ABOUT CANUX

CanUX (pronounced “canucks”, like the hockey team) is an independent, locally-grown, volunteer-driven event created for people who want to learn and share their expertise about experience design, and how our profession contribute to making things work better for everyone. There is no big marketing agency, publishing house, software vendor (or rich uncle) behind this endeavour apart from a few friends who run this conference as a registered non-profit event for the benefit of the Canadian experience design community. The event covers topics like user research, usability, information architecture, interaction design, service design, and just about everything related to the creation of compelling products, services and experiences.

In terms of format, CanUX is a weekend plenary (two-day single track) conference featuring fantastic speakers from all over the world. The conference is preceded by two days of hands-on workshops. We are the longest running and largest annual experience design event in Canada, and are constantly looking for ways to create and improve what has been recognized as a world-class experience design conference right here in the Great White North.

CanUX / UXcamp History

The 12th edition of CanUX took place on November 1-4, 2023 and was attended by 375 participants. Keynotes by Bill Buxton (ex-Microsoft, Toronto, ON) and Vivianne Castillo (HmntyCntrd, Seattle, WA) headlined a lineup of 15 speakers that included Dan Saffer (Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburgh, PA), Birgit Geiberger (IKEA, Amsterdamn, NL), Patrick Quattlebaum (Harmonic Design, Atlanta, GA), Ryan Rumsey (CDO School, Hartland, VT), Lisa Lokshina (L3A UX Studio, Brooklyn, NY), Kristin Medin (Gulfstream, Savannah, GA), Tina Chan (Respawn Entertainment, Waterloo, ON), Zach Stevens (Delta Controls, Vancouver, BC), Vincent Levesque (FLO, Montreal, QC), Peter Boersma (ex-Miro, Amsterdam, NL), Elana Chapman (Fable, Toronto, ON), Sara Fortier (Outwitly, Winnipeg, MB) and Cornelius Rachieru (Ampli2de, Ottawa, ON).

The 11th edition of CanUX took place on November 3-6, 2022 after a two year hiatus due to the Covid pandemic, and the event’s capacity was capped at 425 participants to accommodate social distancing in the venue. Keynotes by Lou Downe (The School of Good Services, London, UK) and Giles Colborne (cxpartners, London, UK) headlined a lineup of 20+ speakers that included Lynn Boyden (NASA, Los Angeles, CA), Jenny Wen (Figma, San Francisco, CA), Melanie Buset (Shopify, Gothenburg, SWE), Lisa Lokshina (L3A UX Studio, Brooklyn, NY), Farai Madzima (Shopify, Ottawa), Adam Faulkner (blueegg, Sydney, AUS), Jennifer Blatz (Rocket Mortgage, Dallas, TX), Sara Grimes (University of Toronto, Toronto, ON), Boon Sheridan (18F, Boston, MA), Jennifer Fraser (Macadamian, Ottawa, ON), Claudel Rheault (Sama, Montreal, QC), Anne Gorgy (XI Studio, Toronto, ON) and Tanya Snook (Gov of Canada, Ottawa, ON).

The 10th anniversary edition of CanUX took place on October 31st – November 3, 2019 and was attended by 525 participants. Keynotes by Bill Buxton (Microsoft, Toronto), Cyd Harrell(Independent, San Francisco), Kim Goodwin (Independent, San Francisco) headlined a lineup of 20+ speakers that included Amy Ross (NASA, Houston), Eva-Lotta Lam (Independent, Berlin, DE), Lining Yao (Carnegie Mellon, Pittsburgh), Steve Portigal (Portigal Consulting, San Francisco), Farai Madzima (Shopify, Ottawa), Emma Howell (CXpartners, Bristol, UK), Alastair Sommerville (Acuity Design, Stroud, UK), Bryce Johnson (Microsoft, Seattle), Tarek Loubani (Glia Project, London, ON).

The ninth CanUX took place on November 1-4, 2018 and was attended by 525 participants. Keynotes by Mike Monteiro (Mule Design, San Francisco), Jesse James Garrett (Capital One, San Francisco), Gretchen Anderson (Independent, San Francisco), Jim Kalbach (MURAL, Jersey City) headlined a lineup of 20+ speakers that included Vivianne Castillo (WW, New York), Alberta Soranzo (Lloyds Banking Group, London, UK), A.J. Kandy (Hitachi ID Systems, Calgary), Marion-Isabelle Muszynski (National Bank of Canada, Montreal), Claudel Rheault (Havas, Montreal), Dalia El-Shimy (Shopify, Ottawa), Simon King (IDEO, Chicago), Nuff (Independent, Toronto), Molly Wright Steenson (Carnegie Mellon, Pittsburgh), Cornelius Rachieru (CanUX, Ottawa), Tanya Snook (CanUX, Ottawa), Andrew Hinton (State Farm, Ottawa), Mark Bottomley (CSC, Ottawa), Karen Woods (WCS, Ottawa), Kevin Deevey (DV[ux], Ottawa), Dominira Saul (YOUi.TV, Ottawa), Jane Motz Hayes (TribalScale, Toronto), Jennifer Fraser (Macadamian, Ottawa).

The eighth CanUX took place on November 2-5, 2017 and was attended by 525 participants. Keynotes by Jared Spool (UIE, Boston), Dan Saffer (Twitter, San Francisco), Dori Tunstall (OCAD, Toronto) headlined a lineup of 20+ speakers that included Lindsay Aitchison (NASA, Houston), Dan Ramsden (BBC, London, UK), Ryan Rumsey (Electronic Arts, Austin), Chris Govias (CDS, Ottawa), Audrey Girouard (Carleton U, Ottawa), Meena Kothandaram (Twig & Fish, Boston), Zarla Ludin (Twig & Fish, Boston), Billy Gregory (The Paciello Group, Toronto), Jaime Levy (USC, Los Angeles), Ian Fenn (Chopstix Media, London, UK), Dan Klyn (The Understanding Group, Ann Arbor), Beth Fox (Service Nova Scotia, Halifax), Kat Hardisty (Optimal Workshop, Wellington, NZ), Dan Szuc (Apogee, Hong Kong), Linn Vizard (Bridgeable, Toronto). Emcee: Rob Woodbridge (Gymtrack, Ottawa, ON).

The seventh CanUX took place on November 11-13, 2016 and was attended by 525 participants. Keynotes by Alan Cooper (Cooper, San Francisco), Peter Morville (Semantic Studios, Ann Arbor) and Dana Chisnell (USDS, Boston) headlined a lineup of 20 speakers from 3 continents that included Stephen Anderson (Bloomboard, Dallas), Simone Rebaudengo (Automato/Frog, Shanghai, CN), Meena Kothandaraman (Twig+Fish, Boston, MA), Adam Polansky (Bottle Rocket Studios, McKinsey, TX), Boon Sheridan (Rosenfeld Media, Boston), Andrew Mayfield (Optimal Workshop, Wellington, NZ), Dave Hale (Soshal, Ottawa, ON), Amanda Stockwell (Independent, Raleigh, NC), Rachel Daniel (Maxpoint, Raleigh, NC), Lynsey Thornton (Shopify, Vancouver, BC), Meghan Armstrong (Habanero, Calgary, AB), James Senior (Mayo Clinic, Marquette, MI), Veronique Verreault (Miss VVs Mystery, Montreal, QC), Pascal de Grandpre (Ordi-Folie, Montreal, QC). Workshop instructors: Boon Yew Chew (Sapient Nitro, London, UK) and Boon Sheridan (Rosenfeld Media, Boston, MA). Emcee: Rob Woodbridge (Gymtrack, Ottawa, ON).

The sixth CanUX took place on November 7-8, 2015 and was attended by 527 participants. Keynotes by Peter Merholz (Jawbone, San Francisco), Cennydd Bowles (formerly at Twitter, London, UK) and Aaron Draplin (Draplin Design Collective, Portland) headlined a lineup that also included Shelley Bernstein (The Brooklyn Museum, Brooklyn), Steve Hillenius (NASA, Mountain View, CA), Leisa Reichelt (Australian Gov. DTO, Sydney, AU), Boon Sheridan (formerly at NASDAQ, Boston), Marsha Haverty (Autodesk, Portland), Carine Lallemand (University of Luxembourg, Luxembourg, LU), Matt Nish-Lapidus (Normative, Toronto), Jess McMullin (Situ, Edmonton), Brent Marshall (Eightlines, Waterloo), Derek Featherstone (SimplyAccessible, Ottawa), Jennifer Hogan (Getty Images, Calgary).

The fifth UXcamp Ottawa took place on November 8-9, 2014 and was attended by 460 participants. Keynotes by Steve Krug (Advanced Common Sense, Boston), Lou Rosenfeld (Rosenfeld Media, NYC) and Kim Goodwin (PatientsLikeMe, San Francisco) rounded up a stellar program that also included Abby Covert (Parsons / SVA / IAI, NYC), Jonas Damon (frog design, NYC), Matthew Milan (Normative, Toronto), Konrad Sauer (Sauer & Steiner Toolworks, Kitchener), Jennifer Fraser (Macadamian, Ottawa), Jonas Woost (CBC Music, Vancouver), Lisa Fast (NeoInsight, Ottawa).

The fourth UXcamp Ottawa edition took place on November 9-10, 2013 and was attended by 450 participants. Keynotes from Jesse James Garrett (Adaptive Path, San Francisco), Bill DeRouchey (GE Aviation, San Francisco) and Russ Unger (GE Capital/Userglue, Chicago) rounded up a stellar program that also included Juhan Sonin (Involution / MIT, Boston), Dan Szuc (Apogee, Hong Kong), Leisa Reichelt (UK GDS, London), Jonathan Snook (Shopify, Ottawa), Jess McMullin (Citizen Experience, Edmonton), Samantha Soma (GE Design, San Francisco), Shay Howe (Belly, Chicago), Alena Iouguina (Carleton U, Ottawa) and Cynthia Savard Saucier (TP1, Montreal).

The third UXcamp Ottawa event expanded to a two day format covering Saturday and Sunday October 13-14, 2012. The 375 people in attendance were treated to keynotes by Jared Spool (UI, Boston) and Steve Portigal (Portigal Consulting, San Francisco). The conference was once again hosted by Rob Woodbridge (Untether.TV, Ottawa) and the all-star speaker lineup included Nick Finck (Deloitte Digital, Seattle), Jess McMullin (Citizen Experience, Edmonton), Dana Chisnell (UsabilityWorks, Boston), Jessica Ivins (Happy Cog, Philadelphia), Derek Featherstone (SimplyAccessible, Ottawa), Shai Idelson (Sid Lee, Montreal) and Jeff Parks (DIGIA UX, Ottawa).

The second UXcamp Ottawa event took place on Saturday November 5th, 2011, and the number of participants increased to 225. The conference was hosted by Rob Woodbridge (Untether.TV, Ottawa), and was keynoted by Dana Chisnell of UsabilityWorks (Boston, MA). Notable speakers included Gabor Vida (Teknision, Ottawa), Andrew Emmons (YouILabs, Ottawa), Amanda Holmstrom (NLC, Ottawa), Tanya Snook and Laura Wesley (UXWG, Ottawa).

The first UXcamp Ottawa event took place on Saturday November 27, 2010, and attracted 175 participants instantly becoming the largest non-profit UX community conference in Canada. Hosted by Jess McMullin (Citizen Experience, Edmonton), UXcamp Ottawa 1 was keynoted by Tedde van Gelderen of Akendi (Toronto) and included talks by Derek Featherstone (SimplyAccessible), Lorraine Chapman (Macadamian) and John A. Brown.

*Image credit: Elida Arrizza