Welcome: May 16, 2008
RECENT WORK
04/06/08 Updated:
Creative product Designer III
Technical Illustration
WEB/Graphic Design
Art Director
ADDITIONAL INFO
Current Study: Italian Language North
Seattle Community College
Seattle Central
Community College
Student (& occasional speaker), in the Web Design/Development Program
Final Year of AAIST Degree. 2005 - the rest of my life!
Highline Community
College
Studied Business & Advertising 1991-92
South Seattle
Community College:
Studied Graphic Design: 1990-91
Assistant designer: 1990-91
Technical Advisory Committee SCCC 2007-8.
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NOTES FROM A UX DESIGNER
4/13/08 Updated
Alright people...This is actually more of a notice than a note. If you have MS Silverlight experience... give me a call... I have people looking... and not just a couple... I have a LOT of people looking for people with knowledge of MS Silverlight. What are my thoughts of the program? Not that you asked...but if you did, I would tell you that in my opinion, it puts Flash like capabilities in the hands of developers. If you know Javascript and or .NET aspx.... you may enjoy the fact that you wouldn't have to learn actionscript in order to get these Flashy (pun intended) web sites up and running.
I am overwhelmed with work at the moment and don't have the time to fine tune my skills in MS Expression studio, let alone take on any new work, however, from the little I have played with the programs... they seem pretty cool. Some big difference come in the language used to manipulate action in MS Silverlight vs Flash.( Flash uses actionscript and MS Silverlight uses javascript and asp)and Flash is keyframe based and MS Silverlight is based on timeline. This is one of the hardest things to remember when working with MS Silverlight. If you have worked with any sort of timeline based program, you are familiar with key frames as points where adjustments can be made. You can speed up or slow down based on the ratio of keyframes per minute. In MS Silverlight, Everything is set to time... you know... 60 seconds = one minute... that sort of thing. If you want to build a clock... this is really easy!!! just set the rotation of the hands to time. But if you are used to thinking in keyframes... this becomes really difficult.
Overall... I think MS Silverlight is pretty interesting and it would be something I would love to play with more often... however, I am much more comfortable with adobe CS suites and it will be a long time before I consider otherwise - but then you never know. You have to be able to be flexible in this industry and the more you know... the more you make and the more your worth.
Cheers
3/27/08 Updated
The idea of UX design (with reference to the web in particular) is to create a positive, easy to navigate web site that aids your user in navigating seamlessly through your site and accomplish what it is they want to accomplish without hesitation or confusion.
What I am seeing is that there are companies that say "UX design" but what they really want are hackers in the guise of usability experts to create subtle little hacks that prevent users from navigating away from the primary focus of the site.
E-jacking your end users, defies everything that usability designers should be focused on. Imagine walking into a store to buy something and not seeing what you want, you walk out the door... only to re-enter the very same store. You can imagine how obnoxious that is... Even if it happened once, it is enough to sabotage your end users opinion of your goods or service. The idea that the public doesn't know what it wants and/or that they will deal with it because you are the "best" or "only" one providing the service... is the very thought process that leads to the down fall of companies.
In today's world the growing majority of online users have never known a world without this technology. A lot of the rules have changed with UX and UI design and the company that is unwilling to be flexible when it comes to understanding the unspoken rules of the internet, will be left behind.
Increasingly, companies understand the importance of having UX designers help in the creation of their web presence. The problem for some of these companies is that they don't understand that to do things right the first time, takes time and people who know what they are doing. A five dollar fix at start up could become a 5 thousand dollar fix if un-attended. The idea is that usability experts who know what they are doing can not only help you improve your image and the usability of your site, but they can also help you to create the best and most effective web site for your business that, in turn, should generate more business in the form of new users and return clients.
I will cut this short by suggesting to future UX designers out there...Just because you can use the technology, doesn't mean you have to. I will also suggest to the future UX/UI employers out there... if you hire a UX/UI designer, make sure you empower them to do the job right. Allow them the tools and the means to help you and your business grow. Listen to what they have to say. If your business suffers, understand that their reputation also suffers and that the only way they will succeed is to help you be your best.
Project Update
3/25/08 Updated
Back from vacation and signed off on the paperwork for my Microsoft deal. It looks like it will be a 3 month job with an additional three month option. This will book me at least through June 30th. If you would like to discuss my options, please contact me in June so I can better inform you on my updated schedule.
If you are looking for work. I have some companies that I have worked with and continue to do work for, that have need. I also am able to offer a lot of referrals. I have not had the time to update the employment side of this site but I am always looking for people. Let me know if you are interested - I am looking for: WEB, PRINT, Developers, Flash, and UX/UI designer. Click here to contact me
I will keep you informed!