If you like a combination of the following: design, user experience, technology, games, art, travel and the internet let me provide you the news. Yes, I actually enjoy sifting through the news, so that you don’t have to – and I bet I’ll do a better job than your news reader (that is if we have similar interests!).

Let’s take a look at what I can provide. According to Google Reader:
From your 444 subscriptions, over the last 30 days you read 4,536 items, clicked 48 items, starred 1,156 items, and emailed 1 items. I’ve cut 75% of the fat right off. Let’s take a closer look:

Here’s the number of items posted in the last month vs. number I selected to share:

Here are the number of items posted vs. shared over the days of the week:

And the hourly breakdown – notice the before work, lunch, and after work spikes:

Where do my most shared articles come from? Here’s my top 20:

Since I started using Google Reader on October 7, 2005 I’ve read a total of 184,524 items. That’s around 80 articles a day.

Before Google Reader shut off the sharing feature in the web interface and moved sharing to Google Plus I had a number of people following me – with most of my friends declaring RSS bankruptcy – unable to read it all. But now with some great magazine-style tablet and phone apps, you can browse at your leisure, and enjoy a great selection of curated news.

Here’s my curated content feed – ready for any RSS reader, or magazine app: bit.ly/jeremyfeed – you can preview my feed here: http://www.google.com/reader/shared/jeremyj

This feed works great with not just RSS readers, but it can be transformed into a magazine, ready to browse:

Using FlipBoard you can add a specific RSS feed (it’s a little tricky). The easiest way is to use a Google Reader account – connect it to Flipboard, then select Google Reader – then select “Jeremy Johnson’s shared items in Google Reader”, then “Add +”. There you go, instant curated news.

(Some Flipboard screenshots around adding specific RSS feeds)

So if you find yourself losing interest in your news, let me sift through and find some interesting stuff. And if you’re on twitter, I also cross-post my curated content there as well.

Enjoy!

• Logo
• Signs
• Postcards
• Pushcards
• Kathleen For Council Website
• T-Shirts
• Flyers
• Social: Kathleen for Council Facebook and Kathleen for Council Twitter
• Newspaper Ads
• Etc…

Again, speed was a pretty big factor here, but I I’ve always been interested in trying out some different visual styles when it comes to the standard local political campaigns.

• Kathleen is the only female running, and her name was obviously very different from the others, so we went with her first name.
• Used the purple that Grapevine is known for, and actually a favorite of Kathleen’s
• Used the “talk” style logo that’s popular now, but for us it meant something – the incumbent is not known for responding to citizens, and in general it’s all very closed and secretive – Kathleen really wants to be a voice for the citizens of Grapevine.
• Had a good friend shoot some great professional photos.
• Used a hosted service to get a site going, and again because the incumbent is generally not accessible, we planned on posting the entire campaign – being fully transparent all along the way.
• And quickly using mostly iWorks – created a series of materials that if you live in Grapevine, hopefully you’ve seen.

Here’s some of the materials:

Surprisingly (or maybe not) the incumbent Roy Stewart had for all purposes, really never needed to run before (typical in Grapevine). This incumbent was also invisible to the internet besides a few yellow page listings for an old business he once had. But we’ve made him get online – he’s launched a website (design by Ratio Software), and it looks like they just copied their main site template – I’m assuming they really don’t make websites for a living), and even start a Facebook Fan Page! There have been some pretty big mishaps and “un-reported” dealings, so we put them all together in a targeted mailer – trying to bring some attention to these issues that have been reported in the local newspapers:

And there is a third challenger Deverick Jordan, a young guy whose qualifications included working for his dad, and moving to Grapevine recently (still don’t know why he’s running, no issues, just wanted to run). He has a internet past, MySpace, Facebook, some bad company websites that all look just like his campaign site (what is it about people using the same sites over and over again?), but now also has a Facebook Fan page for his campaign. His printed materials are interesting:

Now you can argue that it shouldn’t be about the design – but the design is selling you, your ideas, and your skills. If you look like a 5th grader lobbying for a 1st place science fair, do we really want you lobbying to bring Fortune 500 into our city? And you could argue that you would hire people to do this once elected, but 1) if your materials are this bad, you’re never going to get it, and 2) do you really not have the marketing sense to hire someone now, for your campaign? A large part of running a city has to do with PR and Marketing – making your community appear better than others to get business, to communicate to your citizens – and strike up a genuine conversation. These are things that local governments really need in spades – and something lacking on the current Grapevine City Council. Out of the the almost 50,000 Grapevine citizens less than 2,000 usually vote. That’s not a community excited about its city government.

I hate to say it, but a designer could make some good money on the side creating ready to go political packages. Local candidates rarely have the time, money, or sense to try to create a cohesive campaign. There’s even one candidate in Southlake using Comic Sans :-/

So if you live in Grapevine Texas – please checkout my wife’s website, follow her, like her, but in the end – vote for Kathleen Thompson come May 14th.

Today I gave a short presentation on “Taking Your Content Mobile” at Open Camp here in Dallas. It’s now easier than ever to quickly create a mobile specific version of your site using a few simple tools/plug-ins. If you’re not ready now, you’ll need to start thinking about it – and I’ll show you your options.

Surprisingly when I asked how many people had a mobile version of their site, less then half raised hands. And this is coming from a more tech focused audience at Open Camp. I should of asked what’s stopping everyone, and it could be the “why?” – why go mobile?

While Apple continues the marketing of the iPhone viewing “the real web”, many sites are easier to navigate, view, and scroll around when modified for the small screen (not to mention load faster).

The options breakout something like this:

• hosted
• plug-ins
• custom dev
• themes / templates
• style-sheets
• adaptive-layouts
• auto-generate

In my presentation I go over each of these, with examples and links:

If you haven’t gone mobile before today, now is your chance!

I’ve received some great comments, questions, and kudos from my IA Summit and Big Design talks on Mobile Strategy, and I’ve heard from a good number of people that they’re using the presentation to make decisions about mobile strategy on their own (which is great!). I did put together a couple of quick worksheets that could help turn the presentation into a mini-workshop for anyone trying to make decisions about what to do in mobile.

The first is really just a follow-along worksheet, where you can take notes, and fill in the blanks:

Download PDF

The second is a sketch sheet, where you can start to vision out and do a little designing of your own. Sketch out a couple pages, and see if your interactions and flows make sense.

Download PDF

I added some things to remember while sketching:

• Simplify the design
• Design for touch – not mouse
• Note common mobile UI patterns
• Think about context – traveling vs. at home
• Design for speed – let them get to what they need quickly
• Rank functionality – you don’t need everything!
• Follow usage patterns – what are your users doing on mobile
• Remember location
• Don’t cram too much
• Note phone features – GPS, Camera, etc…

Hopefully this will help you or your company come to a decision on your mobile strategy.

If you’re an Interaction Designer, I’m sure you’ve noticed a new design pattern in the past year – one that doesn’t really seem to have a proper name yet. In fact, you’re probably already incorporating this pattern into your designs. It seems like almost every major redesign is leveraging this pattern to help hide complexity: Amazon, Linkedin, TripAdvisor – and sites like Target, Google, and Yahoo have been using it for awhile. It’s a design pattern I’m calling “Revealing Interfaces”.

| View | Upload your own

I have a habit of taking screenshots of interesting UIs. I have a large collection that I browse through for inspiration when creating something new. I started the above presentation to help provide some context for what I was trying to do with some of my own Designs. I’d been interested in reveling interfaces and recently I came across a couple of pieces that when put together gave me the idea to help better explain this pattern.

The first was when John Maeda came to my work to give a talk. While reading “The laws of Simplicity” I came across this quote:

“Hiding complexity through ingenious mechanical doors or tiny display screens is an overt form of deception. If the deceit feels less like malevolence, more like magic, then hidden complexities become more of a treat than a nuisance.”

I like the fact that while a revealing interface could harm traditional usability heuristics by “hiding” away functionality, once someone actually uses the interface, they could be delighted by the options revealed to them.

The second was when around the same time I saw a post “Hiding Complexity” over at one of my favorite blogs (future perfect by: Jan Chipchase). These two photos so elegantly demonstrate what the purpose of a revealing interface is: removing initial complexity.

At it’s most basic, it’s really something as simple as a drop down menu on a website. But in the last year or so, with more highly skilled people at the helm, pushing the limits of XHTML/CSS/JavaScript/AJAX it’s becoming much more.

No longer are the days of waiting for a full page load just to update your status. With a single click you have access to power user features that used to be buried three pages deep. An entire site can be navigated from the main page, without overloading the front page with tabs or links.

The interface becomes more fluid, interactive, and more like a conversation. In some places it can even read your mind ;-) “Yes, Netflix I was wondering what the plot of “reign over me” was, thanks!”

Along with these new reveling interface patterns comes a new budding visual language to denote when something can reveal more information – and when does it just take you to a new page? I’m sure there are a new pile of accessibility concerns with the extra levels of DHTML and JavaScript – and how does usability change, when you can’t really ask the question “where would you click…” or “what do you expect…”?

Please take a look at the embedded presentation, hopefully this post can help start defining this pattern and get the conversation going – and feel free to start that conversation below in the comments :-)

I’ll be speaking to the Refresh Dallas group about the Mobile Web this Thursday (10/11) at IMC2. Over the past year I’ve been lucky enough to be involved with a couple different mobile projects, and in the process have learned a great deal about the mobile space. I’ve had to evangelize XHTML-MP, figure out how to test on mobile devices, and give overviews of mobile technology to an assortment of internal teams. So I figured it was time to share the wealth. My goal with this presentation is to help other designers and developers move to the small screen, and create a great mobile experience.

Here is the “official” description:

Jeremy Johnson presents: The Mobile Web

Ready to move to the small screen? How does designing and developing for mobile differ from a traditional desktop experience? How do you architect an experience that is contextually sensitive to both time and location? We’ll discuss these questions and more while demonstrating how you can create a great mobile experience.

Jeremy will also give a behind-the-scenes look at a recently developed WAP 2.0 site, and a preview of a new iPhone application.

Buzz words included: XHTML-MP, WAP 2.0, iPhone, Ajax, SMS, Widgets, Mobile Research, and more! ;-)

Also, I’ve heard the IMC2 offices are pretty cool, so I’m looking forward to checking them out – here is the address:

12404 Park Central, Suite 400, Dallas, Texas 75251 Google Map Link
It will be in the Sun Room, on the 4th floor, on the North side.

I hope you can attend, I’ll be ready to answer your questions and hopefully spark some discussion about mobile devices.

Thanks!

User Experience has been defined and visually demonstrated many times before, but I’ve never really seen the “nuts-and-bolts” of a User Experience project listed in a way that’s easy to understand. I’ve come across many people who just don’t know what goes into a UX project, and also don’t know what resources should be on a UX project. By breaking out all the pieces I’m able to solve multiple problems with one graphic…

First, download this PDF and take a look.

I started by listing out all the pieces necessary for a standard User Experience project – all the pieces that could eventually effect the experience. From Project Management (were we allocated enough time to realize the product?) to Accessibility (can people with disabilities use the product?), each one of these pieces can effect the experience.

After I listed out a good range of tasks and technologies, I started dividing them up into groups:

• Managing the Project
• Defining the Problem
• Designing the Experience
• Architecting the Technology
• Delivering the Experience

Some areas were a little muddled and I reflected that in the graphic, but for the most part they generally fit in the above buckets.

So, what are my goals for this breakdown?

• Show the User Experience process and all the pieces involved to clients and non-ux coworkers
• Use this as a base to gather “stats” on UX employees (more on this later)
• Use this as a beginning for a UX growth chart
• Reference this with new hires to find out where their passions lie
• Use this to map UX projects, and then UX consultants to the project

I’ve used the graphic a couple times already – one on a potential hire that had a wide range of experience and skills, but when shown this graphic quickly said “I’d definitely like to be in the Delivering the Experience area”. Most resumes nowadays for UX resources span all five areas, so this graphic is a good way to gauge where someone’s passion lie.

Another idea I’ve already started on is the UX employees “Insta-stats” (pdf). This would be a high level Baseball Card style stats:

Below is a simplified sampling of different tasks and technologies that go into most User Experience projects. So, what makes a User Experience project you ask? In 2004 Peter Morville described the facets of UX as: Useful, Usable, Desirable, Findable, Accessible, Credible, and Valuable. These facets take a wide breath of knowledge from a consultant to make sure everything works well together and works well for people. Here at Geniant we value breath and depth in our consultants, this “Insta-stats” is just a quick way to get a general sense of your skills and strengths.

This would be a self-assessment, where you could map out your current strengths and weaknesses and at the end even add up your UX score.

This could also be easily reversed and used to define the tasks and technologies for a project. Then you could go a step further and “overlay” your resources and find the people that fit best.

I believe this is a great starting point to help define UX projects, people and help staff UX resources.

I’ve posted my UX “Insta-stats” – anyone else?

[EDIT]

Thanks to Xiaoxiao we now have the above “The Universe of User Experience” in Chinese!

Where do you go to look for new hires? Monster.com maybe? What if you’re looking for that perfect culture fit, an individual that both has the skills and that je ne sais quoi you’re looking for?

Monster.com can easily tell you (if they are telling the truth) the skill set of a person, years they’ve been working in a field, etc… – but how can you tell if they are a culture fit for you and your company? Of course at some point you’ll need to meet with the person and have a lunch or two, but here are some shortcuts that help you tell beforehand. Sometimes you can get a feel for the person not by what they post, but where they post their resume, or by what job boards they are searching.

Sometimes you need to look beyond the mainstream and into the fringe…

This article will mostly apply to the types of positions we fill here at geniant – mostly: Information Architects, Designers, Site Developers, Technology Specialists, and Usability Experts.

Lets start with the mainstream options I’m sure you’ve all used: Monster.com, Dice, HotJobs, and CareerBuilder. These are the most visited, largest job boards on the web and while great sites, this is where you’ll find the masses, not the unique individuals. For that you need to dive down a couple of levels:

New Kids on the Block

www.gojobby.com
This innovative site lets people “tag” their skills and rate themselves on those skills. You can easily filter people by what you’re looking for.

www.jobster.com
This site aggregates different job boards, this site offers some new options for employers.

www.simplyhired.com
Simply Hired is the Google of job sites. They’ve just inked a deal to be the “official” job search for MySpace (I won’t hold that against them…).

Unusual Suspects

dallas.craigslist.org
You can find your next home on craigslist, why not a employee? While craigslist is hugely popular, the candidates you find here are are a little more enterprising then most.

hfcareers.com
This professionally run job search site is specifically for Human Factors positions. They also include UX, UI and more.

Blogs

Of course you can find talented people through surfing blogs, and you can really get a feel for the person by reading their posts – but some targeted blogs are starting to offer job boards. If you’re looking for the type of person who enjoys reading a blog you find interesting – sounds like a good match!

jobs.ok-cancel.com
If a potential hire enjoys the comics over at OK/Cancel…

jobs.37signals.com/jobs (cross-posts to: alistapart.com)
The king of “Keeping it Real” has a job board for all those interested in the musings over at Signal vs. Noise. While this is pretty much a no-brainer for future hires to subscribe to, it’s still more targeted then the alternatives and has a very high-caliber list of jobs.

Communities: Design

I’m going to focus on some national and local (to Dallas) communities where Designers hang out. These sites are more targeted towards Visual Designers, but they do have job posts for IA, ID, etc…

coroflot.com
The job board for core77, this board is more for traditional designers, but you’ll find people interested the cutting-edge of design.

dallas.aiga.org or national aigadesignjobs.org
AIGA is the “thinking designers” group, that caters to more high-end design positions. But like coroflot.com the focus is more on visual design/advertising and less on technology. The closest thing they have to an IA category is “Interaction Design”.

DSVC.org
In the Dallas area, DSVC is the largest community of Designers. They have monthly meetings with 500+ in attendance, with speakers ranging from Illustrators to New Media Specialists. The job board here is heavily viewed.

howdesign.com/jobs
HOW is a monthly magazine read by most Designers. Again more targeted towards Visual Design.

mediabistro.com
Media Bristro is a career and community website for media professionals. More about media (TV, Radio), but could be a good place to look for a Copy Writer.

Communities: Design + Technology (IA, UI, UX, HCI)

iainstitute.org/jobboard

The IAI Job Board lists job postings related to information architecture, as well as information design, interaction design, user experience, and HCI.

upassoc.org/usability_resources/jobs/

The UPA maintains a listing service for job openings for usability professionals.

Refresh Dallas
The Refresh movement that started in Dallas has now gone national (map). This is a targeted group of designer and technologists that would be a great fit for any company. You can freely post jobs on in the forum area of the site.

usabilitynews.com
Jobs targeted at Usability professionals.

internettg.org
A group that promotes:

The ITG will investigate and pursue opportunities to involve its members in the activities of standards bodies and by doing so, provide a voice for the Human Factors profession within these activities.

Finally, as the Human Factors profession, as a whole, adapts to the changing technological landscape of the Internet, the ITG will offer a resource for HFES members, regardless of ITG membership, to obtain information and maintain an awareness of Internet technologies.

hcirn.com/jobs/
HCIRN is the “Human-Computer Interaction Resource Network” – the job board also features UX and UI postings.

Email Newslettters

http://www.goodexperience.com/jobpost
Great targeted resource:

Good Experience subscribers are professionals in design, usability, user experience, and customer experience; it is one of the most widely read publications in customer experience, user experience, and usability.

You can see past job posting here.

resources.ixda.org
IXDA is the “The Interaction Design Group”, they have a email list where they welcome job postings.

Staffing

If all else fails… you can get a staffing agency to look for you! Here are a couple that are big in the Design / Multimedia areas:

aquent.com

Aquent’s Marketing and Creative Services group has a single mission: To help clients achieve the highest possible return on their Marketing and Creative Services investments. We offer a suite of services designed to help companies achieve this goal by using people, processes, and technology with the greatest possible efficiency.

creativegroup.com

The Creative Group® provides a comprehensive range of freelance creative, advertising, marketing and Internet professionals to a variety of companies.

I hope one of these resources will get you closer to finding that perfect candidate – now it’s time to take them to lunch!

[EDITS]

Additional Job Boards:

DFW UPA Jobs: http://www.texasupa.org/dfw/jobs.htm

Gigabits: http://www.cameronmoll.com/gigabits/

Creative Hotlist: http://www.creativehotlist.com/

CSS Beauty Jobs: http://www.cssbeauty.com/jobs/

ajaxian.com: http://ajaxian.com/jobs/

Crunch Board: http://www.crunchboard.com/

Joel on Software: http://jobs.joelonsoftware.com

Cameron Moll’s Authentic Jobs: http://www.authenticjobs.com/

Krop – Creative & Tech Jobs: http://www.krop.com/

Boxes and Arrows: http://jobs.boxesandarrows.com/jobs

GigaOM Job Board: http://gigaomjobs.com

Jobagg: http://jobagg.erraticwisdom.com/

FWJobs: http://www.freshwebjobs.com/

Related Articles:

Jobs Boards: A shotgun or a rifle?: http://37signals.com/svn/archives2/jobs_boards_a_shotgun_or_a_rifle.php

A great list of Designer and Developer job sites updated for 2009 over at webdesignerwall.com