Ahead of UX Bristol we had the chance to chat with James Chudley who, along with Dave Ellender and Stuart Church, founded UX Bristol.

We wanted to find out a little more about how they came to organise the event, what we can expect from this year’s event, and what lies ahead for the UX Bristol. Here’s what we discovered:

🎙 What was the driving force behind the first UX Bristol back in 2011?

I was at a UPA conference in Munich sat next to Dave after an evening meal, and we said, “we should do this”. It was a typical post-dinner chat, as we knew we had a good community of UX professionals in Bristol.

We got together when we got back to Bristol, and realised it was going to be a lot to organise, but we had a clear idea of what we wanted the conference to be. We didn’t want it to be too expensive or exclusive, and for it to be a practitioner-led conference.

It also made sense to get Stuart involved as he is part of the Bristol Usability Group. The first conference took place at The Watershed, as this is where the Bristol Usability Group lived at the time.

🎙 How do you decide the speakers?

Initially, we started by just putting out an invitation for submissions, and had some responses; of course, we get a lot more now as we are in the fifth year.

We also came across a few people we thought would be good for the type of event we were creating and begun approaching people. Now it’s a mix of approaching people and collecting submissions.

This year we’ve had more submissions than ever, and each year we all sit down together to review the submissions and choose. Dave describes this as his favourite day of the year, pouring over the ideas we have been sent, and curating the day.

We try and give a broad coverage, make sure speakers aren’t talking about anything too similar.

Talks that resonate with whatever is big in the industry, as well as giving people chance who haven’t spoken before. The Bristol community is great, but it is also good to have representation from abroad. In the first year someone from New York approached me, as they were interested in speaking.

🎙 What are you most excited about this year?

I am excited about the whole line up really. Having been part of the selection process, I believe it is one of the strongest line-ups we have ever had. I can’t really choose just one speaker above another.

I’m proud to hold this in Bristol and invite people here. Especially as it coincides with the harbour festival, so it is a great showcase for Bristol.

🎙 Looking back, what has been your highlight so far?

Moving to M Shed was significant moment, as we outgrew the Watershed. I remember taking my kids to the M Shed to explore, I saw the conference room and realised it would be a great venue.

“UX Bristol is all about celebrating UX in Bristol, and M shed is all about celebrating Bristol.”

Getting the Matthew, the replica of the ship that discovered North America that is docked in Bristol, to blast the cannons to mark the start of the conference was pretty cool, too.

🎙 What do you hope for the future of UX Bristol?

We were surprised to realise we got to the five-year milestone, and we would like it to continue. We have always sold out very quickly, so there has been a temptation to make it bigger, but currently it feels the right size.

We might tweak the format, but I hope that it gives a lot of value and has the laid-back feel we hoped it would have from the start.

It has also been a nice experience building a relationship with other UX conference organisers to collaborate with. It is a very supportive sector.

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