So I’d like to speak at SXSW again, and I need your help.

Specifically, I need just two minutes of your time to vote for my talk. If you’re not already familiar with SXSW Interactive, it’s a fabulous brain-bending shindig in Austin, TX, about technology, media, and culture. I was incredibly flattered by how well my SXSW talk about tapworthy iPhone apps was received this year. For next year, I hope to give the tapworthy treatment to the iPad, with a talk on the many design considerations and dilemmas presented by this new platform. If you liked my talk last year, or if you’re interested in designing for the iPad and other tablets, I think you’ll dig this, too.

I need your vote. Over 2300 talks have been proposed for something like 300 slots, and a big part of the selection process is in the hands of the public. So, friends, please take a second to check out my proposal and give it a thumbs-up if you find it interesting. You don’t have to attend SXSW to vote, and voting takes only a moment: You do have to create a PanelPicker account if you haven’t voted in previous years, but registration is quick and painless. Voting continues through August 27, 2010.

Vote here, and while you’re at it, please do feel free to add a comment in support of the talk.

About the talk

The talk is iPad Design Headaches: Take Two Tablets and Call Me in the Morning. Here’s the pitch: The iPad and its emerging entourage of Android tablets have introduced a new style of computing, confronting designers with unfamiliar aches and pains. Learn the symptoms (and fixes) for a range of new-to-the-world iPad interface ailments, including Greedy Pixel Syndrome, the dreaded Frankeninterface, and the “I Can’t Believe It’s Not Butter” bait and switch. Explore practical techniques and eye-opening gotchas of tablet interface design, all grounded in the ergonomics, context, psychology, and nascent culture of these new devices (both iOS and Android). The presentation inoculates you against common problems with close-up looks at successful iPad apps from early sketches to final design. Topics covered will include:

  1. How and why does the iPad demand a new kind of app?
  2. What are the emerging principles for intuitive iPad design and user experience?
  3. What is the proper role for “realism” in iPad design, and why is it so important to get right?
  4. How should considerations of ergonomics influence iPad app design?
  5. How does the use of gestures change for tablets vs smaller touchscreen devices?

Thanks!

Many thanks for taking your time to help my little campaign to speak at SXSW. And hey, please do consider coming to Austin for the show in March 2011. If you’ve never been, there’s something pretty awesome waiting for you. I’d love to see you there.

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