Using data to become more human

It's time to change our minds about data. Information designer Giorgia Lupi says, "We jump to think that data is about algorithms -- (but) data is about people, when it matters.” Lupi uses slow data, small data, crafted data and data-gathering as personal documentary to become more, not less human.

It’s time to change our minds about data. Information designer Giorgia Lupi says, “We jump to think that data is about algorithms — (but) data is about people, when it matters.” Lupi uses slow data, small data, crafted data and data-gathering as personal documentary to become more, not less human.

Cap Watkins: Treat Your Life Like a User Experience Problem

About the presentation Too often, product design, product management, and engineering teams are thought of as three separate entities thus leading to people on those teams feeling less part of the process. This divide, according to Buzzfeed VP Cap Watkins, allows room for designers to feel devalued or when others attempt to make suggestions, at times even defensive. Having realized this battle at Buzzfeed, Watkins asked: "How do we create a culture of empowerment for design?" In this talk, Watkins provides a step-by-step process to blur the lines between the different product building teams in an effort to get feedback on not only the work being done but also the process on how that work gets done. Change is complicated and creating the internal partnerships will adjust the way people work, but ultimately for the better. "We have to realize that working together doesn't mean we're trying to take each others job, we're just trying to be better collaborators," says Watkins. About Cap Watkins Cap Watkins is a product designer living and working in Brooklyn. He is currently the VP of Design at BuzzFeed, as well as a blogger, podcast guest, conference speaker, and lover of start-ups and technology. Cap believes in thoughtful, holistic design solutions that get out of the way and empower people to accomplish more. His past work includes Etsy, Zoosk, Formspring, and hush-hush stuff at Amazon.

Too often, the product design, product management, and engineering teams are thought of as three separate entities. This divide, according to Cap Watkins, the VP of Design at Buzzfeed, can lead designers to feel undervalued or even defensive when the product managers or engineers attempt to make suggestions to their work. Having realized this battle at Buzzfeed, Watkins proposed the question: “How do we create a culture of empowerment for design?”

In this 99u talk, Watkins provides a step-by-step process to blur the lines between the different product building teams in an effort to get feedback on not only the work being done, but also the process on how that work gets done. Change is complicated and creating the internal partnerships will adjust the way people work, ultimately for the better. “We have to realize that working together doesn’t mean we’re trying to take each others job,” says Watkins. “We’re just trying to be better collaborators.”

How to Work Alone

Paul Jun for 99u, introduces the idea of mastering skills for working alone:

Working alone is about creating the space where intense concentration becomes easily accessible. When finally alone, it’s easy to allow a wave of self-doubt and insecurities to begin to flood your mind. Sitting in solitude for even five minutes makes you get up to grab a snack. Or to check Twitter. And perhaps the most challenging of all, you don’t know when to call it a day; the constant polish and re-polishing when your energy is low masquerades as productivity — or so it goes if you’re not prepared.

If you begin to work alone with only the toolset you have from working in an office, you may run into some trouble. Thus, working alone requires mastering a few key skills...

Yuko Shimizu: Money or Control – Pick One

About this presentation As creatives, we're often put to the test of makin tough decisions and sacrifices for our work. However, according to Yuko, our biggest decision needs to happen at the beginning of our career asking ourselves: "What kind of artist do [we] want to be?" and having a clear picture of what that looks like. In this talk, Yuko distills insights from her own personal story of being fired just days before her 99U appearance, gives advice on learning to say no, her thoughts on personal work, and tying it all back to the reality that while we might not win every job or shine on every project, sometimes it's for the best. About Yuko Shimizo Yuko Shimizu is an award-winning Japanese illustrator based in New York. Her work has appeared on the pages of the New York Times, TIME, and Newsweek, on the covers of DC Comics, Penguin, Abrams and Random House books, on the Gap and Nike T-shirts, and on Pepsi cans. Her monograph Living with Yuko Shimizu will be published this spring. A Wild Swan, her collaboration with Pulitzer-winning author Michael Cunningham, came out in 2015. She was chosen as Newsweek Japan's "100 Japanese People World Respects" in 2009.

As creatives, we’re often put to the test of making tough decisions and sacrifices for our work. However, according to Yuko Shimizu, our biggest decision needs to happen at the beginning of our career asking ourselves: “What kind of artist do [we] want to be?” and having a clear picture of what that looks like.

In this talk, Shimizu distills insights from her own personal story of being fired just days before her 99U appearance, gives advice on learning to say no, her thoughts on personal work, and tying it all back to the reality that while we might not win every job or shine on every project, sometimes we can recommend someone who will.

The Importance of Staring Out Of The Window

We are so busy and so obsessed with our phones, we rarely take a break to do that vital and rather philosophical thing: stare out of the window. Looking to achieve a better state of calm? Try our calm cards.

The School of Life: 

We are so busy and so obsessed with our phones, we rarely take a break to do that vital and rather philosophical thing: stare out of the window.