The second day of the conference started with a round-table discussion with all the speakers.  I was about ten minutes late -- too late to throw in my question card, but a lot of great topics were brought up.  My question, by the way, was asking their opinion of the validity of defining a "fold" on a web page.  This is one of the most design-inhibiting "requirements" in designing for news stations, and it is my goal to find some way to show our site managers that what applies to newspapers doesn't apply to websites.

But back to the conference.  I sat in on D. Keith Robinson's "Content Strategy and Web Design," where he talked about planning a web site based on the thought that all aspects of the site are content -- from logos and branding to navigation to what we typically think of as content -- the text.  It is a great way of looking at the process of building a site, and one that many companies could benefit from.

"Unlocking Value through User Experience" was a group discussion with Chris Bernard moderating, and Nishant Kothary, Jose Jartinez Salmeron, and Nick Finck contributing.  They discussed designer and developer workflow and ideas on making the design and development process smoother -- a great presentation.

Nick Finck's presentation, "The Contextual Web," was an in-depth look at the whys and hows of user-centered design, and he gave four variables to take into consideration in regard to this:  1. Who is the user (including the typical demographics and accessibility needs)  2. What task do they perform when visiting your site?  3. What is their actual physical environment?  Are they usually in a company office while visiting your site or in a home office...is it bright or dim...is it loud or quiet, etc.  4. What types of technology do your visitors use?  Only a pc?  Audio and/or video equipment or some other specialized equipment?

Being able to answer all of these contribute greatly to a well-designed site.

My colleague went to the "Adobe CS3 Power-User" session, which sounded amazing.  If you are working with that suite, there are incredible things you can do that aren't possible with other Adobe suites...just hearing about it made me start scheming on ways to convince my boss to upgrade our Adobe products.  :)

The conference, as a whole, was a valuable learning tool and I'm so glad I went.  The party afterward was crazy!  It was a lot of fun -- there were several DJs and even a pseudo-beach with a kiddie-pool set up next to the club...it was great.  Watching the cars zoom by on the highway to the sound of the music was a trip.

I'm looking forward to going again next year...hopefully going to other conferences as well.

I added some of the links mentioned by the speakers to the "Great Tools" page -- I highly recommend paying them a visit.