Careers in Web DesignWorking in the Web 2.0Sept 2009Adrian MendozaUX principalMendoza Design & Marlin Mobile

Your Sister(Tools)FacebookIwebWordpressYour Grand-fatherWho is a web designer?BlogsYour CatMyspaceTwitterDreamweaverExpressionYourFriendsTo many choices, not enough design!

What is design?A unique solutionA new perspective on an old problemA view based on history and contextA cooperative processAn understanding of color and shapeA political or sociological point of viewWhy should web design be any different?

A unique solution

A new perspective on an old problem

A view based on history and context

A cooperative process

An understanding of color and shape

A political or sociological point of view

The Design ProcessConceptSchematic DesignFinal DesignPrototypeBuild(Iterative Process)As with traditional graphic, interior, industrial design, etc, The same design process applies to web design.

Careers are connected to the processConceptSchematic DesignFinal DesignPrototypeBuildUsabilityArt DirectorPrototyperQAUI DesignerDeveloperInformation ArchitectInteractive DesignerAnalystCopywriterUX Lead

ConceptRequirements are gathered for the client; Non functional, Market, functional, and specification data is put together to begin to understand what will be built.UX LeadUsing focus groups, testing sessions, and market data they learn about an existing product and report on what is broken, missing, or potential enhancements by interviewing users (customers).UsabilityActing as an moderator between the client, creative, and usability; they manage these relationships, while beginning to propose the user experience of the product/site. Sometimes UX leads are Information architectsInformation ArchitectFocusing on business and functional requirements; they speak with the customer to create documentation to record functionality and market data. They will also begin to create deadlines and schedules for the project.Using information from the analyst and the usability team; they create users personas to document current and potential users. User personas help create a series of archetypes of customers/users.Analyst

Schematic DesignWireframes and sitemaps are put together to begin to rough out the pages ad user experience of the new site. This work will directly influence the design.UX LeadUsing the clients existing brand guidelines, they begin to document the look and feel of the brand and of any current job to establish these guidelines for the clientArt DirectorTaking the user personas and usability information they work with defining an overall vision of what the users experience for the customer will be. They work with the client in proposing the key interactions of the project.Information ArchitectWorking with wireframes and sitemaps, they translate the user personas into visual functional representations of the project. The focus is to show functionality, sizes, shapes and placement of key components of the project.Working with the client, they begin to catalogue all of the content that the project needs. If content, copy, and images are missing they will create, edit, and propose these elements.Copywriter

Final DesignUser Interfaces are created that best represent the information design and the branding. Common pages are designed to best show the different design variations in pages.UX LeadNow focusing on using the brand guidelines to create a consist vision, they start guiding the design to retain as many unique design elements that best represent the information design and the branding.Art DirectorWorking with the creative team, their goal is to maintain the user experience of the information design. They focus on balancing the design vision with the business requirements of the client.Interactive DesignerWorking with the art director, they work on designing a user interface that best balances the brand and information design. They take into account color, accessibility, fonts, content and the creative direction of the site.Working with the UI designer, they focus on designing any interactive frameworks, UI elements and moving components of the site. They might work in flash, flex, or silver light to design these interactive pieces.UI Designer

PrototypeA semi-functional version is created to best represent the designs into a working user experience. Prototypes can be quick click-through to show pages or a fancy flash interactive experience that shows interaction and animation.Reviewing the prototype and design, they begin to establish the bases technologies that will be used to create the project. They might work on the data structure or other infrastructure pieces.DeveloperUX LeadAt this stage they are working with the team to translate the design into a working prototype. Their role in this key stage is to make sure the user experience is clearly articulated and that all key UX paths are shown.Taking the design, they will begin to create a semi-functional working version of the project. The intent is to show the user experience to client and to the development team. Prototypes can be made in flash, html, or even in images.Prototyper

BuildThe Final Design and the Prototype are now used to create the actual working version of the project. This might range from complex backend systems to the building the visual design into static, dynamic, or interactive pages.Now ready to start building, the developers will begin to implement the technology and templates needed to create the project. They will build the front end (what the users sees) and the back end (the technology that runs the site).DeveloperWorking with the development team, they test and check the for bugs before it gets released. This may take a week or up to months. They will use the users personas document from the IA to simulate the user paths.QA

PDAsMobileSmall DevicesSo What Can I Do?WebsitesGamesTVVideoDesktop AppsMultimedia KiosksSo many careers, and so much design!(And the design process is part of all of them!)

Who is Adrian?Adrian's career is highlighted by over 10 years of design and user experience in the handheld, pharmaceutical, financial, and educational sectors. His first studio, Synthesis3, worked with several Palm OS software companies in creating their brand for both a web and retail presence. In the financial and education sector, customers included Sovereign Bank, Houghton Mifflin, MIT and Harvard. Adrian has consulted in UX and Information Architect lead roles for Fidelity's E-business design group, Thomson Financial, and T.Rowe Price. Adrian earned his Bachelors from the University of Southern California and his Masters from the Harvard Graduate School of Design.Currently he is the UX principal at Mendoza Design a Brookline MA based UX consultancy; and the mobile UX principal at Marlin Mobile a user experience, optimization, and performance company. Additionally he is senior lecturer at the School of Art and Design at Suffolk university in Boston, MA.Questions? Contactadrian@mendoza-design.comadrian@marlinmobile.comFollow Adrian on Twitter @marlinUXOr read his mobile UX blog at http://www.marlinmobile.com/blog/