Rescheduling SmashingConf SF And Looking Out For Each Other

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We are sad to have to reschedule SmashingConf SF, however we are working to find ways to be with our community virtually until we can all meet up again.

We have all been looking forward to our SmashingConf in San Francisco, and are so sad to have to announce that the conference is being postponed until 10th–11th November 2020. If you have tickets for the event, you should already have received an email. If not, then please see the detailed information on this page, get in touch with us, and we will help you out. The team is on standby to try and help you as quickly as possible.

As you can imagine, it was a very tough decision for our team to make. We have been working hard to plan this event and were looking very much forward to it for the last few months, however, we believe it is the right decision for the conference and for everyone we hoped to meet there.

We are all faced with a difficult few weeks ahead, but we still need to do our jobs, keep learning, and also stay connected with our friends. We hope that even though we can’t all meet in person, we can help a little bit as we all get through this together.

Topple the Cat holding a guitar, excited for SmashingConf taking place in San Francisco this year — Topple the Cat agrees that this is the best way forward for the safety and health of you, our dearest Smashing Family! (Read our full statement here.)

Stay Connected

We know that many of you are working from home for the first time to help prevent the spread of COVID-19, and the events and meetups that we all love to attend are being cancelled. We’re working on some ideas for the coming weeks that can be attended virtually — with no need for awkward elbow bumps and footshakes. Our online communities are going to become even more important than usual.

“Lot's of us will be stuck at home for weeks if not months. Let's help each other. What are your best coping tips? How do you take care of your mental health?”
— Christoph Nakazawa (@cpojer) March 12, 2020

The entire Smashing team are remote, and the conferences are one place that many of us get to meet and spend time in person, so we know how hard it can be to lose those opportunities. The community have been sharing some great resources online, however, for those of you who are new to working from home, we went ahead and asked Twitter for tips and got some great replies — as well as links to resources.

“The Smashing Team are all remote, but many of our friends are having to work or lead teams remotely for the first time.

What are your top tips, or useful websites and apps for remote working, or remote team leading?”
— Smashing Magazine (@smashingmag) March 12, 2020

Some of you might be having to manage a remote team for the first time, with little time to prepare. In “You’ve Found Yourself Leading A Remote Design Team,” Mark Boulton shares some tips from his own experience having led remote teams for many years. On Twitter, Linda Eliasen wrote a thread with all her tips on leading a team remotely. Also, Holloway have released a section from their upcoming guide which covers morale, mental health, and burnout in remote teams.

Laurie wrote some tips on “Remote Work For Teams” while Zsolt exlained how we can switch from in person to remote UX Research in the time of coronavirus.

For people new to remote work, there are some useful tips in “The Leapers Little Guide To… Working Well From Home Under Self-Quarantine For Coronavirus,” and also in Carie Fisher’s post, “Top 10 Pro-Tips For Working Remotely.” Benedikt Lehnert wrote a great guide with lots of practical suggestions, “I’m Working Remotely, Now What?!” Vice.com have some information which they claim will help us not to feel like a “lonely garbage slug”. (Wait, what is a garbage slug?)

As someone who usually has a smarter shirt to hand to throw on over my gym clothes when I need to do a video call, I liked this tip:

“Wear pants! Otherwise you’ll forget and go grab a snack. I don’t know that from experience…”
— Emma Bostian 🐞 (@EmmaBostian) March 12, 2020

Keep Learning

We have a whole back catalog of video from previous conferences, which you can enjoy from the comfort of your sofa. The talks from last year alone should keep you occupied for a while.

SmashingConf NYC 2019

Watch videos featuring Dan Mall, Brad Frost and Ian Frost, Marcy Sutton, Denys Mishunov, Trine Falbe, Maggie Wachs, Wes Bos, dina Amin, Harry Roberts, Sara Soueidan, Remy Sharp, Scott Jehl, and Miriam Suzanne.

SmashingConf Freiburg 2019

Watch talks from Guillaume Kurkdjian, Joe Leech, Heather Burns, Uri Shaked and Benjamin Gruenbaum, Anna Migas, Val Head, Rémi Parmentier, Sara Soueidan, Robyn Larsen, Benjamin Hersh, and Philip Walton.

SmashingConf Toronto 2019

Listen to talks from Brad Frost, Sarah Drasner, Phil Hawksworth, Jenny Shen, Kristina Podnar, Steven Hoober, Phil Nash, Dan Rose, Diana Mounter, Scott Jehl, and Chris Gannon.

SmashingConf SF 2019

Watch and learn from Jen Simmons, Jason Pamental, Jeremy Wagner, Katie Sylor-Miller, Miriam Suzanne, Chris Coyier, Darin Senneff, Anna Migas, Sara Soueidan, and Brad Frost.

Last But Not Least, Smashing Podcast

If you haven’t found our Smashing Podcast yet, we’re already up to episode 11. Check out the episodes and subscribe here. Of course, we will also be bringing you an article every day here on Smashing Magazine, and perhaps if you find yourself with some extra time, you might like to join our authors and write for us.

Keep In Touch

We are obviously dealing with a fast changing situation, and can only take each day or week as it comes. Take every chance to keep in touch with your friends and peers via phone, text and video chat. Check in on people who might be having a hard time. Your outgoing extrovert friend may be the person who finds the isolation of the next few weeks the hardest. Look after yourselves, each other, and please wash your hands!