September 2015: A design case study from Christie

We have something extra special this month: our good friends at Christie Digital are hosting uxWaterloo at their Kitchener headquarters!

Christie is known for their leading digital projectors, used around the world in cinemas, offices, conferences, and more. And while the content that’s projected onto big screens is, of course, what’s of interest to most people — we’ll instead be digging into the question of how do you control the projected image?

Join Chris Kirby and Alan Woo from the Christie design team as they show how the team went about creating a remote control for a new projector. You’ll see and learn about:

• Examples of early to late-stage physical prototypes
• Their design process
• Incorporating user research into the project
• Many logistical details of bringing a design to life in a large organization

This uxWaterloo session is part of a full week of UX events in Waterloo Region, culminating in Fluxible, which is happening on the weekend. Celebrate UX in our community!

Parking and building entrance

Please click the photo below for a zoomed-in aerial view of where to park and enter the building at Christie.

RSVP required

Note that registration will be checked at the door. Christie does some amazing stuff, and they need to be careful with visitors to their facility! We manage our monthly events at Meetup.com, so please join us there and register for this free event.

Tuesday September 22, 2015
5:30 to 7:00 pm
Christie
809 Wellington Street North
Kitchener, Ontario

Job: UX Developer at LBMX

Location: London, Ontario

Are you half designer half developer? Do you love to create beautiful and user friendly experiences, then help turn them into a reality? Then you’re the candidate for us.

We (LBMX Inc.) are looking for an individual that can help guide the look, feel and user experience of our line of business applications as an engaged member of our software development team.

The Must Have Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree (or equivalent) in Computer Science, Interaction Design, Information Systems or related discipline.
• 2 or more years of experience in UX design and development.
• Proven ability to coach others on design and development techniques.
• History of designing and building excellent User Experiences.
• Solid understanding of Web Application design principles and what makes a good UX.
• Experience presenting data in a clear and workable fashion to users from a back end services.

The Must Have Technical Qualifications

• Experience programming with an emphasis on developing for the web.
• Expertise utilizing a graphic suite like Adobe Creative Suite.
• Mastery of HTML, CSS, JavaScript and 3rd part JavaScript libraries and frameworks.
• Knowledge of how to properly utilize LESS or SASS.
• Experience with UX testing.

The Nice To Have Qualifications

• Familiarity working with Microsoft Tools and Languages.
• Working knowledge of SQL Server and NoSQL packages.
• Knowledge of MVC and MVVM patterns.
• Familiarity with Telerik Controls.
• Knowledge of software development best practices.
• Previous experience as a member of an agile software development team.

How to apply

E-mail a resume and cover letter with salary expectations to jlediet@lbmx.com. The subject line of your e-mail must read “Job Application – UX Developer”.

Announcing the September UX Book Club event and a new UX Book Club Meetup group

UX Book Club KW has run for its inaugural year under the uxWaterloo umbrella, but now it’s time for us to spread our wings and branch out on our own. Read below for information about our next Book Club event and how to sign up for our new meetup group at meetup.com/UX-Book-Club-KW. Many thanks to Bob and Mark at uxWaterloo for supporting us over our first year!

With a lot of summer reading time still to go, why not settle into your beach chair or hammock with our September UX Book Club pick. At our next meeting, we’ll be discussing Abby Covert’s recent book, How To Make Sense Of Any Mess, a book about, “information architecture for everybody”.

We all face messes or situations where the interactions between people and information are confusing or full of difficulties. Who doesn’t bump up against messes of information and people every day? Especially in a world that’s getting more complex, it is easy to be overwhelmed by the amount of information we encounter. This book provides a seven step process for making sense of any mess. Each chapter contains a set of lessons as well as workbook exercises architected to help you to work through your own mess.

Many of you have commented how you’ve enjoyed having the author join us. We completely agree and are thrilled to say that Abby will be joining us live and in person.

Finally, from now on we’ll be using Meetup.com to manage book club. Join us there now!

Please register at meetup.com/UX-Book-Club-KW for this free event as spaces are limited.

Wednesday September 23rd, 2015
7:00 to 8:30 pm
Location: TBD

If you can’t make it out to UX Book Club (and even if you can!), be sure to catch Abby at Fluxible 2015, September 26-27th. Her talk, Time as Material, explores time and how — perhaps more than any other force — it determines if we will succeed or if we will fail.

And if you want to hear more about UX Book Club events, please join our Meetup group (meetup.com/UX-Book-Club-KW) as a member. New events will be announced through the meetup group in the future.

Looking forward to seeing you soon!

Katie and Davis

August 2015: Informal pub meetup

In the summertime when the weather is hot, you can stretch right up and touch the sky. You can also enjoy this August this August uxWaterloo session that features informal talk and drinks. We do a couple of these every summer and the laid-back atmosphere and conversations are a welcome addition to any summer schedule. Join us!

And, of course, count on hearing from Bob and Mark with an an update on Fluxible 2015.

Please register for this free event

Thursday August 20, 2015
5:30 to 7:00 pm
Patio at The Barley Works
(upstairs in the Huether Hotel)
59 King St. North
Waterloo, Ontario

Job: Senior User Experience Designer at McAfee

Type: Full-time
Location: Waterloo

As the world’s largest dedicated security technology company, McAfee delivers proactive and proven solutions and services that secure systems and networks around the world, allowing users to securely browse, shop and socialize on the Web through PCs, Macs and mobile devices. Our consumer products now extend well beyond anti-virus to include protection of identity, family, data, and mobile devices. As a wholly owned subsidiary of Intel, McAfee enjoys the benefits of independent operation but now with Intel’s global reach, access to world-renowned technology leadership, and even greater financial stability.

McAfee’s Consumer division is looking for a full time User Experience Designer to join the Consumer Experience Design team to design user interfaces and experiences that are useful, usable and desirable.

Key Responsibilities

• In this role, you will help create the user interaction model, information architecture, visual design, prototypes, and guidelines for McAfee user interfaces.
• You will create UI requirements based on product requirements, UI guidelines, user research, functional requirements, business goals, and company-wide strategic objectives.
• You will also participate in rapid design exploration and presentation of future product concepts, present ideas and designs in tangible forms (e.g., sketches, graphic mockups, prototypes), and work closely with development teams to ensure that design specifications are implemented accurately and integrate with existing frameworks.
• You may also have the opportunity to participate in or conduct user and design research including: usability studies, ethnographic field research, user surveys, prototype testing, competitive product analysis, and latest industry & design trend research.

Required Qualifications

• 5+ years designing user interfaces as a member of a user experience and design team
• Excellent understanding of principles of interface design and use of interactive technologies to build relationships with users
• Understanding of how Interaction Design relates to Web Design and Visual Design in building useful and compelling products
• Proven experience developing innovative and creative solutions to complex problems
• Ability to be self-managed while working on several projects simultaneously in a collaborative environment
• Experience with any of the following a strong plus: HTML/DHMTL, CSS, JavaScript AJAX
• Experience working on Consumer and Mobile products a strong plus
• Bachelors or Masters in Graphic Design, Information Systems, Interface Design, HCI, Human Factors, Computer Science, and/or Cognitive Psychology

To apply

Please apply online for this position.

July 2015: Informal pub meetup

It’s time to savour that summer feeling with a July uxWaterloo session that features informal talk and drinks. We do this every July and August and the laid-back atmosphere and conversations are a welcome addition to any summer schedule. Join us!

And, as has become a yearly tradition, count on hearing from Bob and Mark with an an update on Fluxible 2015.

Please register for this free event

Thursday July 16, 2015
5:30 to 7:00 pm
Patio at The Barley Works
(upstairs in the Huether Hotel)
59 King St. North
Waterloo, Ontario

Job: Senior UX Lead at Quarry

Type: Full-time
Location: St. Jacobs, Ontario

Quarry helps clients connect with their buyers and build their businesses by utilizing the power of customer insight. We leverage deep, global experience in persona development, strategic segmentation, user experience design, digital strategy and solution development, demand generation strategies and tactics, marketing automation, creative services and content asset development, channel marketing, and sales enablement tools to create buying experiences that fit with the way customers want to engage.

Currently, we have an immediate need for a full-time Senior UX Lead to join our fast-paced, talented team. The UX Lead will champion the role, contributions and practices of information, and interaction design, working to bring the power of well-designed experiences to Fortune 500 clients. The UX Lead will work alongside our creative arts, digital development and project management professionals, collaborating firsthand with clients to produce effective designs on time and on budget. As the Senior UX Lead on the team, you will also leverage your leadership and coaching abilities to nurture the talents and contributions of other UX Designers under your supervision

What you’ll be doing:

• Leading and acting as champion for the user throughout the user-centered design process
• Conducting contextual research for user and task analysis
• Gathering and incorporating the needs, requirements and perspectives of product managers and end users into designs
• Generating consistent and compelling user experiences across all products and services you work on
• Constructing prototypes and writing design specifications
• Designing and facilitating usability tests and other assessment activities
• Presenting to both colleagues and clients, as required

What we’re seeking:

• Bachelor’s degree with 4–5 years of industry experience
• Expertise in key tenets of engaging interface design and methods
• Proficiency in designing UI architecture and creating wireframes that address interactions, behaviors and page layout
• The ability to bring simplicity and usability to complicated data interactions and flows
• Experience with Illustrator, Photoshop, Fireworks, Visio, Axure and similar tools is required
• The ability to create functional prototypes would be an asset
• Experience with Responsive Web Design (RWD) principles and practices would be an asset
• An understanding of current front-end web technologies like HTML5, CSS3, etc. would be an asset
• Strong interpersonal skills and ability to work well as part of a team
• The ability to effectively express ideas and opinions in a constructive and productive manner, both verbally and in writing
• Experience with coaching and leading a team of UX Designers to help them contribute effectively as well as grow in their professional capacity
• A positive and optimistic attitude towards the role, confidence to tackle tough design challenges and a desire to exceed client expectations

About Quarry

Quarry is the buyer experience agency for savvy marketers who want to transform their brands. Our clients span a broad range of industries and audiences, with one element in common: all market highly engineered goods and services across a complex buying journey.

Interested applicants, please send an email to Shelley Facey, Director of People (careers@quarry.com) with your resume and cover letter to let us know why you’re the perfect fit for this role.

Jobs: Design Positions at BlackBerry

The lovely people over at BlackBerry are looking for a variety of UX Designers, Graphic Designers, and Motion Designers in Waterloo, Ottawa, or Toronto. Check out a sampling of the postings below.

There are a total of 13 jobs posted for design at BlackBerry!

• Visual Lead
• Senior Interaction Design
• Senior Visual Design
• Interaction Designer
• Motion Graphic Designer

Follow the links for details on the positions and how to apply.

June 2015: UX Show and Tell

Have you ever wondered what others in our UX community are working on? What challenges they’ve wrestled with, and what accomplishments they’re proud of? Join us this month to satisfy that curiosity while connecting with your peers in the region.

Event Format

We’ll schedule a series of short presentations followed by round-table discussions with the whole group. Presenters will show examples of their work with the purpose of either:

• receiving useful feedback, or
• sharing effective solutions they’ve created to design problems.

If you don’t want to bring anything to show, you’re more than welcome to attend and contribute to the discussion.

Presenters

Presentation slots are open to anyone who RSVPs. We may not have time to accept all applications, so please tell us a bit about what you have in mind when you RSVP (Meetup will provide a place for you to do this). We’ll then select presentations to ensure a good variety that sparks interesting discussions.

Note that people of all experience levels are invited to participate: you don’t have to be a seasoned expert to show off what you’re working on!

What to Present

Feel free to show deliverables from your current work, old jobs, side projects, or anything else you need help with or think could benefit others.

Drafts, work in progress, and finished products are welcome from across the UX spectrum from research through design in all its flavours. All we ask is that you have something tangible to show and that it will be of general interest (in other words, your demo won’t require knowledge of a niche domain).

Examples include but aren’t limited to:

• Personas, scenarios, and other research artifacts
• Concept and mental model diagrams
• Journey maps
• Wireframes
• Visual comps
• Prototypes
• Finished products

If you have paper artifacts, we suggest capturing digital versions (even photos) so they can be displayed on a projector for all to see. Wireless internet will be available.

Please RSVP for this free event

Remember, we’re now using Meetup.com to manage our monthly sessions. Join us there!

Thursday June 25, 2015
5:30-7:00pm
Boltmade Inc.
187 King St North
2nd Floor
Waterloo, ON
N2J 1R1

[View on Google Maps]

Jobs: UX teaching positions at BrainStation

The folks at BrainStation are looking for some help teaching a UX course at the Communitech Hub in Kitchener. Here are the roles that they’re looking to fill.

Lead Educator – UX Design

Classroom Manager – User Experience Design

Teaching Assistant – UX Design

Follow the links for details on the positions and how to apply.