Hey Matthew, Congrats on the step forward. We made a similar move about a year ago - but not with a pure GD - we brought on a GD/VizDev (visual developer) with a passion for usability, accessibility and standards. We are based in Lebanon so finding him was a beyond a challenge and I have no practical advice in that area for you (he just fell into our laps).
However, my comments are about what happened after we hired him. We found that our interaction designers (we call them analysts) were used to working without him and we didn't successfully integrate him into our process until very recently. This resulted in some strong disconnects between his ideas and those of the analysts, mainly because he didn't always have the full picture of the requirements driving solutions, and his contributions would sometimes require throwing out core ideas the analysts had come up with. We needed to make some changes to our methodology as well as to our own ideas about where he fit in the team. We also needed to create a clearer distinction between visual and interactive design elements since our analysts had been covering a lot of both before he joined. Today, we are involving him in the requirements collection/analysis and solutions conceptualization process just like any of the analysts. This ensures he has the same info the analysts do, and that his ideas are totally integrated from day one. Cheers, Jennifer Jennifer Carey element^n +961 4 533 040 ext. 3030 (office) +961 4 533 040 ext. 2105 (direct) +961 3 767 165 (mobile) -----Original Message----- From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] On Behalf Of Matthew Taylor Sent: Monday, December 01, 2008 9:37 AM To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subject: [IxDA Discuss] Visual Design Candidates Hello List, Have been tasked with ramping up the UX/UE roles at my company (I currently occupy the IxD role). One of the areas I have identified that we do not currently have dedicated staff for are Visual Designers. We have capable people, but no one that specializes in web application interface mock ups/visual comps. (I'm sure a lot of small web app. companies fall into this category). Anyone that has been given the opportunity to sign on a dedicated designer/design team can understand my excitement and anticipation! So my question is: Does anyone have any recommendations for a reputable firm/firms that specializes in web application mock ups/visual comps? Additionally, for those who have had to slate this role before, do you have any take-aways or advice for me in the selection (or post hire) process? Any and all feedback is appreciated! ________________________________________________________________ Reply to this thread at ixda.org http://www.ixda.org/discuss?post=36072 ________________________________________________________________ Welcome to the Interaction Design Association (IxDA)! To post to this list ....... [EMAIL PROTECTED] Unsubscribe ................ http://www.ixda.org/unsubscribe List Guidelines ............ http://www.ixda.org/guidelines List Help .................. http://www.ixda.org/help ________________________________________________________________ Welcome to the Interaction Design Association (IxDA)! To post to this list ....... [EMAIL PROTECTED] Unsubscribe ................ http://www.ixda.org/unsubscribe List Guidelines ............ http://www.ixda.org/guidelines List Help .................. http://www.ixda.org/help
