31Three

SXSW Highlights

• Nintendo Wii – The first thing Sean Sperte did when getting to the hotel room late on Sunday night was set up his Wii and challenge me to a game of bowling. I had just come from the Avalonstar tournament where I helped Team Canada get quickly eliminated by bowling a 64, and my confidence wasn’t quite at record levels. Thankfully the Wii is more forgiving, and I was able to keep up with Sean. Now I just have to figure out how to justify buying one.

• Write, Better – The first session I went to was concisely titled “Write, Better” and was moderated by Greg Storey. Greg transparently talked about the fears that he had when submitting the first post to his Airbag Industries blog, and how he eventually overcame those fears, and found his unique style and voice. This was exactly what I needed to hear. Check the SXSW site for a podcast next week.

• EllisLab Meetup – It was great to rub shoulders with other ExpressionEngine users, especially guys like Mark Boulton, Jason Santa Maria, Veerle & Geert, and Mark Bixby, whose work I really admire. The food was amazing as well… thanks again Rick!

• Grids are Good – A 30 minute session with Mark Boulton and Khoi Vinh that could have easily been 2 hours long. The time constraints were unfortunate, but I still walked away with some very useful information. Check out the mockups they worked on , and keep your eyes peeled for the podcast.

• Web Typography Sucks – Mark Boulton and Richard Rutter joined forces for one of the most informative and applicable sessions of the conference. Any time you see someone set their line-height to 4 decimal places, you know you’re dealing with a pro. Slides and Resources

• Design Patterns – Another session that I wish could have been longer was Luke Wroblewski’s Design Patterns. Luke did a fantastic job explaining how a design pattern library can assist designers in making decisions based on different usage case scenarios. Slides and Resources

• Tuesday’s Lunch – Meeting up with the guys from Method Arts (Mark Bixby & Brian Warren), the most awesomeist Sean Sperte, as well as fellow Canadian and Wishingline’s front-man Scott Boms for an elongated lunch was one of the more memorable moments of the conference for me.