#16 Is Conversation Design... Team Edward?
"Conversation design isn't dead... it's immortal"
A Twilight Fall🍎
Be afraid, be very afraid. Conversation design is not dead, despite what clout chasers say. Sorry to disappoint.
On the other hand, conversation design is here to stay… but no one can agree on what we actually do. Sure, some of us (just me) might argue that the conversation design field is akin to a 104+ year old shining disco ball (Edward Cullen), anachronistic yet relevant with the times. And like Edward, we show many faces to the world: conversation design is voice design! no, it’s chatbot design! no, it depends on the company! no, it depends on the tech stack! no, it depends on the team, no…
What are we really? Other than immortal? The world might never know if we don’t get our stuff together and start participating in larger scale discourse outside of our community instead of arguing about the value of our profession. Unfortunately, those kind of discussions scare away new talent, and we as a field are notoriously inconsistent at nurturing junior designers. We should be growing our coven, not driving people away! Of course, business decisions may not always be in our control. The job market, regardless of the country, is still abysmal and open full-time roles are scarce. The vast majority of CxD and CAI community groups are volunteer-based, so events and workshops are hard to organize, more so given that attendance isn’t guaranteed. CxD mentors are hard to find or meet regularly.
Okay, this is what we’re working with. How might we… continue to develop design talent in conversation design so we don’t run extinct?
If you have ideas, please let us know by dropping them in our Google Form!
CxD mentors and where to find them 🔮
Wouldn’t it be amazing if all of our CxD mentors could be found in one place? Ah, what a dream! From Bot Jobs:
Lucy Davis
Grammar Queen a.k.a Finka
Ben McCullogh
From ADPList:
Elaine Anzaldo (on HIATUS)
From our DMs:
If you’re available as a mentor, we’d love to showcase you in our next issue! Please tell us either by messaging us personally or submitting through the same Google Form.
CxD community events 🫂
Events where you’re 100% bound to run into other CxDs.Women in Voice DC [Meetup], Oct 4, Link
Women in Voice Silicon Valley [Meetup], Oct 17, RSVP by Oct 4, Link
Convers(AI)tions [Online Series], next one: Oct 9, Link
Voice & AI [Conference], Oct 28-30, Link
CALM Summit [Conference], Oct 30, Link
CxD Meetup in London [Series], no date yet, comment to get notified!
If there isn’t one in your area, we highly recommend organizing a small local meetup :) Let us know if you end up making one! We’ll share it in our next issue.
AI Corner 📚
A few of the things that caught our eye lately.A plea for the lost practice of information architecture - https://medium.com/user-experience-design-1/a-plea-for-the-lost-practice-of-information-architecture-19a5ae5ca65e
AI needs design consciousness - https://uxdesign.cc/ai-needs-design-consciousness-1ee50288a957
The perennial art of conversation design amid the LLM era - https://uxdesign.cc/the-perennial-art-of-conversation-design-amid-the-llm-era-da7eaef360c2
Evolving with Gen AI: A Conversation Designer’s journey - https://medium.com/design-bootcamp/evolving-with-gen-ai-a-conversation-designers-journey-e227af8479e1
Meta Horizon - Voice Interaction Guidelines
“[Rodwell] asserts that companies must conduct continuous user research, regularly update AI systems with new data, and actively gather feedback—essential responsibilities for UX designers.” - https://techethicslab.nd.edu/news/research-project-outcomes-how-conversational-ux-design-is-shaping-ai/
Throwback! “As a user, I don’t want to” - https://uxdesign.cc/as-a-user-i-dont-want-to-973990a30158
“[W]hen people propose regular reviews of AI recommendations by human teams for identifying and correcting biases, they may unintentionally reintroduce biases into the system.” - https://medium.com/user-experience-design-1/ethical-ai-messaging-crafting-personalization-with-integrity-c6a54d05487a
“In this episode of Agony Agent, Benjamin McCulloch welcomes conversation design experts Ilana Meir and Peter Isaacs to tackle pressing issues faced by conversation AI designers.”
Salesforce offers free hands-on AI courses for everyone through 2025 - https://www.hrdive.com/news/salesforce-offers-free-hands-on-ai-courses-for-everyone-through-2025/727492/ - Courses
Thanks for Reading This!
Voice This! Newsletter is a collective effort by Millani Jayasingkam, Kritika Yadav, and Elaine Anzaldo. Opinions expressed are solely our own and do not express the views or opinions of our employers.