Exploring respectful curiosity at UX Australia 2019

Published in September 2019

Last week, Northcott Innovation (NI) was delighted at deliver a workshop at UX Australia, Australia’s premier User Experience Design conference.

Sam Frain, our Executive Director shared the podium with designer Zoe Green from Meld Studios, one of NI’s project partners. Passionate about collaborating with people with disabilities in meaningful ways, the pair shared their experiences of using respectful curiosity as a tool to co-design creative solutions alongside people with disabilities.

Their talk “Respectful Curiosity: How and with whom are you building inclusion?” explored:

  • why working with people with disabilities should be considered normal practice;
  • who designers should build inclusion with and for;
  • common mistakes that are made along the way (and why these are so important…and normal); and
  • practical recommendations for recruiting and conducting user research.

Reflecting on the workshop, Sam said it was great to be able to share some of NI’s experiences of co-designing alongside people with disabilities with the wider design community.

“Truly inclusive practices are part and parcel of the everyday work of NI. Having the opportunity to share some of our top tips on making design opportunities, journeys and activities accessible to people with disability was fantastic!”

Held in Sydney, UX Australia 2019 ran from 27-30 August 2019 and included two days of hands-on workshops focussed on practical skills and techniques to help people get started with user experience design, learn new methods and tools or explore new ideas.