Interactive Designer

Michigan UXPALeave a comment

Mango Languages, a nationally acclaimed language-learning software company, is looking for a kick-ass interactive designer to help us become the most loved self study language-learning brand in the world. We are a fun company that truly believes in the idea that learning a new language should be exciting, easy as pie, and even addicting. Since this belief is embedded in everything we do, we know that interactive design is an important ingredient in the learning experience.

Your mission, should you choose to accept it, will involve imposing your creative prowess onto all of our interactive interfaces. You will spend your time bulldozing prodigious pixel masterpieces across both our software interfaces and digital marketing pieces. And you will do it with absolute and unquestionable ease.

At minimum, you must possess mastery of the following weapons of mass construction:

  • Photoshop
  • Illustrator (or equivalent vector application)
  • Flash
  • Pencil and paper
  • The “One-Inch” Creative Punch

You must be comfortable working with a team of ruthless, knuckle-cracking programmers that literally shoot bolts of lightning from their fingertips onto a keyboard. You will build software with them, and you will stand as one with them.

This will include:

  • Wire-framing
  • User experience design
  • Prototyping & screen design
  • Storyboarding interface behavior
  • Motion design
  • Final delivery of graphical assets for assembly

You will also be responsible for heading up all digital design and layout of web pages, banners, sales presentations, and all other interactive media as required by the marketing team.

Most importantly, you will have integrity, a positive attitude, an entrepreneurial spirit, a strong ability to innovate, a high standard for quality, and an ability to balance fun and discipline (we call this “fundipline”).

While local candidates are preferred, telecommuting is an option if your portfolio is so hot that it melts our computer screens when we look at it. Since we’re a language-learning company, bilingual candidates are a huge plus!

We offer a competitive salary and benefits package that includes medical, dental, vision and 401(k).

Please email your résumé and portfolio to recruiting@mangolanguage.com or visit Mango Languages and click on the Interactive Designer opportunity to submit your information online.

Information Architect/User Experience Professional

Michigan UXPALeave a comment

Capital Area District Library is requesting proposals from qualified vendors for information architecture services as described in the pdf found at http://www.cadl.org/about/bids/CADL-Info-Arch.pdf/at_download/file The Capital Area District Library will accept proposals until 5 p.m. Wednesday, August 17, 2011. Please contact Sheryl Knox, Technology Director, at knoxs@cadl.org with any questions regarding this request.

A selection of information from the RFQ:

Scope of Services

CADL is seeking professional information architecture and user experience (UX) design services to assist us in creating the “blueprint” for a remodeled online branch. We envision the following activities:

  • Develop a deep understanding of the content, functionality, and target audiences that CADL will have already identified and described for the online branch.
  • Categorize and label content and tasks in a user-centric architecture.
  • Create a navigation system.
  • Create a strategy for improving search.
  • Create one or more wireframes for the architecture and navigation.
  • Test the wireframe(s) with users.
  • Based on user feedback, improve and finalize wireframes.
  • Create specifications and documentation to be used for engaging a web development firm to
    create the online branch.
  • Provide input into the selection of an appropriate Content Management System (CMS). (CADL
    staff is currently engaged in an evaluation process.)
  • Depending on outcome of CMS selection, potentially create a taxonomy in support of the
    architecture/navigation/search.

Proposals

Your proposal must include:

  • A description of the firm including contact information, history, size, range of services, and volume of work.
  • Identification of the principal in charge for our project and any other staff proposed for work on it, setting forth roles and responsibilities, including the resume of the principal.
  • Using the size and complexity of our current web presence as a guide for the scale of the project, a proposal outlining your recommended plan of action addressing all of the envisioned activities in Scope of Activities above. As a budget-stretching measure, your recommendations as to the degree to which your firm will perform these activities vs. guide CADL staff in performing or assisting with activities should be included in your proposal.
  • Estimated fees, showing details as to how they are calculated. (Proposed activities, number of hours per activity, hourly rate, expenses, etc.)
  • List of similar work your firm has conducted. Include at least 3 references that can provide information on your firm’s work during the past two years.

For more information and to apply, please visit the online posting (pdf).

Pattern Enabled Development

Michigan UXPALeave a comment

Postponed – Date TBD

Mango Languages

In fall 2004, Ford Motor Company chartered a team of Perl/CGI developers to implement a robust 80-table J2EE application with assistance of a single Java consultant.

The lessons learned are emerging as an application development evolution – Pattern Enabled Development – a catalyst for business innovation.

Share in the excitement as Marvin takes us on a multi-year journey across four continents in pursuit of an enabling approach to global application development. And dissect lessons learned for applicability within your sphere of influence!

About Our Speaker

Marvin Toll

Marvin Toll is an IT enthusiast with over two decades as an effective Consultant, Project Manager, Architect, Instructor, Supervisor and Developer. PMP certified for ten years beginning in 1999, he was an early adopter of Agile Practices while managing full life cycle development and COTS implementations. As a Java Architect he has “hands-on” skills in object-oriented design, Java EE application development and COTS product development. Marvin has experience in the automotive, education, financial, government, human resources, legal, and utility sectors.

In his spare time Marvin authored four (4) open source initiatives (beginning with the most current):

  1. SOAj – A “General Store” Approach To Application Development
  2. TestUtil – Automated Method Testing Tool
  3. JSlim – “Service Locator Information Manager”
  4. protodev – Prototyping Tool (deprecated)

During the past couple years Marvin founded both the regional “Agile and Beyond” conference and the “Pattern Enabled Development” movement.

When

Postponed – Date TBD
6:00 PM — Networking
6:45 PM — Announcements
7:00 PM — Speaker
8:30 PM — Wrap up and more networking

Location

Mango Languages – Host and Sponsor
30445 Northwestern Hwy. Suite 300
Farmington Hills, MI 48334

Map

Cost

$5, Current students
$10, Usability Professionals’ Association members
$20, All others

Register

Register online at Guestlist so we know who’s coming and how to plan for refreshments. We’ll also take payment (cash or check) at the door. Questions? Email events {at} miupa dot org.

Recap: Do Better Design Reviews

Michigan UXPALeave a comment

Attendees at the meetingWhen you solicit feedback on a design, people are often afraid of hurting your feelings and may not give you the feedback you really need. How can you solicit useful feedback in an efficient way?

Davin Granroth from Convenant Eyes led an exciting and informative workshop on design reviews. He kicked off the meeting with a description of the technique, and then demonstrated it briefly with
some members of his team. We then divided into three groups to review three different designs that people had brought to the workshop.

A design review consists of three phases:

  1. The designer explains the design
  2. The designer steps back and leaves the conversation entirely whilethe moderator leads a discussion of what works and what doesn’t work in the design. The designer takes notes.
  3. The designer returns to the conversation to echo back what he or she heard during the design review to make sure it was captured properly.

To learn more, Davin has a longer write-up about his design review model on his blog. You can also hear him discuss this technique on the Design Critique podcast.

UPA 2011 Conference

Michigan UXPALeave a comment

UPA 2011, the annual Usability Professionals’ Association conference, was in Atlanta this year. It was well attended and full of excellent presentations and workshops, including a short talk from our current Michigan UPA president, Mike Beasley.

He spoke at one of the three Ignite sessions, which consisted of five-minute talks on a variety of subjects. Mike chose to speak on “What User Experience Professionals Can Learn From Cats.” It was a well-received presentation, although it was unclear whether it was because the advice was sound or because of the cat pictures.

What User Experience Professionals Can Learn From Cats

View more presentations from michaelbeasley