BigDesign, A place for ideas and art

In 2011 TechXpresionsim made its debut at Big DESIGN CONFERENCE in Dallas, TX.

The artist: UX designer & sculptor, Roger Belveal

ARTIST TO THE TECHNOLOGY DESIGN COMMUNITY

In the years that followed, Belveal showcased other large works at Big Design and created special pieces for gifts for speakers and other contributors to Big Design.

When I presented on UX strategy, the audience said,

“Your design presentation was pretty good, but,

Really, we want to hear about your art”

What are you making now?

I got the message.

One afternoon in the Usability Lab

One afternoon back in 2010, I was in he Sabre usability lab chatting with Brian Sullivan, the usability guy and most people know as the the Big design chair. Brian was sharing with me about his work on the Design like Da Vinci presentation which was destined to become immensely popular. Anyway, I was new at Sabre and Brian and and i were becoming more acquainted. We had talked at various design events around the area. and I had been to the Big Design conference a couple times. Brain and I would soon become close friends.

Well, anyway there we were in the Sabre usability lab talking about usability and design stuff and Brian asks me , “Roger, do you know anyone who is a renaissance person?” And I had to answer that question with a question. I said, “Brian, have you seen my art?” And I showed Brian photos of my steel figures. See Steel Life.

The UX Logo

But it was when Brian saw the art piece I had made for my UX design team in Sabre Airline Solutions, that the wheels started turning. The design was based on our logo we had recently designed for our internal consulting services. It was simple logo, UX with wings. Get it?

Anyway, we were proud of our logo and I was inspired to see how it might look in steel. Brian saw it and instantly asked if i would be willing to make something like that for Big D. The idea intrigued me. One thing led to another and before long long I was working on 50+ small pieces to be thank you gifts to the speakers and something really big as a centerpiece.

Who is Brian Sullivan

Brian Sullivan is Big Design.  He was one its founders and has been at the helm since, making it ever bigger and better every year. What began as an idea between a few like-minded UX design enthusiasts has become one of the notable conferences on design in North America and has sprouted a Latin America event as well.  

A great PERSONAL friend

Brian is also one of my closest friends. Funny thing is I know there are dozens or maybe hundreds of other people who would make that same claim about Brian. And the truly amazing thing is, we would all be right. Brian has been an amazing friend to countless people, launching careers, making opportunities, the stories are endless. He’s that kind of a guy. Those psychologists who tell you that no one can have more than a handful of very close friends, they don’t know Brian Sullivan.

Everywhere Brian goes, ideas happen

When I worked at Sabre, every day I would go to cafeteria for lunch. and look out over the sea of tables for someone to sit with, hoping for some interesting conversation. After a while I realized I was just looking for Brian. Brian Sullivan is an intelligent provocative and enlightening conversation personified. Anywhere he goes, interesting ideas happen. No wonder he is BigDesign.

I’ve had the pleasure of speaking at Big Design and shown my art multiple times, but the best part of Big Design is hanging out with fellow geeky creatives.

I was recently called a Mad Scientist and I responded that I think it’s the highest compliment I’ve ever received. No wonder I love Big Design. It’s full of mad scientists. Lets do some science, get geeky, make some art and make some really great experiences. How about it?

Idea people

It’s the best part!