UXColombo: a new community born

Team ReadMe
3 Min Read

After much hype and buzz, the first UX meetup in Colombo unwrapped to a tight zipped room of 80+ enthusiasts at 99X Technology, who were kind enough to offer a space for the meetup and also feed the gathering in abundance, courtesy of Sponge.

1184820_534622176586658_1915906373_n

This time with a breath of fresh air among the local meetup scene we had a female host @SueKiri doing the gap fillers with a nervous yet friendly smile. No sooner she did the inevitable intro, Shiran took the limelight when he walked in with his black shirt and curios look and began confessing the story behind UXColombo, and why he founded this group.

“It all started during the credit crunch when I had to lose my job. I came to Sri Lanka in search of another, and found out that the right talent was not matched with the right pay. UX as a profession was basically non-existent and those who un-knowingly did were taken for granted. It made me sympathetic.”

“What started as a simple idea to nurture and educate UX enthusiasts, lived in the form of an inactive Facebook page for over a year until June this year when it came back to life with the help of some friends. Today we take the first step to a long journey ahead.”

The clock followed the schedule effortlessly and the presentations were well laid out with two simple objectives – to introduce what UX is all about and why it is so important in our day to day lives.

1237086_534616403253902_319020736_n

Pramith and Hasanga shared some eye-opening examples of what UI is and what UX can do. Indeed UI can be made all flashy to look good, but UX gives priority to the ultimate experience over interface. While Hasanga’s casual attitude and sarcastic comments lifted the room with occasional laughter, Kalana on the other hand had a more serious tone explaining the importance of ‘context’ for various types of UX.

1240621_534621773253365_1617405931_n

Oh, and did I mention freebies? Well, free UXColombo tshirts were thrown at whoever who asked questions during the Q&A sessions. Unfortunately the others had to dig their pockets for Rs. 1500 to grab one home. But hey, we all got those shiny stickers right?

1175504_534617646587111_1606481830_n

Checkout Facebook Album here.

 

 

Have something interesting and IT related to share? email the [email protected]

Article-ad

Share This Article
Leave a comment

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

GIPHY App Key not set. Please check settings