UX Designer & Web Developer
Continually learning the nature of Human Computer Interactions. I study the field of user interaction and experience. I make informed decisions that lead to graphics and mock-ups which are of high quality. Today I am skilled designer and web developer. Working on numerous projects ranging from personal designs to assisting educational research. I strive for a deep and thorough understanding of modern design principles.
The Quick Goods
I’ve worked on projects across many industries. From freelance to professional role at startups, and established companies. Projects with systems on Shopify to SharePoint, LAMPS to MEANS, MailChimp to Marketo. I’ve engineered solutions to a wide range of clients.
My skills include
- Web and product design & development
- User research and testing
- Social media outreach
See a more comprehensive Skill List
Let me get down to business to define design. I ask if you want a designer, or do you want a “designer”? That statement alone infers the multitude of definitions that can be applied to design. Narrowing the definition of design for my own work, I will use design in computer technologies.
Surely my design philosophy should be fleshed out in much more detail. First, design is contingent on the level and field of design you allow a designer to function on. Imagine in your mind’s eye an elevator. Each floor on the design growth elevator represents a different aspect. As the designer(s), the element of creation is in prime focus. The accession up the building functions as new perspectives.
Design by default is Utilitarian. You stop constructing something what you are left with is the design. Design is dictated by the tools and construction method used. No designer required.
Design as a means of styling or decoration. Pretty design. Aesthetically pleasing design. Many individuals first presume that pretty and professional are the same thing. They cannot fashion a brand or business identity. They cannot develop a user interface, simply beautify an interface.
Design as a process. This is where a designer can tell you about a methodology and technique. Personas and scenarios drive design decisions, not artistic whim. At this level you have the visual merchandising design. A mechanism is reached that allows for the abstract to become thickened concrete. A voice is achieved that resonates with confidence and clarity that simply says “it is effective”.
Design is strategy Design as Strategy. This is where people can define an user experience (UX) methodology. Methods such as captology or the study of computers as persuasive technologies, translates well towards UX. There is no same approach. All designers have to at least explain their methods work and how goals are then achieved.
Design begins as intention. Design solves problems present with the current system. Many people that are vested in their product often are satisfied with the fact any visitor is going to have some kind of experience, no matter what you or anyone else does. Positive or negative. No bad PR, right?
The individuals who cannot define a specific experience, nor tell you their methodology for achieving a specific experienced they intended to produce in an user, they are not designers. Scrape the surface of that UX designer, and you will find a con game. Usability is not just UX. All usability does is remove barriers to task completion. Usability is about removing demotivation. Ease of use is not joy of user. Usability is backward looking and User Experience must be forward looking for those two words to mean anything together.
Research & Testing
User Research Communication is crucial to success. I am a person who can interconnect different working disciplines, such as graphic designers, the software design team, and other developers. Delivering a powerful and effective user interaction is dependent on the skill of many parties.
During my studies and work experiences I use many tools and techniques to determine users’ needs, goals, difficultly: * Formal training in graphic and web design principles * Designed iPhone app interface wireframes * Gained strong software/hardware knowledge of many different platforms and devices * Carried out user research that had a significant affects on the end design
Everyone talks about good design, but they do not test to prove it. Everyone will talk about the mythical user; they just will not design for a target user or use design to get closer to your customer than the competition. I prove. I test. I deliver on the broken promises of the design industry. Strict design does not influence users. Pretty design matters, but pretty design just does not work in the way web designers want it to.
“The ability to simplify means to eliminate the unnecessary so that the necessary may speak.” - Hans Hofmann