Project summary 🗒️
OBJECTIVE
Design and execute engaging and impactful experiences for Interventions: Ignite, a one-day design conference.
ROLE
UX Lead
RESPONSIBILITIES
I led the UX team in crafting a cohesive event experience, incorporating life-size displays, AR activities, and a carefully thought-out schedule.
Collaborated with a cross-functional team to ideate, design, and implement interactive touchpoints that aligned with the event's theme of revealing hidden potential and fostering innovation.
IMPACT
We successfully showcased designs to 200+ attendees, including students, professors, and design professionals, ensuring a memorable experience for all. From the previous year, we saw a 10% increase in attendees.
I helped to pioneer the framework for future UX teams by defining their role, project scope, and contribution to the overall conference experience as part of the inaugural team..
THE PROBLEM
How can we enhance the conference experience and increase interactivity for attendees?
Crafting an experience beyond screens ✨
I saw it as an exciting opportunity to apply UX principles beyond web and mobile interfaces.
Drawing from the past to enhance the conference experience ⏪
We conducted some initial research based on feedback from previous conferences. Looking through past documentation, we compiled "How Might We" questions to identify areas for improvement and innovation.
From sketches to real life ✏️
In our team of six designers plus myself, I led a sketching session where we shared all our ideas. This session helped us brainstorm how attendees would discover and interact with the experiences we created. The key takeaway was that we were all aligned on the experiences we aimed to design.
Playing around with AR 🥽
This was our in-house augmented reality scavenger hunt powered by Hoverlay. Conference attendees would be able to use their smartphone to scan any QR code inside the atrium to learn interesting facts and insights behind the meaning behind “Interventions: Ignite”.
Bringing our sketches to real life through use of Hoverlay. On the right is one of design elements being broadcasted in our atrium space.
“The Lookout” Sculptures 🔭
Handcrafted, interpretive sculptures were displayed throughout the conference atrium, inspired by the conference's brand design elements. I proactively reached out to Northeastern's Materials & Recycling Department to source materials, showcasing our on-campus collaboration.
Building the UX team from scratch 🚧
Scout's conference team had never had a dedicated UX team before, so we lacked a clear framework. As lead, I decided to split responsibilities based on individual strengths, allowing each member to lead their own mini-project. I took on the role of project manager, offering support and utilizing resources as needed.
Learnings & Reflections 💭
This project really tested my limits as both a designer and a leader, and I learned a lot during these four months. Here are a couple of learnings and reflections that I took away:
🎨 Design isn’t just a screen.
Participating in Interventions: Ignite provided me with an invaluable opportunity to broaden my design horizons beyond the realm of print and digital products. It pushed me out of my comfort zone and encouraged me to apply the design process in a new context – organizing and executing a conference.
🔮 Believe in myself as a leader.
This was my first project lead role, and I was able to learn a lot about myself as a leader. It was a significant shift from being a contributor to guiding and orchestrating the entire process. In this role, I had to take ownership of defining the project's overarching goals, setting the direction, and coordinating the efforts of the team to achieve success.
💪 Play to the strengths of others.
Our projects wouldn't have been possible without everyone on the team. I knew that the success of our projects depended on the skills and efforts of every designer. Since I couldn't handle every part of each project by myself, I assigned each designer as a leader for different projects, making use of their different skills and strengths.
The results of our hard work 💦
It was rewarding to see attendees walk up and compliment all of the installations that we had made. From the bigger AR experience to even the smaller table toppers that we had put around the conference space. All of the elements came together nicely for a cohesive experience. Although we only had one semester together, the UX team was able to contribute to the impressive metrics of the 2023 Interventions Conference.
218
total attendees
10%
increase in attendees
12
universities represented
17
headlining speakers