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Keynote

Keynote - Responsive Design: Beyond Our Devices

Speaker(s):Ethan Marcotte
Responsive designers now focus on patterns: reusable design modules we stitch together into larger layouts. But how should those patterns adapt, and when? And how do we design with them? We’ll look at answers to those questions, and start moving our design practices beyond the screens in front of us.

Keynote - Agile Design

Speaker(s):Kelly Albrecht
For teams familiar with traditional project phases, a common question when considering using an agile methodology is: Where do the creative team and its phases fit into an agile process?
When, you never get a second chance to make a first impression, how do you design iteratively and "fail fast"?
Designers instinctively understand the importance of the initial encounter, uniquely rife with potential, between their work and the affected viewer. Given this, one can understand the desire to work a design to perfection for the sake of a maximally effective experience event. This can conflict with iterative “fail fast” agile concepts, resulting in Minimum Viable Products shipping with designs, wrangled away from designers, in a “less than” state. How can we reconcile this for iterative, maximally effective, experience events?

Training

Component-based Theming with Twig (Double Session - Part 1)

Speaker(s):Chaz Chumley
Hands-on training | Double Session

Join us as we walk through the theming variations that all started with the traditional theme-centric design and has quickly moved into component-based design.  Together we will master Component-based theming with Twig as we work to identify patterns, define components, utilize command line tools such as Composer, NPM, and Grunt to quickly create a PatternLab managed theme.

Component-based Theming with Twig (Double Session - Part 2)

Speaker(s):Chaz Chumley
Hands-on training | Double Session

Join us as we walk through the theming variations that all started with the traditional theme-centric design and has quickly moved into component-based design.  Together we will master Component-based theming with Twig as we work to identify patterns, define components, utilize command line tools such as Composer, NPM, and Grunt to quickly create a PatternLab managed theme.

Designing with Sketch

Speaker(s):Ruth Leopold
Hands-on training

In this session, we will learn about Sketch, what it does best, and helpful plugins to make your design process more efficient.
We'll then wrap things up with a demo and answer your questions.

**** Download a free trial at sketchapp.com before coming. Sketch is only available on Mac. ****

Drupal Basics (Double Session - Part 1)

Speaker(s):Leslie GlynnKay VanValkenburgh
Hands-on training | Double Session

Learn how the Drupal CMS can help solve your business needs. Discover the power of structured content, entities, reusable images, views and paragraphs. Create a Drupal 8 site that you can take away and continue to learn with.

Drupal Basics - (Double Session - Part 2)

Speaker(s):Leslie GlynnKay VanValkenburgh
Hands-on training | Double Session

Learn how the Drupal CMS can help solve your business needs. Discover the power of structured content, fieldable entities, reusable images, display options and views of data. Create a Drupal 8 site that you can take away and continue to learn with.

How to build a theme in Drupal 8 (Double Session - Part 1)

Speaker(s):Chris WellsJP McNeal
Hands-on training | Double Session

Here we will take some known markup (perhaps an HTML 5 template, or a site that is already known), and do a hands-on build of that theme from scratch.
Will cover info files, libraries, template overrides, Twig, etc.

How to build a theme in Drupal 8 (Double Session - Part 2)

Speaker(s):Chris WellsJP McNeal
Hands-on training | Double Session

Here we will take some known markup (perhaps an HTML 5 template, or a site that is already known), and do a hands-on build of that theme from scratch.
Will cover info files, libraries, template overrides, Twig, etc.

Level up your Drupal themes with SASS

Speaker(s):Christina Costello
Hands-on Training

Sass is a surprisingly under-utilized technology by beginners in the Drupalsphere. This session will introduce the sass syntax, describe the various build tools available for dealing with and compiling sass, and will include a hands-on component of compiling sass in a Drupal theme.

Pattern Lab (Double Session - Part 1)

Speaker(s):Chaz Chumley
Hands-on training | Double Session

Join us as we walk through the theming variations that all started with the traditional theme-centric design and has quickly moved into component-based design.  Together we will master Component-based theming with Twig as we work to identify patterns, define components, utilize command line tools such as Composer, NPM, and Grunt to quickly create a PatternLab managed theme.

Pattern Lab (Double Session - Part 2)

Speaker(s):Chaz Chumley
Hands-on training | Double Session

Join us as we walk through the theming variations that all started with the traditional theme-centric design and has quickly moved into component-based design.  Together we will master Component-based theming with Twig as we work to identify patterns, define components, utilize command line tools such as Composer, NPM, and Grunt to quickly create a PatternLab managed theme.

Case study

BCBS.com: Flexible Content with Drupal 8 & Paragraphs

Speaker(s):J. Hogue
The modern web is made up of small, digestible chunks of content arranged in rows and grids on a page. The single content column is no longer enough to tell a cohesive story.
But how do we make these smaller pieces of content manageable for an author?
How do we plan the design of a flexible system of content rather than the design of a single template?

County Wise: Stories in building a Large County Drupal Site

Speaker(s):Kenley Obas
The Kindred Technology Group was part of a team that moved DeKalb County, Georgia (https://www.dekalbcountyga.gov) to Drupal, from an all HTML site.
This session will discuss our experiences with managing a large organization with several stakeholders through this migration. We will also discuss how we used a distributed team of developers and designers to meet the various needs of this Drupal project.

Designing with Web Annotations

Speaker(s):Aaron Manire
In February 2017, the W3C recommended a new standard that takes the interlaced structure of the web to a new level: web annotations.
This session will review the basics of web annotations and present a case study, scienceintheclassroom.org

Drupal 8 Case Studies: How we redesigned & moved 3 old sites into Drupal 8

Speaker(s):Jorge Diaz
How we ran 3 sample projects of redesign, rebuild and move to Drupal 8 during 2016

Making mass.gov data-driven and constituent centric

Speaker(s):Bryan Hirsch
The Massachusetts Digital Services is nine months into rebuilding mass.gov with Drupal 8.
This session will share our approach and look under the hood of pilot.mass.gov in our ninth month of development.

The Digital Speakeasy: Secure and Anonymous Access to Your Website

Speaker(s):Dustin Younse
The Onion Router (Tor) is a creation of the US Naval Research Lab, designed to anonymously route web traffic.
This session will provide a background on Tor, demonstrate a production ready setup for secure access to an existing site, and explore some of the newest Tor project developments that will soon make all of this even better

Theming

Debugging, Profiling, & Rocking Out with Browser-Based Developer Tools!

Speaker(s):Michael Herchel
Browser based developer tools have become an indispensable tool for modern front-end web development. New features and changes are being added at a rapid pace, and keeping up with all of the changes is difficult, but well worth it!
In this presentation, We will walk through the tricks of the trade including Chrome developer tools, Firefox and Safari.

Designing and theming Webforms for Drupal 8

Speaker(s):Jacob Rockowitz
The goal of this session is to get front-end developers and designers familiar with the Drupal 8 version of the Webform module, walk-thru how Drupal's Form API (FAPI) works, review how front-end libraries are integrated, and finally show front-end developers how to tweak and style forms and elements using alter hooks, preprocessing functions, and templates.

Drupal 8 Front-End Tools of the Trade

Speaker(s):Liz MackieJason Enter
Liz Mackie & Jason Enter both works at Acquia on the Front-end team with large-scale projects that utilize common tools and recipes.
In this session, we will look at tools common across various projects, why and how we choose tools and how to best integrate tools into projects.

Drupal Yoga: Creating a Flexible Website with Paragraphs and Bootstrap

Speaker(s):Andrew Brown
Learn how to use the combination of a Bootstrap theme and the Paragraphs module to create a responsive Drupal 8 website that still gives content editors free reign over their content layout.

GUI Grids

Speaker(s):Jim Fisk
An overview of how to build reusable components that can be configured through the user interface, such as full-width spanning banners, clickable icons, or grids of pictures

Sass and the Art of Awesome Theme Development

Speaker(s):Antonio Savorelli
This talk addresses the basics of Sass, gives some solid advice on how to integrate it with the Drupal 8 theming workflow while avoiding some of the most common pitfalls, and reveals a couple of extra tricks that will make your workday feel like the weekend.

The fewer TWIG files I see, the better I like your theme

Speaker(s):Jorge Diaz
Theming in Drupal 8 is way more than creating a template file and start building layouts. While Twig shows up as a solid foundation to build you themes on top of, there are many Drupal-specific features that are part of the actual "Drupal theming process" and it is not directly related to the template files.
In this session we will talk about: Twig, Views, Display Suite and more

Site building

Drupal 101

Speaker(s):Richard ("Rick") Hood
Introduction to Drupal starting with the basics: Entity types, Fields, Taxonomy, Views, Themes, Modules and If time allows, the use of paragraphs module will be discussed.

Drutopia - Building a Drupal Distribution for the Grassroots, accessible as Software as a Service

Speaker(s):Micky Metts
Drutopia is an initiative within the Drupal project that prioritizes putting the best online tools into the hands of grassroots groups. By embracing the liberatory possibilities of free software and supporting people-centred economic models, Drutopia aims to revolutionize the way we work and cooperate.

Entity Reference as a Component-based Site Builder

Speaker(s):Anton Staroverov
Modern websites require the brand new understanding of what content is and how it is structured. Well-organized content architecture makes the website semantically transparent and the content management process simple and clear. Today by term “content” we don’t mean narrative content. Not anymore. That’s why things like Markdown or WYSIWYG are just not enough.
Slides - http://slides.com/tonystar/drupal-bricks#/

UI/Visual Design

Adobe Illustrator Primer for UX and Development

Speaker(s):Jennifer Smith
Adobe Illustrator is one of the top tools used to create assets such as logos, icons, wireframes, and more. In this session you discover how to use Illustrator for tasks that specifically relate to UX design and development.

Drupal administration for regular humans

Speaker(s):Victoria Merriman
If you’re building sites that non-technical users will need to maintain (and isn’t that the kind of the point of a CMS?) then this session is for you, especially if you want those users to come away appreciating you and loving Drupal. We’ll discuss ways to provide an intuitive user experience to the users who will benefit the most the site administrators.

Techniques for Designing with Drupal 8

Speaker(s):Daniel Schiavone
Designing for the web is complicated. Endless screen sizes, high user expectations, and usability challenges offer up some interesting if not impossible challenges for web designers, especially when wrestling with complex functionality delivered by Drupal. Join this detailed discussion on web design and designing Drupal 8 websites. We’ll explore some design tools and techniques and how they work with Drupal. Why design websites with photo editing software when there are such
great tools like InVision and Zeplin around? Let’s take a look inside a Drupal designer’s toolbelt.

Variable Fonts & the Future of Web Design

Speaker(s):Jason Pamental
There’s no doubt that typography is our most important tool in great design and UX, but that can’t come at the expense of performance. Otherwise we risk our great designs never being seen. Enter the latest development in type technology: Variable Fonts, coming to web browsers near you.

Visual Design-Build with confidence

Speaker(s):Jennifer Smith
Understanding design from a historical perspective can help you build websites with more confidence and less distraction.
In this session, we will discover how the influence of Bauhaus and International Typographic Style is reflected in modern website design and why the past plays an important role in the presentation of information.

UX/Project Strategy

Accessibility in Digital Strategy

Speaker(s):Donna Bungard
Thinking about Accessibility needs to go beyond the code.
In this presentation, we will learn about who is impacted by accessibility and inclusive design and why it is important. We will dive into practical implementation tips, including when you can introduce it into a project’s life cycle and how to incorporate it into strategic deliverables.

Design Systems Are Hard, and the Drupal Pattern Lab Working Group is Trying to Change That

Speaker(s):Salem GhoweriThomas M. Charging Hawk
The ideas behind the growing Design System craze are incredibly appealing -- a blissful Atomic Design-driven utopia of thoughtfully maintained and curated UI Components that power your digital web properties... Just take Pattern Lab, wire it up to Drupal 8 and we're good, right? The goal for this session is to shed some light on a number of the growing challenges -- and discuss potential solutions -- encountered when you try to chase the Holy Grail of front-end/back-end development and realize just how hard it is to get there.

Design Systems, Not Pages

Speaker(s):Todd Zeigler
The last few years have seen designers move to a process that is more in tune with the way websites are actually built and function. They design overall styles and repeating elements that make up pages, instead of the pages themselves. This process is quicker, easier for front-end developers to implement, and provides maximum flexibility.
In this session, we will look at the concept of design systems, walk thru real world examples and explain how to implement this process with Drupal.

Devs & Designers: Effective Collaboration on Drupal Projects

Speaker(s):Liz MackieJason Enter
In this session, we will talk about the communication challenges and conflicting priorities that we have encountered on projects and share our perspectives. Then we will facilitate a discussion about how we can communicate better, approach differences in priorities with empathy, and be constructive in solving implementation problems together with the aim of being more effective and efficient for the benefit of our clients.

Every project is a story: Applying storytelling to your client interactions

Speaker(s):Dwayne McDaniel
Learn how to translate your clients and stakeholders dreams into real plans by breaking down back of envelope design into actionable stories. Beginners and seasoned professionals looking to level up on our human skills should attend.
In this session, we will look at defining a story, translating dreams into goals and using the larger story as our roadmap.

Everything louder than everything else: How to navigate multiple stakeholder needs through better discovery

Speaker(s):Dwayne McDaniel
This session will focus on delivering a better discovery process with all team members that not only uncover their goals but uncover the big picture.

How to Get Content Editors to Love Drupal

Speaker(s):Suzanne Dergacheva
Some content editors find Drupal easy-to-use and others find it a daunting maze of forms full of confusing terminology. Often, it just depends on how the admin UI has been configured. In this session, I'll present some ideas for customizing the Drupal admin interface for content editors. We'll walk through various use cases and cover best practices to follow for any Drupal 8 site. You'll learn how the content editing interface can affect your content strategy and the happiness of your content editors.

How to Make Friends & Influence Strategy

Speaker(s):BreAnn Kopcza
Getting to know the goals & marketing strategy of a project doesn’t seem very exciting, but knowing them will empower you in moments to back up your recommendations to less-technical team members. Throughout this session, we will equip you with the tools you need to influence those who seemingly speak another language. Considering their priorities in your recommendations will make you an indispensable decision-maker in their eyes.

Mobile Content Strategy: Designing Content for Mobile-First

Speaker(s):Christina Inge
Mobile isn't an age--it's the core consideration for site architecture. The way in which people read your content has changed, and their perception of your brand is shaped and aligned with their mobile experience throughout their journey.
In this session, Christina will show you how to create and optimize mobile content to best connect with readers orbiting at high speeds. You’ll learn how to manage a site's user-facing content for mobile, from information architecture to SEO.

Tear down that wall! Harnessing the power of taxonomies to create unique site experiences with cohesive structure.

Speaker(s):Marcus FreemanDrew Trafton
In this presentation, participants will learn how to leverage Drupal's taxonomy system to break down barriers between content while creating unique areas of user experience. We will discuss the design considerations for creating a balance between each section's individual UX needs and overall site cohesion. An in-depth case study of this approach will be presented, along with specific examples of how this architecture was implemented.

Using Data to Build the New Mass.gov

Speaker(s):Connor McKayKyle Magida
The Commonwealth of Massachusetts is reinventing our digital ecosystem. Structured information will be provided by a diverse constellation of government agencies. This content will be dynamically organized and reorganized to help users find what they need; zero knowledge of agencies, acronyms, or bureaucratic processes required. Everything is being reimagined as a path to a funnel to a “conversion". A conversion gets tracked when a constituent’s need is met or a service is delivered. At the center is a new, Drupal-based, mass.gov.

Why User Testing Isn't a Nice-to-Have, It's a Must-Have

Speaker(s):Lauren WernerJill Grozalsky
Through this session we will equip you with the tools you need change your organization's attitude to research, understand your customers, and make smarter product and development decisions that will help you design the best possible experience for your users.