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| == Open Needs == === UX Designer - Staff Augmentation - San Diego === Full time, on-site in a Fortune 100 client office, creating, reviewing and assisting concepts and detailed design work. This is distinctly UX work. The organization has a team doing UI and setting standards for it, but need to bring it together, be more consistent, and start thinking about interaction, IA, ID. This is not a web only position, but on every platform. Desktop and mobile web, mobile apps, Windows and macOS apps, embedded controllers, email, SMS, printed manuals and quick-start cards, and packaging. Maybe more. This is ecosystem design at it's best. 4ourth Mobile already has someone in San Diego you'll work with all the time, and you'll get to talk to others on the team (via Skype, etc.) at least weekly. We won't leave you high and dry with the client, but you'll be part of a team effort to pursue this design. |
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| If you know (or know of) me at all, you know that I have strongly held beliefs around design, what devices we design for, how important the user is in the process, and what makes a good design document. The following principles of design and of design work should help you understand if you'd like to work with me: | If you know (or know of) me at all, you know that I have strongly held beliefs around design, what devices we design for, how important the user is in the process, and what makes a good design document. [[http://4ourth.com/wiki/Introduction%20to%20Location%20Technologies|This article]] covers key principles of design, and [[http://4ourth.com/wiki/Mentions%2C%20Reviews%20%26%20Other%20Writing|others Steven wrote]] may be worth perusing as well to see if you agree with the way we pursue design work. The following principles of design work should help you understand if you'd like to work with us: |
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| * Be empathetic to your customers, your clients, your co-workers. No Nazis. Not kidding. | |
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| * Write down your tasks - Make sure you actually do everything you promised to do. * Design is documenting - We draw, and we specify. We create design documents that are efficient, useful, clear, and will make sense years from now. You should not have to explain anything in a specification document. * Design for all scales - Don't pick your favorite platform and do that first, or only. |
* Write down your tasks - Make sure you actually do everything you promised to do. * Design is documenting - We draw, and we specify. We create design documents that are efficient, useful, clear, and will make sense years from now. You should (ideally!) not have to verbally explain anything in a specification document. * Design for all scales - We do good and high fidelity design, but never "pixel perfect." Don't pick your favorite platform and do that first, or only. |
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| * Don't be swayed by personal opinion or biases. | * Don't be swayed by personal opinion or biases. |
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| * Don't assume everyone's data is yours - Get data about how our users of this product work. * Play to your strengths - Build for devices and ways of working people actually use. * Let computers do computery things, so people can do human things - Don't make people enter data we have or type in specific formats. * We don't build error messages - And exception messages should be rare also. * Design systems to be resilient - Components, connections, and data will fail you. Plan on it. |
* Don't assume everyone's data is yours - Get data about how our users of this product work. * Play to your strengths - Build for devices and ways of working people actually use. * Let computers do computery things, so people can do human things - Don't make people enter data we have or type in specific formats. * Design systems to be resilient - Components, connections, and data will fail you. Plan on it, without having to write error messages. |
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== Open Needs == === UX Designers - Indiana === Immediate need for UX designer to work on site with a project team at a Fortune 200 in Central Indiana. Driving distance from Indy. Work is half time (2.5 days a week on site) assisting with huge improvements to just launched products on the Web and native mobile apps. Connected, big data stuff. You will perform IA, interaction and interface design. Ideally know Axure, InDesign and a bit of Photoshop, or similar tools and can learn. Some of us work remotely on this project, and visit monthly but you will be the on-site person, interacting with software developers, data architects, and the business owners. You must be able to make design decisions, and be able to defend them. Documentation and communications is critical. This contract would be for only 30 days, but is likely to be extended, and 4ourth Mobile has much work with this same client at this location. We can find you much more work to do, both remote and on site. -- Multiple positions open and to be contracted starting in next few months. At this time, all positions are UX generalist, including IA, IxD, UI, VizD and some research. There may or may not be BAs, marketing graphics, or writers; UX has to work directly with developers to do this all. You will work with other UX team members, and assisted in understanding the industry, business, systems, and alredy-established UX design standards. There are projects currently running and which will start soon, on the web, for mobile apps, and more. * Central Indiana, full time or nearly so. 75-100% on a single project which has interfaces on Web and mobile apps, for customers and internally. You will sit in the project area, but will work with a UX team located in a nearby building, and will assist with unrelated projects at the same client. * Remote or Central Indiana, part time and internships - several available, assisting other full time designers with project overflow, specific tasks from IA concepts to exporting icon files. Also some needs for usability research assistants and research analysis. === UX Designer / IA - Minneapolis === General UX designer, for half to (eventually) full time work on site in client office. Top level requirements from the client for the web-centric part include: * Review all existing data gathered such as consumer insights * Benchmark against competitor products * Perform stakeholder interviews and workshops to better understand audience and potential goals * Perform contextual inquiry with target audiences: identify their needs/expectations, observe their use of the current site to identify pain points or opportunities * Conduct cardsorts and be familiar with other IA tools and practices * Synthesize all information into a new IA and content strategy Ideally also familiar with mobile and meets the needs of the Embedded and Industrial job also. * Minneapolis, North-East - full time, mostly on site === Embedded and Industrial Systems UX Designer - Minneapolis === Similar to the general UX designer, but also different. You will be the on-site representative for Corporate UX and 4ourth Mobile at this business unit office, and will regularly meet with project teams, work in engineering labs, and synch with remote UX designers to design solutions for websites, mobile apps, and machinery control panels for industrial and residential generators are related power systems. There will also be an effort in 2016 to create standards for machine and electrical switchgear controls, both pushbutton and touchscreen control panels, as well as controls on app- and web-based remotes. * Minneapolis, part or full time on site === Desktop App Designer === Those who build and use Windows desktop apps are jealous of our good looking websites and mobile apps. First, we need to build standards for them, ideally with Windows Universal principles in mind; our users will increasingly be working with mobile devices, and mobile Windows Pro tablets and we want to exploit that. This is not (mostly) typical enterprise intranet stuff, but industrial and engineering tools for manufacturing, analysis and design. There are hundreds of these applications at this client, so much need for it. Position is expected but not yet contracted with client; you can help write the SOW and help define the role and results. * Remote, limited contract length at first. May evolve into ongoing design/design-assistance. Would be useful to be near Kansas City and/or central Indiana. === Usability Researcher/Assistant === We focus on products used in unusual places so do almost entirely ethnographic methods. Research is irregular, no more than about once a month now, so this is not a full-time job. Roles needed include planning, scheduling, test moderator, note taker. Fine with outsourcing tasks if you have a team at hand already. * Location varies, not office work. Periodic, not full time right now. Would be useful to be near Kansas City and/or central Indiana. === Front End Developers === Requirements TBD, but if you are good at working with the UX team, interpreting standards, like to work with components and believe mobile is as important as desktop, give me a call. * Remote, part time * Central Indiana, at least part time on site |
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| Also notices some of the work above is for proposed projects, and I (probably) get the contract once I find a person. Have to go that direction, annoyingly. That means if you like one, and agree to work it, some time passes between that and actually working. | Also notice that some of the work is for proposed projects, and I (probably) get the contract once I find a person. I have to go that direction, annoyingly. That means if you like one, and agree to work it, some time passes between that and actually working, or you do related work but maybe not exactly what what we both want for a bit. We'll discuss that before you have to commit to anything./ |
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| I am happy to work with you as an individual, or as a company. There can be tax benefits to setting up a little company for yourself, and that's fine with me. | I am happy to work with you as an individual, or as a company. There can be tax benefits to setting up a little company for yourself, so more often than not individuals do that. It's fine with me. === We Cover... === Yeah, no benefits because you work for yourself. Think about that when you ask for your rate. We do pay for directly work related expenses, such as software you may not have. Basic work stuff, we usually do not. You have to have internet and a computer for example. Commuting is on you, but travel like to another city for a research project is an expense you submit. If any of that is confusing, just ask. |
Work With 4ourth Mobile
Do you have the skills, interest and attitude to help 4ourth Mobile provide services to our clients? Read through, see if you agree (and have the skills) and maybe we can work together. Need more info, or want to apply for one, just contact us.
Open Needs
UX Designer - Staff Augmentation - San Diego
Full time, on-site in a Fortune 100 client office, creating, reviewing and assisting concepts and detailed design work.
This is distinctly UX work. The organization has a team doing UI and setting standards for it, but need to bring it together, be more consistent, and start thinking about interaction, IA, ID.
This is not a web only position, but on every platform. Desktop and mobile web, mobile apps, Windows and macOS apps, embedded controllers, email, SMS, printed manuals and quick-start cards, and packaging. Maybe more. This is ecosystem design at it's best.
4ourth Mobile already has someone in San Diego you'll work with all the time, and you'll get to talk to others on the team (via Skype, etc.) at least weekly. We won't leave you high and dry with the client, but you'll be part of a team effort to pursue this design.
Philosophy
If you know (or know of) me at all, you know that I have strongly held beliefs around design, what devices we design for, how important the user is in the process, and what makes a good design document. This article covers key principles of design, and others Steven wrote may be worth perusing as well to see if you agree with the way we pursue design work. The following principles of design work should help you understand if you'd like to work with us:
- Be empathetic to your customers, your clients, your co-workers. No Nazis. Not kidding.
- Be open and sharing, early and often - Reveal ideas and concepts early. Make plans, and tell everyone about it. If you are going to miss a deadline, tell everyone immediately.
- Write down your tasks - Make sure you actually do everything you promised to do.
- Design is documenting - We draw, and we specify. We create design documents that are efficient, useful, clear, and will make sense years from now. You should (ideally!) not have to verbally explain anything in a specification document.
- Design for all scales - We do good and high fidelity design, but never "pixel perfect." Don't pick your favorite platform and do that first, or only.
- Prototyping is fine also - But it's not final.
- The right platform is whatever the business and user needs. Web? App? Both probably. iOS, Android? Probably both, but whichever one the end users work with most.
- Don't be swayed by personal opinion or biases.
- Divorce data from opinion - You can have opinions, but most of the time when you argue a point with the product team, it is based on observation, research, or principles.
- Don't assume everyone's data is yours - Get data about how our users of this product work.
- Play to your strengths - Build for devices and ways of working people actually use.
- Let computers do computery things, so people can do human things - Don't make people enter data we have or type in specific formats.
- Design systems to be resilient - Components, connections, and data will fail you. Plan on it, without having to write error messages.
- Create a hierarchy of tasks and stick to it - Extend IA into the view level, and make it consistent across the product.
This article outlines are some really good practices as well. Call it a roadmap for your career if you wish, but I also find it's a mindset thing and you don't need to have been doing this for twenty years to have these attributes.
Terms
4ourth Mobile gets contracts with clients to perform work, based on a rate and hours. For most of the above needs, you are not an employee, but an independent subcontractor of ours, performing work for hire.
Wait, so you don't actually hire people?
Traditionally, agencies hire you on full time and give you business cards and a desk, then fire you when the work disappears. Been there. I don't think it fosters a good environment, and I don't want to promise you full time employment if I can't give it. So these are contract/free-lance type jobs, even the full time ones. When I am confident the work is regular and persistent enough I can offer full time actual employment, and you want that, then I will.
Also notice that some of the work is for proposed projects, and I (probably) get the contract once I find a person. I have to go that direction, annoyingly. That means if you like one, and agree to work it, some time passes between that and actually working, or you do related work but maybe not exactly what what we both want for a bit. We'll discuss that before you have to commit to anything./
So, that may make me look like a shady jerk, but I am very deliberately doing that now so I don't have to either string you along, or fire you without notice (or both) later on. Questions? Ask away!
How much do you pay?
Rate, and most everything, is negotiable. Tell me what you think you are worth an hour and we'll talk about it.
I am happy to work with you as an individual, or as a company. There can be tax benefits to setting up a little company for yourself, so more often than not individuals do that. It's fine with me.
We Cover...
Yeah, no benefits because you work for yourself. Think about that when you ask for your rate.
We do pay for directly work related expenses, such as software you may not have.
Basic work stuff, we usually do not. You have to have internet and a computer for example. Commuting is on you, but travel like to another city for a research project is an expense you submit.
If any of that is confusing, just ask.