User Experience

Noomii – UE/Web Designer

Vancouver, BC

Noomii is a Vancouver-based web startup in need of a full-time UE/web designer who is interested in making our site look great and work with intuitive ease.

At the minimum, you should be well versed in modern markup and design techniques. You understand the importance of markup validity and keep style and content separate. You should have an established portfolio of web-based work showcasing your visual design and technical layout skills. You have experience dealing with and resolving cross browser CSS issues (*though this is a bit easier at noomii since we’ve dropped support for IE6).

In addition to making things look good, you should be a "UE" nerd. You should be keenly considerate of how every detail in your design affects navigation and usage. You will create mock-ups and paper-based designs for new features, convert mock-ups into working HTML files and sit in on live user-testing for feedback on our product.

Above all the skills necessary to fulfill this job, you are passionate and excited about the emergence of web-based applications and the advancement of UI principles. You focus on the details and get things done right.

This position is being offered as a short-term contract and if you prove to be the the right fit, we want to hire you full-time with additional benefits and potential stock options.

You must work in our Vancouver office. Telecommuting is not an option. Do not contact us if you do not live in (or are not willing to relocate to) the Vancouver area.

Required skills and experience

Have ‘owned’ the CSS on an interactive website
Understand everything comes down to user experience
Paper prototyping
HTML and advanced CSS layout / design
Photoshop or Illustrator
Javascript experience (ideally jQuery)
Simplicity
Elegance

Nice to have

Multiple device/media layouts (ie. for iPhones)
Color theory
Conducted and observed user-testing
Developed a design guide
SEO

About Us

Noomii launched in October 2008 (http://www.noomii.com). Since then we have had steady user-growth and positive press.

If you want to directly contribute to a great product, work in an exciting and fast-paced environment, and join our growing team of top-notch developers, send your resume to [email protected].

Akoha – Experience Designer

by davidcrow

Montreal, QC

Original posting on StandoutJobs

Title: Experience Designer to help design a better world.

Location: Montreal, Canada.

Languages: Must be extremely fluent in written and spoken English. French an bonus.

Compensation: TBD based on experience.

Summary: Akoha, an online social reality game is seeking a User Experience guru

Come and join Akoha as we create the game that will make the world a better place!

About Akoha

Akoha is a funded startup making the world’s first social reality game. We’re a small team of startup veterans from the Internet, venture capital and gaming communities in Montreal. We’ve hit the stage at TechCrunch50 and TED 2009 and are some of the pioneers in using games to make the world a better place. We want to change the way people think about how on-line communities can affect their real-world lives.

What we’re looking for is an Experience Designer who wants to design a better world.

You deeply believe that great design can change the world and you’re just looking for the opportunity to make it a reality.

We’re looking for a key User Experience guru to help the passionate team at Akoha take our design skills to the next level. For the right candidate this is the opportunity of a lifetime to join a well-funded, experienced team with a killer idea on the brink of a break-out success. We believe that creating incredible product design expertise throughout the company will be a key component of Akoha’s success and we’ll stop at nothing to ensure we find the right person to lead the charge.

You know you’re the right candidate if you’re a self-proclaimed design-freak. You notice great design everywhere and anywhere. From the simple pen that writes perfectly to the five-star hotel that provides your every whim before you’re even aware of it, designing these experiences makes you as giddy as a schoolgirl. You have a great combination of practical, theoretical and team management experience and has demonstrated the ability to instill a world-class internal design culture.

Reporting to the VP of Product Development, you and our development team will bring Akoha to the next level. Your primary responsibility is to delight our players in every way imaginable.

The Perfect Candidate

You know you’re the perfect candidate if you:

Push the boundaries: You’re an leader in the UX field (maybe just waiting to be discovered) but despite getting great results you’re constantly looking for ways to push the boundaries. You relish the opportunity to get together with other leaders in the field to trade ideas about how to integrate the new-new thing into your daily practice.

Lead the pack: Everyone says you’re the best at what you do. While your humility prevents you from tooting your own horn too loudly, you secretly know this to be true.

Self-proclaimed Design-Nerd: You own a t-shirt that says "Design will save the world! Just ask me how…" (and you deeply believe that). You see ways of using great design in every aspect of your life and examples of bad design make you feel physically unwell.

You’re Tough but Fair: While you understand that you’re not always right, you’re ready to make the call when necessary and you’re not afraid to ruffle some feathers to make sure that the user gets the experience that they deserve.

Awesome Facilitation Skills: While you’ve done it all before you know that getting the design right requires everyone’s input and creativity. You’ve worked hard to hone your facilitation skills but no-one would know that because you lead design sessions with the aplomb of a orchestra conductor.

You’re Never Satisfied: Your personal matra is the Fine Young Cannibals ’80 hit "I’m Not Satisfied". From your team’s performance to your own personal development, you’re constantly looking for ways to improve the things that you do. For you, "Good" is never good enough and "Great" can always be better.

You’re a Data Junkie: Stepping into do design without the right data just makes you feel dirty. Likewise, when the team has pushed the newest changes you’re stuck to the analytics page like bubble-gum in mop-top. Your know that pushing features without being able to track the results is just plain wrong and your dedication to user testing has been described as "religious".

Have Legendary Energy: Your colleagues wonder where you get all your energy and your team suspects that you may be using illegal substances to provide you with your unfailing pep (it’s not true). Your secret is that you love your work and it’s what gives you the drive to keep up the pace.

Bonus points awarded if:

Have a Love of Games and Game Design: You love games and you’ve designed games in your spare time (or ideally you’re a full-blown game designer!) You love all types of games and you play any type of game you can get your hands on: board-games, soduko, hide-and-seek, you name it. In your spare time and you justify your urge to buy the newest console game by saying that you need to "evaluate it for work".

What the Job Entails

Reporting to the VP of Product Development, your primary responsibility is to delight our players in every way imaginable. Other top-line responsibilities include:

Champion the development and evolution of Akoha’s in-house design practice;
Ensure that product design supports product and company strategies;
Work with players, partners, and teammates to gather and analyze qualitative and quantitative research;
Create and collaborate on, clear design documents that support product development;
Shape Akoha into a game that is both fun and magical for its players.

You have:

Years of UX design experience, working with a team that produced amazing results;
Designed web software that people love;
Design experience in other fields: game, print, landscape, fashion, etc.;
Lead a design process in another organization;
Amazing facilitation skills;
Fluent oral and written English, with French as a great asset;
A tendency to work hard and get stuff done, on-time, without breaking a sweat.

You like:

Free snack food, drinks, and pulling delicious shots of espresso.
Passionate co-workers who are as smart and enthusiastic as you are.
Optional Dress-Up Fridays. Every day is casual day, but sometimes you just have to rock out.
TEDtalks (especially the design ones)
Working with some of the leading change makers in the world who are fighting for the environment, battling poverty, funding education, improving health-care, and nurturing the arts.

Want to work with us? We want to talk to you.

Note: This is a full-time position, available immediately and based in Montreal (A beautiful city that we are happy to help you relocate to if you are not local)

How To Apply

We will not begin setup interviews with candidates until May 4th.

Please have your application submitted before that date. We want to give all applicants the time to put together a great application with all the trimmings. If you have another opportunity you are considering and need to hear from us please let us know and we’ll try to accomodate your schedule.

Required elements for your application:

Cover letter explaining why you would be perfect for this role
Your CV and portfolio
Links to any blog posts you’ve written on user experience design
Links to any talks you’ve presented
Any examples of your work you are free to share (stuff like User Mental Model Diagrams, Navigation Patterns Documents, Paper Prototype Documents, Storyboards or Sketchboards, Wireframes)
Something to surprise us and show us your personality

Apply for this Job

Trapeze – Usability Specialist

by davidcrow

Toronto, ON

Trapeze (www.trapeze.com), a leading interactive marketing agency is seeking a talented Usability Specialist to help contribute to the design and development of projects for clients such as: Bonefish Grill, CBS Television, Cineplex, Disney, Jaguar, LandRover, Mattel, MTV, Paramount, Pizza Hut and others.

Responsibilities

As a Usability Specialist with Trapeze, you’ll be accountable for:

Participating in project kickoff meetings, ideation sessions, design reviews
Conducting comprehensive usability site reviews
Researching, analyze and help define user needs and design approaches
Formulating UX concepts based on client documentation, business
objectives/requirements, and best practices
Documenting functional aspects, behaviours and experiences with the following
deliverables:
- mental models
- user contextual maps
- information maps
- information architecture diagrams
- wireframes and functional prototypes

Requirements

Understanding of information design, metadata and user centered design
principles and methods
Proficient in choice of IA, prototyping, and diagramming application (Visio, Axure, Omnigraffle, etc.)
Strong analytical skills and attention to detail
Effectively communicate designs and concepts visually and verbally
Familiar with industry trends in usability
Organized and ability to prioritize

Nice to Have

Qualitative and quantitative research skills
Experience with:
- facilitating usability testing, focus groups, customer interviews, card sorting
- survey design and implementation
- developing research-based personas
- data and statistical analysis

Key Attributes

Strong written and verbal communication skills
Able to work under tight timelines for demanding clients.
A good team player, with effective people management skills.
Ability to effectively solicit input from other skilled team members before deciding upon the best approach.
Understanding the big picture with a sense of empathy for the end user

Package/Benefits

Competitive compensation plan
Comprehensive health benefits plan (medical, dental, life insurance and disability)
Excellent working conditions
Career advancement opportunities

Apply

Email your current resume to [email protected] with the words “Usability Specialist” in the subject line. No calls, drop-ins or faxes, please.

PostRank – UI/UX Designer

by davidcrow

Waterloo, ON

Details from http://jobs.postrank.com/jobs/384-ux-ui-designer

AideRSS/PostRank is looking for a creative UX/UI designer to continue to build the company’s brand online and offline in the area of social media measurement. We offer a casual work environment, great location, competitive salary and a chance to hone your craft on state-of-the-art technology.

You will need to maintain the existing UI applications, as well as help define the information architecture and design of our upcoming tools and features. Apart from the implementation of the UI, you will also be responsible for helping drive graphical and interaction design. This is an innovation-rich technical leadership role, with the opportunity to influence the rest of the development team.

Requirements

Working knowledge of Photoshop / Corel / Illustrator, or parallel tools
Expert (X)HTML/CSS skills, with hands on knowledge of silly browser quirks
Proficiency in web-oriented JavaScript / AJAX / JQuery
Solid understanding of the graphical and interaction design aspects of UI development
Experience with usability testing, research and web analytics
Excellent understanding of programming fundamentals
Strong communication skills are essential
Portfolio of work and past projects

The following skills will be considered a plus:

Hands on experience with Rails
Hands on experience with JQuery
Ability to work well in a high tech start-up environment
You’re smart, quick out of the gate, thrive with strong colleagues and know how to get stuff done
An up to date blog

About AideRSS

AideRSS is a well-funded startup based in Waterloo, ON that develops innovative social media measurement tools for content publishers and to help readers find and Read What Matters.

We practice a Scrum/eXtreme Programming based agile development methodology. As such our environment is more collaborative than most, focusing on teamwork, constant feedback and informal communication. We primarily use open-source software, and believe in contributing back to the community.

Interested? We only hire the best. If this sounds like you then please send your resume and an email explaining why you are the right person for the job directly to [email protected].

Apply for this Job

RIM – Senior Interaction Designer (0900834)

by davidcrow

Ottawa, ON

Research In Motion Limited® (RIM)® is a world leader in the mobile communications market and has a history of developing breakthrough wireless solutions. RIM’s portfolio of award-winning products, services and embedded technologies is used by thousands of organizations around the world and includes the BlackBerry® wireless platform, the RIM Wireless HandheldT product line, software development tools and software/hardware licensing agreements. RIM is seeking driven individuals who can take our wireless data products to the next level in the global wireless market. Are you ready to make a difference in the world of mobile communications with RIM?

Position Summary

We are looking for Senior Interaction Designers to create compelling design solutions that cross both the mobile and desktop user experience, with a focus on media and content management for Mac/PC and Web applications.

You are passionate about design and prolific in creating engaging visual content and design interactions with a meticulous focus on simplicity and elegance. You are well versed in the tools of graphic design and animation and communicate your ideas and concepts effortlessly using storyboards, simulations, prototypes or videos.

Responsibilities

As a member of the IxD team you will help to further understand and define user behaviors and interactions, exploring and proposing innovative features, developing and refining concepts and playing a key role in their implementation. You will work in a cross-functional team that includes usability analysts, engineers, marketing, product managers, as well as other interface/visual designers. The ability to quickly grasp and distill highly complex matters are essential skills. You must be fluent in user centered design methodologies and information architecture and be able to apply this knowledge across a wide range of platforms. You will be responsible for presenting and documenting your user interfaces designs. You will be responsible for developing user interfaces designs specifications and guidelines.

As an advocate for the consumer, you strive for innovation and simplicity by leveraging research, strategic thinking and your experience, building relationships within a technology centric organization. Leading by example you will contribute directly to projects as well as through design direction, project reviews and leading brainstorming sessions. You will guide and mentor others on the team, sharing your personal strengths and experience.

Qualifications

Ability to formulate simple, elegant interaction design solutions
Ability to formulate and distill design rationale and guidelines for your work.
Attention to detail both functional and aesthetic
Demonstrate design solutions using interactive prototypes on handheld and PC
Ability to work on your own or as part of a team
Strong organizational skills and ability to prioritize work in a fast paced environment
A skilled communicator comfortable with meetings and presentations
Exceptional understanding of user centered design methods and principles
Experience with contextual and lab-based research methods
An understanding of underlying technical requirements and constraints
Practical knowledge of graphic design tools, such as Adobe Photoshop, Illustrator, Flash
BA in either Human Factors/HCI, Industrial Design, Multimedia Design or related field
A minimum of 7 years creating user experiences for commercial software
1-2 years experience in a senior design role

If you’re driven to take wireless technologies to the next level, it’s time you join the team at RIM. We offer a challenging environment that fosters creativity and rewards excellence. Employees also have use of our award winning BlackBerry!

Apply Online

BeSocial.com – Visual/Interaction Designer

by davidcrow

Mid-town Toronto, ON

Summary

Own the visual design that defines BeSocial.com as well as art direction and brand identity for the company.

About Us

Interested in working for a startup technology company with lots of energy and excitement? BeSocial.com is looking for the brightest and most talented candidates to join our team. We’re a small company based in Toronto with a great opportunity for anyone who joins to make a big impact.

At BeSocial, we value efficiency, working smart, and exceeding the status quo. We place great emphasis on maintaining a transparent and autonomous environment where everyone’s opinion is respected and where people’s contributions are acknowledged and rewarded. BeSocial is also proud to be an equal opportunity employer; we’re not influenced by race, colour, gender, sexual orientation, age, disability, religion, or any other factor irrelevant to doing a great job.

If you feel you’re up to the task, we’d love to meet you. If this is not a fit for you, please feel free to forward this message along to others who may be interested in learning about this opportunity.

The Ideal Profile

You’re an experienced user-centered designer focused on both visual and interaction design for the web.
You think strategically, deliver pixel-level detail, and have a passion for visually defining a brand. You also have a talent for understanding users and identifying their needs so that you can design and document solutions to real-life problems.

Responsibilities

Design various aspects of our online presence, such as web user interface design, page layouts, promotional landing pages, email newsletters/campaigns, and Flash banners.
Design (occasionally) graphic print pieces for marketing, developer communications, presentations at conferences and high profile meetings.
Maintain working knowledge of CSS and HTML (although another team member will be responsible for production code).
Quickly understand the constraints of a design challenge and identify the tradeoffs.
Monitor visual design consistency across all projects and mediums: layouts, color palettes, typography, iconography, etc.
Communicate your design thinking via thorough specifications and reviews. Produce design deliverables that are easily accessible by anyone in the company.
Provide feedback to the product development process and contribute to prioritizing work.
Work under the pressures of deadlines, handling multiple responsibilities simultaneously.
Contribute to a culture of innovation and teamwork.

Qualifications

3+ years visual design experience at an agency, studio or contractual work.
Extensive knowledge of visual design, information design, and interaction design.
BFA or MFA in Graphic Design, Digital Media Design or Visual Arts.
Required software and technical knowledge: Photoshop, Illustrator, and Fireworks.
Strong portfolio featuring design samples.
Experience with a version control system such as Subversion.
Proven ability to define problems and solutions independently and with teams.

Assets (not required)

Experience creating or maintaining visual interface guidelines.
Extensive knowledge of (X)HTML, CSS, JavaScript, AJAX and DOM. Also knowledgeable about degrading functionality and presentation gracefully when needed.
Full understanding of W3C standards, specifications, and best practices with respect to security, scalability, maintainability, reliability and usability, as well as cross-browser compatibility issues.
Desired software and technical knowledge: Flash.
Academic background in human factors/ergonomics, cognitive science, psychology or HCI.
Experience conducting user testing.
You love food and dining out, otherwise known as a Foodie.

Availability

Part-time, with the opportunity (and willingness) to join our growing team full-time.

Location

You’re preferably located near central/downtown Toronto and will work remotely from your home/office.

Compenstation

A competitive compensation and equity package will be negotiated based on experience and performance. Comprehensive health and dental benefits are available for full-timers.

Join Us…Apply Today!

Want to join us? Please send your resume and a cover letter with the subject "Your Name – Visual Designer – via BeSocial.com" to [email protected]. You must include a portfolio that shows deliverables you directly worked on. All communication and correspondence is held in the strictest confidence to ensure that you can connect and learn more without exposure.

Only those candidates who are considered for an interview will be contacted.