choices… all within a few blocks.

Unless it’s in winter, then my vote is Hawaii. There’s always a good excuse to go to Hawaii in the winter around here.


47   Ty Hatch ~ 23 October 2006 at 11:28 PM

I’ll second Kristin’s Minneapolis. I’m an hour or so south of there in Rochester, but would love to take in the session in-person, over a webcast. (Webcast would seem more like an archive of the live event to me.)

Second choice would have to be Portland, me old stompin’ grounds. It’d give me a reason to go back and visit. Great developer community there. And you have a beautiful view of Mt. Hood to boot—when it’s not raining. ;)


48   Quest ~ 24 October 2006 at 01:52 AM

I vote for Atlanta, Georgia. I would definitely be willing to pay for the virtual seminar.


49   Vicky ~ 24 October 2006 at 03:22 AM

I’d definitely sign up for a virtual serminar. I would have liked to have gone to the London one, but couldn’t make it.


50   WhereIsThatDeafGuy ~ 24 October 2006 at 05:57 AM

1) NYC
2) Maybe. Would the broadcast be close-captioned? :)


51   M. Jackson Wilkinson ~ 24 October 2006 at 06:05 AM

Yet another vote for DC here… it’d be unamerican of you not to ;)


52   Chris Wible ~ 24 October 2006 at 06:49 AM

Please, please, please come to Boston. Nobody seems to come around here and I know there’s a lot of us out here. There’s an upcoming Bulletproof Design seminar but I can’t make it and I’m very, very sad. How I’d love to attend something you were taking part in.

Boston!!


53   Chris Wible ~ 24 October 2006 at 06:52 AM

Oh, I’m an idiot. Just read the list of speakers at the “Interface Design & CSS”

Yahtzee!

I’ll hang my head in commenter shame.


54   chuck ~ 24 October 2006 at 06:57 AM

The “coasts” always get the good conferences, except for SXSW.

I vote for Dallas. Central location, great airport, great restaraunts, good weather and plenty to do and … it would be close to you - you’re still in AR, right?

Dallas gets my vote.


55   Tom ~ 24 October 2006 at 07:19 AM

Can I vote for three?

Washington D.C., Philly, or Baltimore.


56   Brian ~ 24 October 2006 at 07:41 AM

Chicago.

Centrally located, great city, lots of hotels, and a ton of inspiration. Plus, its a short drive from Milwaukee, where I am located.

I do like the idea of a West, midwest, and east coast tour… but thats beyond my logistical influence.


57   Erik ~ 24 October 2006 at 07:51 AM

Cleveland, Cleveland, Cleveland.

A virtual seminar would be nice too.


58   Cameron Moll ~ 24 October 2006 at 08:05 AM

There’s a Clevelander party in the house.


59   Dan Miller ~ 24 October 2006 at 08:42 AM

Chicago Baby!


60   Shawn ~ 24 October 2006 at 09:00 AM

O.k., I love San Francisco, i.e. MacWorld, but a more geographically centralized point would be great, say Nashville, TN. Pay no attention to the fact that it’s in my backyard.


61   Michael ~ 24 October 2006 at 09:24 AM

Chalk up another vote for Philadelphia, Pa.


62   Suzy ~ 24 October 2006 at 09:26 AM

Salt Lake City is my vote. But I think I could try and get BYU to cough up some money for the virtual seminar.


63   Dan ~ 24 October 2006 at 09:28 AM

Come to Philly. Or at least somewhere in the northeast.

If not I’d definitely pay for a virtual seminar.


64   Matt ~ 24 October 2006 at 10:14 AM

Throwing in my vote for Seattle. SF would be nice but they get everything.

The vitual seminar is a great idea as well. I would pay for that.


65   Marty ~ 24 October 2006 at 10:20 AM

I have to agree with Dan - Philly always seems to get the short shrift on this type of thing, but there is a burgeoning standards movement here, and it’s halfway between NYC and DC.


66   Shane Guymon ~ 24 October 2006 at 11:21 AM

I vote for San Antonio TEXAS, or Austin, well Any of the big cities in TEXAS!

San Antonio, Dallas, Houston, or Austin


67   Rick Moore ~ 24 October 2006 at 12:03 PM

1. Salt Lake. Come on back home, Cameron. ;-)
I know Gilbert and I would be there…

2. Virtual is good, as long as I could download and archive for later.


68   Rich Leland ~ 24 October 2006 at 12:05 PM

I’d love to see it in DC, Bmore, or Philly. Bring it!


69   Jason Campbell ~ 24 October 2006 at 12:09 PM

1.) I would love to see the seminar come to NC, perhaps Charlotte, but here in Raleigh would be wonderful.

2.) I would pay to attend a web based seminar so long as I knew the infrastructure was there to handle the number of attendees, video if it were a live event, Q&A, the survival kit, and a significant reduction in the per attendee cost.

I want to attend all of the Carson Workshops and I am certain they are a steal priced at $495 for what each of the speakers offer. It is however quite a bit for some to pay especially with travel and accomidations and perhaps the virtual route would allow the knowledge to spread to a much broader audience.

Perhaps something like the lynda.com model with monthly subscriptions allowing access to just the video/audio recording of the seminar. A staggered approach to pricing the more you pay the more you get. Higher price for live with Q&A, medium for recording plus survival kit, smaller for just the recording.

Maybe this should have been addressed more to Carson Workshops and not your comments, I hope this was constructive in regard to your query.

Thanks so much.
J.


70   marla erwin ~ 24 October 2006 at 12:57 PM

Austin — yeah, SXSW yadda yadda but we get lonely and stupid the other 51 weeks of the year.


71   Carl Peterson ~ 24 October 2006 at 01:14 PM

DALLAS!

Also, I’d watch, and pay for, a virtual seminar as well.

Carl


72   N. E. Miller ~ 24 October 2006 at 01:19 PM

Cleveland would be great. Virtual would be even better, though. I could settle for Chicago, as well.


73   Hasnain ~ 24 October 2006 at 03:06 PM

I vote for the city of Angels! Come to LA and make a vacation out of it!

I’m ALL FOR a virtual seminar. Should be live, but accessible at anytime thereafter. Its real hard to sit through an entire seminar at work w/o getting bothered by a phone call or told to finish a project.


74   Huride ~ 24 October 2006 at 03:11 PM

Show some love for southern cali! I vote for Los Angeles.

online seminar would be great! not everyone can fork out travel, food & lodging expenses, and dedicate a day or two for a seminar. BUT it HAS to have more than just slides. Must create, edit real projects! dont want to fall asleep staring at my monitor (tho i’m sure your presentations are great).


75   Jose G. ~ 24 October 2006 at 03:19 PM

Would love a seminar in LA. there’s some stuff going on w/ 37signals and others in Frisco, but there’s great potential in los angeles.

virtual route isn’t a bad idea. dont know how much i could afford after all the expenses are said and done. i know my work probably wont pay for the real deal, so going virtual would be a great alternative.


76   SufDizzle Paanwala ~ 24 October 2006 at 03:29 PM

i agree w/ the ppl above. plz hold the seminar in los angeles, CA! very creative city with a lot of web companies. online session is also a great idea.



77   Abeer ~ 24 October 2006 at 03:34 PM

WOW! a lot of love for LA in these threads. i live in los angeles so i’ll be greedy and say come here. go virtual as a 2nd option for those who dont like beautiful weather, the sun, beaches, a creative environment, entertainment studios (disney, universal studios, magic mtn & the like) & smog


78   Michael Christopherson ~ 24 October 2006 at 04:41 PM

I vote for Northfield, Minnesota, a small village halfway between Kristin’s Minneapolis and Ty’s Rochester. Forget big venues — the four of us can get together at my house. I’ll set up a projector on the basement wall.


79   Monica zum Felde ~ 24 October 2006 at 10:11 PM

I agree with John-John about the LIVE virtual seminar with an “on-demand” review. (some of us have memory lapses and an option for review is really necessary!)And I LOVED your segment when you were here in Dallas for the Webjam 2006. What a treat!


80   Cameron Moll ~ 25 October 2006 at 08:10 AM

lol, Michael.


81   Michael Christopherson ~ 25 October 2006 at 02:20 PM

Seriously, though, I vote for Minneapolis, Denver, or Seattle.


82   A.Fruit ~ 25 October 2006 at 11:02 PM

I’ll also throw in a vote for:

Popular Science’s Top Tech City

It hasn’t raked in the votes too much so far, but there is a lot of software/web development going on here, it’s near Canada, and not too far from Chicago.


83   Jeremy Frank ~ 26 October 2006 at 11:02 AM

Harrisburg, PA!
If that doesn’t work, Philly and Baltimore are close proximity.


84   Sara B. ~ 26 October 2006 at 01:49 PM

1) Definitely Chicago for the central location, choice of airports and hotels and good public transportation. Plus, there’s a great design exhibition at the Museum of Contemporary Art (http://www.mcachicago.org/massivechange/) that workshop attendees would enjoy.

2) I think a virtual workshop is worth a try, at least for those who live in areas ignored by the workshop circuit.


85   Ashe ~ 26 October 2006 at 03:28 PM

1) Chicago, for all of the wise reasons above. Perhaps DePaul CTI in the Loop (http://www.cti.depaul.edu/) would host you.

2) I’m interested in a virtual workshop (being able to watch it afterwards would be great too, as my schedule is unpredictable), but I’d prefer face-to-face contact. I spend too much time in front of my computer as it is. ;)




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