Where Innovation and Emerging Technology Collide

During the presentation “Psychology & Design: Better UX, Better Products,” Hogue dove into how the UX (user experience) and how understanding the magic (rather, he says, isn’t magic) behind how people think will help us create better products and services based on psychological principles and theories. Designing a product must go beyond the physical interface design and into the deeper levels of the experience such as context, goals and culture. Hogue pointed to relevant examples in social media with our human need to be liked and acknowledged and even used “Where’s Waldo” to point our focus of attention in printed items such as a restaurant menu or coupons. Color choices, even font choices can drastically change one’s perception.

Real World Implementation

While Houge touched on the psychological principles behind product design, Michael Burrows of DuPont and Mike Wagner of Butler Technologies, Inc. dove into a real-world example of how all of this comes together to create something tangible. In the featured general session, “Collaboration Leads to Innovation – The Story of the Ralph Lauren Heated Olympic Jacket,” Burrows and Wagner highlighted the massive technological feats conquered through designing and curating the heated parka and focused on best practices for collaborating on a project.