steve-baty

If you ever find yourself in an Australian airport, chances are good you'll run into Steve Baty. Not one for sitting still, he's usually enroute to working with a client or speaking at a conference. Crikey — just looking at his travel schedule makes us tired!

Officially, Steve's day job is Principal Designer at Meld Studios, the design company he co-founded three and a half years ago in Sydney, Australia. But that's just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to how he fills his day. Steve is co-organizer of UX Australia and now for UX NZ as well, which takes place for the first time in early November in Wellington, New Zealand.

Yet still, he's able to find time for volunteering. Steve is currently serving as President of IxDA, and continues to be peripherally involved with the UX Book Club, an initiative he founded in late 2008. Fun fact: since launch, UX Book Club events have been staged in close to 120 cities around the world!

We caught up with Steve while he was working on his sweet potato chips. Here's a bit of our conversation.

Q: When you're not busy at your day job (or other bazillion other UX-related things), how do you enjoy spending your time?

A: I have a family of four children: two boys and two girls ranging in ages from nearly 10 (eldest boy) down to 3 and a half (twin girls). Also, I'm engaged to be married, which I'm excited about! [Good onya, Steve!] Outside of time spent with them, I'm an avid supporter of the Sydney Swans, our local Australian Football League (AFL) team. And finally, very occasionally, I'll go flyfishing.

Q: What's the one UX tool you couldn't live without?

A. My pens & notebooks. Sketching and writing by hand are my absolute go-to tools when it comes to any type of thinking process. Every article I've written has started out this way! But so do strategy papers and project plans and designs.

You'll also find I have a bit of a thing for pens, markers, and stationery generally.

Q: What are you looking forward to most about Fluxible?

A: I've heard a lot of great things about what's happening in this part of Canada, and I'm very much looking forward to seeing it first-hand and meeting new people. I'm also excited to catch up with some old friends, such as Leah Buley, Josh Seiden and Steve Portigal — as well as fellow IxDA Board Member Matt Nish-Lapidus.

Q: And because we're a Canadian conference, we have to ask: Justin Bieber or Celine Dion?

A: To sleep with or have dinner? Context is important. [Well played, Steve. Well played.]

We're thrilled that Steve will be joining us for Fluxible this year. He will be kicking off Saturday's program with a 40-minute talk on Sources of Innovation. Be sure to join us!