Talking About Expression Blend at SDForum Windows SIG in Mtn. View 8/28/2008

I love using Expression Blend.  With both a design education (architecture) and a career in software development, I've become somewhat of an expert on using Microsoft's Expression Blend for designing WPF and Silverlight user experiences.  Over the past year, watching (and participating in) its progression from version 1.0 to 2.0 to 2.5 (beta) I've seen this amazing design tool grow.  Microsoft created it as an design tool for interactive designers - where designers crafted experiences including the graphics, animation, and styling of XAML-based applications.  We created it because we saw, on many occasions, designers freezing up when put in front of Visual Studio - a tool for developers.  Now I've personally seen occasions where developers exhibit the same behavior when put in front of Expression Blend.  In both cases people were taken out of their comfort zone and forced to use a part of their brains that they normally didn't exercise.

This Thursday, I'm going to be the Jack LaLane of Expression Blend, taking software developers on a tour through this fun design tool at the SDForum Windows SIG at the Microsoft Campus in Silicon Valley.  If you're a developer and want to overcome your fear of design or if you're an interactive designer wanting to expand or enhance your skills, I'd love to see you there.  Since this is a part of the SDForum Windows SIG, there will be plenty of pizza, soda, and networking opportunities, so bring business cards.

Here are the logistics: