Re: [IxDA Discuss] JOB - User Experience Designer at Blitz
1) No CMS (that I know of), so content usually changes very slowly, because you have to upload a whole new Flash package to make the smallest change. Totally wrong. There are plenty of CMS solutions out there, further more good frameworks such as Gaia. You must be reffering to flash 2.0 or something like that. 2) Little SEO, so the company is obviously not interested in being found by a search engine. That's OK, I guess, but a little short- sighted in my opinion. Anywhere you can get someone to find you is a potential piece of work. Again wrong! You can booth deeplink plus google nowaday actually spider your flash files. Further more you seem to be under the impression that a company like Blitz would need SEO the way other products would need it. That is obviously wrong by any extent. Companies like Blitz do good work people will come to them. Companies like Blitz are not in the SEO game. 3) No blog integration (that I know of), and the companies that I like often have a blog. It gives me a little hint as to what they think and where their priorities are. Again wrong 4) Not viewable on an iPhone (or most others, for that matter). That means that if you are on the road and trying to reach them, need a contact number or email and not at a desktop, you are out of luck. In this case, they don't even redirect to a page with directions - you just get a page that doesn't render properly. That's just not acceptable. As far as I know flash have been around for a long long time, way longer than the iPhone. Normally one would say that the player that enters the game latest should know the game. The problem is not that flash cannot be played on the iPhone but that the iPhone don't allow for it. 6) The whole rotating thing that people do with Flash always reminds me of neon signs and electronic billboards (and scoreboards). In a word, tacky and irritating. Now, that isn't exactly a problem with Flash, but with how companies like this one use it on their Web sites. If they want to present themselves as tasteless and in-your-face, that might work for some clients, but it's not a company I'd want to work for either. All you seem to be doing here is illustrate that you don't understand the context these guys work in. I am amazed that you could even make up that list as it seem so far from reality. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Posted from the new ixda.org http://www.ixda.org/discuss?post=45653 Welcome to the Interaction Design Association (IxDA)! To post to this list ... disc...@ixda.org Unsubscribe http://www.ixda.org/unsubscribe List Guidelines http://www.ixda.org/guidelines List Help .. http://www.ixda.org/help
Re: [IxDA Discuss] JOB - User Experience Designer at Blitz
Hey, there's no need to get upset here. 1) No CMS (that I know of), so content usually changes very slowly, because you have to upload a whole new Flash package to make the smallest change. Totally wrong. There are plenty of CMS solutions out there, further more good frameworks such as Gaia. You must be reffering to flash 2.0 or something like that. I said 'That I know of'. It's true that I'm bit familiar with Gaia, but I doubt if they are using that. Please list a single CMS (preferably not hacked) solution for Flash instead of simply saying 'totally wrong'. About the only thing I've seen that comes close is http://www.flashxmleditor.com/ , (which seems pretty limited from their demo) but I'd be happy to learn of something more than that. 2) Little SEO, so the company is obviously not interested in being found by a search engine. That's OK, I guess, but a little short- sighted in my opinion. Anywhere you can get someone to find you is a potential piece of work. Again wrong! You can booth deeplink plus google nowaday actually spider your flash files. I would challenge any Flash site to get as high on search engine results as a continuously optimized one in HTML. I'd also like to see one that can include HTML snippets that make it easy to to SIte Analytics. As for deeplinking, IMHO, that's a pretty awkward mechanism in Flash, and hardly one I'd want to rely on for my site getting the kind of hits I'd want. Further more you seem to be under the impression that a company like Blitz would need SEO the way other products would need it. That is obviously wrong by any extent. Companies like Blitz do good work people will come to them. Companies like Blitz are not in the SEO game. That's the kind of arrogance that I saw with the company I left (as I made clear). 'We don't need SEO' they said. Fine. I don't agree with that strategy, but that doesn't make me (once again) 'wrong' because that's a strategic decision with no right or wrong answer, not a technological one. 3) No blog integration (that I know of), and the companies that I like often have a blog. It gives me a little hint as to what they think and where their priorities are. Again wrong Again, please point out how you integrate a blog into Flash instead of just saying 'wrong'. 4) Not viewable on an iPhone (or most others, for that matter). That means that if you are on the road and trying to reach them, need a contact number or email and not at a desktop, you are out of luck. In this case, they don't even redirect to a page with directions - you just get a page that doesn't render properly. That's just not acceptable. As far as I know flash have been around for a long long time, way longer than the iPhone. Normally one would say that the player that enters the game latest should know the game. The problem is not that flash cannot be played on the iPhone but that the iPhone don't allow for it. The length of time either technology has been around is irrelevant, but a convenient excuse. A redirect based on a mobile device accessing the site, and a page that shows the address and phone number is not rocket science. I'm not saying that the site is broken because a iPhone can't display Flash. Even if it could, displaying this site in a tiny window wold be ridiculous - it's made for a huge screen. 6) The whole rotating thing that people do with Flash always reminds me of neon signs and electronic billboards (and scoreboards). In a word, tacky and irritating. Now, that isn't exactly a problem with Flash, but with how companies like this one use it on their Web sites. If they want to present themselves as tasteless and in-your-face, that might work for some clients, but it's not a company I'd want to work for either. All you seem to be doing here is illustrate that you don't understand the context these guys work in. I am amazed that you could even make up that list as it seem so far from reality. What's amazing to me is how hostile your tone is. I'm merely saying that this site, as well as a lot of other sites that use Flash, are ones that I find flawed. As for as not understanding the context they work in, I've worked in their industry for 20 years. Please calm down. Welcome to the Interaction Design Association (IxDA)! To post to this list ... disc...@ixda.org Unsubscribe http://www.ixda.org/unsubscribe List Guidelines http://www.ixda.org/guidelines List Help .. http://www.ixda.org/help
Re: [IxDA Discuss] JOB - User Experience Designer at Blitz
On 15/09/2009, at 23:11, Thomas Petersen wrote: Companies like Blitz are not in the SEO game. The point is not about the company wanting to rank higher on Google, nor about the website being search engine friendly. Is about supporting users. Understanding and supporting user goals is what Interaction Design is about. -- Santiago Bustelo, Icograma Buenos Aires, Argentina // IxDA Buenos Aires: http://www.ixda.com.ar Welcome to the Interaction Design Association (IxDA)! To post to this list ... disc...@ixda.org Unsubscribe http://www.ixda.org/unsubscribe List Guidelines http://www.ixda.org/guidelines List Help .. http://www.ixda.org/help
Re: [IxDA Discuss] JOB - User Experience Designer at Blitz
The point is not about the company wanting to rank higher on Google, nor about the website being search engine friendly. Is about supporting users. Understanding and supporting user goals is what Interaction Design is about. And given that Blitz delivers flash solutions it obviously makes sense to show what they can do in flash. THAT is understanding users. I don't know else you would propose? Flash is deeplinkable and if anyone actually took the time to look then they would notice that that is what blitz did. http://www.blitzagency.com/ourWork.aspx?template=brandStoryexpertise=40brandId=3 So it is quite accesible for SEO even thought that is not really what is necessary for blitz. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Posted from the new ixda.org http://www.ixda.org/discuss?post=45653 Welcome to the Interaction Design Association (IxDA)! To post to this list ... disc...@ixda.org Unsubscribe http://www.ixda.org/unsubscribe List Guidelines http://www.ixda.org/guidelines List Help .. http://www.ixda.org/help
Re: [IxDA Discuss] JOB - User Experience Designer at Blitz
And take a look at the source... You are speaking of your own prejudice about flash not about Blitz actual usage of it. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Posted from the new ixda.org http://www.ixda.org/discuss?post=45653 Welcome to the Interaction Design Association (IxDA)! To post to this list ... disc...@ixda.org Unsubscribe http://www.ixda.org/unsubscribe List Guidelines http://www.ixda.org/guidelines List Help .. http://www.ixda.org/help
Re: [IxDA Discuss] JOB - User Experience Designer at Blitz
I said 'That I know of'. It's true that I'm bit familiar with Gaia, but I doubt if they are using that. Please list a single CMS (preferably not hacked) solution for Flash instead of simply saying 'totally wrong'. About the only thing I've seen that comes close is http://www.flashxmleditor.com/ , (which seems pretty limited from their demo) but I'd be happy to learn of something more than that. Why does it matter whether they use it or not? You said they werent around so far we have talked about two of them. Then there is http://www.flashloaded.com/flashcomponents/fcms/ http://flashblocks.com/ http://www.comatool.com/ These are just a few there are many more. Furthermore since it's all XML it quite easy to hook most CMS systems up with it. And Gaia is quite a good framework with tons of big clients who uses it. I would challenge any Flash site to get as high on search engine results as a continuously optimized one in HTML. I'd also like to see one that can include HTML snippets that make it easy to to SIte Analytics. As for deeplinking, IMHO, that's a pretty awkward mechanism in Flash, and hardly one I'd want to rely on for my site getting the kind of hits I'd want. You are really missing the point. Blitz delivers flash sites among other things for their clients. Their clients don't look for flash companies, they are not in the SEO game neither is most agancies. You are confusing herbalife and viagra with the agency business. Here referrals and network is king not SEO. Furthermore if you actually took the time to look at the source code you would see that it's pretty well covered with regards to SEO. Don't take my word for it, investigate it yourself. That's the kind of arrogance that I saw with the company I left (as I made clear). 'We don't need SEO' they said. Fine. I don't agree with that strategy, but that doesn't make me (once again) 'wrong' because that's a strategic decision with no right or wrong answer, not a technological one. Why is that arrogance? Some companies don't need SEO. But if your argument is don't do flash because of SEO then you are not only wrong, it's you who are arrogant IMO. There is plenty of opportunity to do SEO today even with flash sites. You bring up criticism that have long been solved. Again, please point out how you integrate a blog into Flash instead of just saying 'wrong' Depends obviously on what kind of blog you are talking about. Fantasy Interactive did a blog only in flash at one point. But why would you do it anyway? Normally you would do you blog in HTML but that is not a reason not to use Flash. Look at how blitz do it, it's not just as simple as a flash site. It's much more than that. Even if it could, displaying this site in a tiny window wold be ridiculous - it's made for a huge screen. So are websites, that's hardly a problem with flash. What's amazing to me is how hostile your tone is. I'm merely saying that this site, as well as a lot of other sites that use Flash, are ones that I find flawed. As for as not understanding the context they work in, I've worked in their industry for 20 years. Please calm down. Not hostile, just tired. You arguments are totally ignorant of where flash actually are today. That is what annoys me, it wasn't meant to be hostile. As for as not understanding the context they work in, I've worked in their industry for 20 years. ehm didn't you just yourself say: The length of time either technology has been around is irrelevant, but a convenient excuse. :) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Posted from the new ixda.org http://www.ixda.org/discuss?post=45653 Welcome to the Interaction Design Association (IxDA)! To post to this list ... disc...@ixda.org Unsubscribe http://www.ixda.org/unsubscribe List Guidelines http://www.ixda.org/guidelines List Help .. http://www.ixda.org/help
Re: [IxDA Discuss] JOB - User Experience Designer at Blitz
This sounds like a company that should hire a UX Designer! Scott On Wed, Sep 16, 2009 at 3:41 AM, Santiago Bustelo santi...@bustelo.com.ar wrote: On 15/09/2009, at 23:11, Thomas Petersen wrote: Companies like Blitz are not in the SEO game. The point is not about the company wanting to rank higher on Google, nor about the website being search engine friendly. Is about supporting users. Understanding and supporting user goals is what Interaction Design is about. -- You always have the carny connection. - Clair High Welcome to the Interaction Design Association (IxDA)! To post to this list ... disc...@ixda.org Unsubscribe http://www.ixda.org/unsubscribe List Guidelines http://www.ixda.org/guidelines List Help .. http://www.ixda.org/help
[IxDA Discuss] JOB - User Experience Designer at Blitz
Looking for a User Experience Designer Blitz BLITZ Agency (http://www.blitzagency.com), located in Southern California, is looking for a UX Designer who is living the digital lifestyle, is passionate about building great user experiences and committed to client success. The candidate we seek will hit the ground running and possess a strong interpersonal dynamic and energy level to match. If interested please reply to this thread or email ssc...@blitzagency.com. **Overview** The UX Designer will be responsible under the direction of the Director of UX, for producing innovative Interaction Design Models, Functional Specs, Sitemaps, Use Case Scenarios, End User Personas, and wireframes in order to provide the companys design and development teams with a clear road map, including all the information necessary to execute BLITZs and our clients vision for a variety of interactive projects. **Qualifications** Bachelor's degree preferred in design-related discipline: Interaction, Information or Interface design; Human-Computer Interaction; Communications; 2+ years of applicable industry experience; Candidates must be well-versed in user-centered design methods and techniques; Proficient to expert in: Visio, PowerPoint, Photoshop; Must have project experience working with teams on large scale, long-term projects; Excellent analytical and process-oriented skills; Excellent verbal and written skills; Experience in working on multiple projects simultaneously; Prior experience in a software or game design environment or interactive agency preferred. Welcome to the Interaction Design Association (IxDA)! To post to this list ... disc...@ixda.org Unsubscribe http://www.ixda.org/unsubscribe List Guidelines http://www.ixda.org/guidelines List Help .. http://www.ixda.org/help
Re: [IxDA Discuss] JOB - User Experience Designer at Blitz
BLITZ. An entire site done in Flash? Seems like the place to go if you want to experience the sizzle without the bacon. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Posted from the new ixda.org http://www.ixda.org/discuss?post=45653 Welcome to the Interaction Design Association (IxDA)! To post to this list ... disc...@ixda.org Unsubscribe http://www.ixda.org/unsubscribe List Guidelines http://www.ixda.org/guidelines List Help .. http://www.ixda.org/help
Re: [IxDA Discuss] JOB - User Experience Designer at Blitz
BLITZ. An entire site done in Flash? Seems like the place to go if you want the sizzle without the bacon. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Posted from the new ixda.org http://www.ixda.org/discuss?post=45653 Welcome to the Interaction Design Association (IxDA)! To post to this list ... disc...@ixda.org Unsubscribe http://www.ixda.org/unsubscribe List Guidelines http://www.ixda.org/guidelines List Help .. http://www.ixda.org/help
Re: [IxDA Discuss] JOB - User Experience Designer at Blitz
That's a little uncalled for, don't you think? Looks like they do some pretty solid Flash work for their clients and their site reflects that. I'd be interested in the position if it weren't in LA... -MIKE D On Tue, Sep 15, 2009 at 1:23 PM, Kevin Cornwall kcornw...@flytrapinteractive.com wrote: BLITZ. An entire site done in Flash? Seems like the place to go if you want to experience the sizzle without the bacon. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Posted from the new ixda.org http://www.ixda.org/discuss?post=45653 Welcome to the Interaction Design Association (IxDA)! To post to this list ... disc...@ixda.org 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 ... disc...@ixda.org Unsubscribe http://www.ixda.org/unsubscribe List Guidelines http://www.ixda.org/guidelines List Help .. http://www.ixda.org/help
Re: [IxDA Discuss] JOB - User Experience Designer at Blitz
RE: BLITZ. An entire site done in Flash? Seems like the place to go if you want to experience the sizzle without the bacon. I've never understood the flat-out bias against Flash/Flex sites. Use it if you want, don't if you don't. Use it piece-meal, use it 100%. Depends on the experience you want. I'd like to see someone pull this off in AJAX or .NET or PHP: http://www.ff.com Almost all the arguments against 100% Flash/Flex sites of yester-year are moot nowadays. And as far as BLITZ is concerned - they build some freaking awesome stuff. Anyone would be lucky to work for them. Brandon E. B. Ward brandonebw...@gmail.com UI • UX • Ix Design Flex • Flash Development Portfolio: http://www.uxd.me LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/in/brandonebward VisualCV: http://www.visualcv.com/brandonebward A human being should be able to change a diaper, plan an invasion, butcher a hog, conn a ship, design a building, write a sonnet, balance accounts, build a wall, set a bone, comfort the dying, take orders, give orders, cooperate, act alone, solve equations, analyze a new problem, pitch manure, program a computer, cook a tasty meal, fight efficiently, die gallantly. Specialization is for insects. - Robert A. Heinlein On Sep 16, 2009, at 9:42 AM, Michael Dunn wrote: That's a little uncalled for, don't you think? Looks like they do some pretty solid Flash work for their clients and their site reflects that. I'd be interested in the position if it weren't in LA... -MIKE D On Tue, Sep 15, 2009 at 1:23 PM, Kevin Cornwall kcornw...@flytrapinteractive.com wrote: . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Posted from the new ixda.org http://www.ixda.org/discuss?post=45653 Welcome to the Interaction Design Association (IxDA)! To post to this list ... disc...@ixda.org 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 ... disc...@ixda.org 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 ... disc...@ixda.org Unsubscribe http://www.ixda.org/unsubscribe List Guidelines http://www.ixda.org/guidelines List Help .. http://www.ixda.org/help
Re: [IxDA Discuss] JOB - User Experience Designer at Blitz
Without getting into one of those endless Flash=bad/Flash=good arguments, my beefs with Flash for a company's web site are: 1) No CMS (that I know of), so content usually changes very slowly, because you have to upload a whole new Flash package to make the smallest change. 2) Little SEO, so the company is obviously not interested in being found by a search engine. That's OK, I guess, but a little short- sighted in my opinion. Anywhere you can get someone to find you is a potential piece of work. 3) No blog integration (that I know of), and the companies that I like often have a blog. It gives me a little hint as to what they think and where their priorities are. 4) Not viewable on an iPhone (or most others, for that matter). That means that if you are on the road and trying to reach them, need a contact number or email and not at a desktop, you are out of luck. In this case, they don't even redirect to a page with directions - you just get a page that doesn't render properly. That's just not acceptable. 5) Most of the time, you can do what an all Flash site does with an embedded Flash piece where you need it, which solves problems 1, 2 and 3. In this case, that city photo they have with the helicopter and lightning is cute but completely unnecessary. They seem to have avoided the 100% Flash situation, but the page doesn't render well without it anyway, which breaks the rule of failing gracefully. For a company home page,I submit that's again, not acceptable. 6) The whole rotating thing that people do with Flash always reminds me of neon signs and electronic billboards (and scoreboards). In a word, tacky and irritating. Now, that isn't exactly a problem with Flash, but with how companies like this one use it on their Web sites. If they want to present themselves as tasteless and in-your-face, that might work for some clients, but it's not a company I'd want to work for either. Full disclosure: I recently quit working for a company that had an all Flash site.. My title was VP of Creative Solutions.The CEO insisted that some day Flash would replace HTML on the Web. I told him he was wrong, plus most of the above. They went with it anyway, despite my vehement protests. Since then, most of people who were working for them have left and they are being sued by a Placement Agency. Welcome to the Interaction Design Association (IxDA)! To post to this list ... disc...@ixda.org Unsubscribe http://www.ixda.org/unsubscribe List Guidelines http://www.ixda.org/guidelines List Help .. http://www.ixda.org/help
Re: [IxDA Discuss] JOB - User Experience Designer at Blitz
On 15/09/2009, at 23:01, Brandon E. B. Ward wrote: Almost all the arguments against 100% Flash/Flex sites of yester- year are moot nowadays. They are not. That's why BLITZ's website is not 100% Flash. Regarding user experience on 100% Flash websites: while it's fun to make Bobby run and fly around Red's website, I'm less thrilled about their use of Click here as the only affordance (?) for a link on the home page's main story. -- Santiago Bustelo, Icograma Buenos Aires, Argentina // IxDA Buenos Aires: http://www.ixda.com.ar Welcome to the Interaction Design Association (IxDA)! To post to this list ... disc...@ixda.org Unsubscribe http://www.ixda.org/unsubscribe List Guidelines http://www.ixda.org/guidelines List Help .. http://www.ixda.org/help
