I attended The Big (D)esign Conference yesterday. I was impressed with how well it was organized and the implications for furture technology conferences. It was organized by a team of volunteers as a joint venture by the Dallas/Fort Worth Usability Professionals’ Association, Refresh Dallas, and the Dallas/Fort Worth Interaction Design Association. During the conference I was able to see some top notch speakers, and the venue was small enough to ensure you were able to get a chance to speak face to face with nearly any one of them. It cost $50 and a short trip to SMU. Constrast that to the 1,000+ and flight it normaly requires to get a line of similar caliber.
It was held at the student center at SMU. I liked the venue because it was small, and yet still had plenty of conference rooms to allow 4 simultaneous tracks. The sponsors setup booths at the center…so there was no partitioned off exhibit floor, they were front and center.