INDEX, the Design Society at Lahore University of Management Sciences (LUMS), in collaboration with the Human Computer Interaction Lab (CHISEL) at the LUMS Department of Computer Science and UX Pakistan, arranged Pakistan’s inaugural UX focused conference which was held on April 22 and 23 at LUMS. The theme of the conference was 'Good Design Matters'.
User Experience (UX) Design’s main emphasis is to give users a seamless and enriching experience with any product or service. It promotes unique, easy-to-use and beautiful designs to enrich customer experience. As internet and smart phones become more pervasive in technology, the need for delivering on customer experience has become even more important. This is the reason UX designers are the most sought after professionals in the current job market.
The aim of the conference was to establish a dialogue for UX-enthusiasts from Pakistan and serve as a platform to share and promote knowledge in design for user experience.
The entire event, spanned over two days was open to students, professionals and entrepreneurs. The first day consisted of three workshops primarily for website design, AR/VR, design hackathon and was followed by conference talks the next day.
The idea of the event came from Dr. Suleman Shahid, Assistant Professor, Department of Computer Science at LUMS. Looking at organisations in Pakistan, which primarily emphasise on profits and lack customer focus, Dr. Shahid remarked that there was a need for this event, to curb that mind-set.
On the second day, guest speakers gave talks regarding design and how having a good design is imperative for proper service-consumer interaction. Emphasis was also laid on keeping costs low and enhancing user experience, which would show a good return on investment.
Dr. Farrah Arif, Assistant Professor Marketing, Suleman Dawood School of Business (SDSB) stated, “Optimising user experience should be a chief consideration for any enterprise as it is important for cost reduction".
Speakers at the conference consisted of practitioners from the industry and academia. The stellar line-up included Diego Dalia, Service and Interaction Design Lead at IBM Design, Ireland; Ahmed Shuja, Founder Obscure UX, Digital Designer, Developer, Manager and Mentor from Brisbane, Australia; Abbas Arsalan, Marketing Manager, The Coca-Cola Company; Khalid Bajwa, co-founder, Patari and many others.
Sharing his thoughts about the conference, Awais Imran, the co-founder and VP Design of, PriceOye.pk, and the founder of UX Design in Pakistan, one of the country’s largest community of designers said, “I think it is absolutely fantastic to see a large-scale UX conference being organised in Pakistan. It’s a clear indication that the field is taking off in our industry, as more and more people are understanding the long-term impact of UX design on building products that people love.”
Dr. Shahid applauded the management, the speakers and the spectators for making the event a roaring success and vowed to make next year’s instalment, "bigger, better and more beautiful". At the end of the event speakers were presented with shields and treated to a UX event themed cake.
