what i do

I am an user experience designer for web applications. User experience is also referred to as UX. Recognition of the term is increasing slowly. Overall I look at the user's overall experience and satisfaction with web applications. The experience includes visual appearance (look & feel), interaction and assistance capabilities.

Have you ever tried using a website that you could not tell which end is up or which button to push? That's what I aim to prevent.

Being a web designer is a component of the process, but there is more involved that just making the screen look "pretty". While designing you have to ask if the user will understand the terminology, find the interaction efficient, and be able to quickly learn and understand the screen's intention.

I create various levels of prototypes to help demonstrate how the system will work. Some prototypes are just simple drawings on paper while others are web-based clickable web pages. Don't forget that a picture is worth a 1000 words. I will also jump in and help with other stages of the software development lifecycle because in some situations it is "all hands on deck" to make the release date.

keeping up

I am also working on learning new design and coding techniques that improve accessibility. The Internet is constantly changing and new approaches are being discovered frequently.

Online communities and other social networking sites are very helpful in finding out new information. More books are becoming available on the subject. The key is to keep learning. Writing down what I've learned in my own words helps me remember and maybe by writing down the information someone else will learn something new as well.

web browser support

Choosing which web browsers to support is a tricky question. There is not a standard right answer. The answer needs to come from the intended user community.

There is also a difference between pixel-perfect support and usable support. The key is the support the majority of users to a "perfect" degree and still make the website available to older browsers.

Current I aim for pixel-perfect support across modern browsers and relatively pixel-close in Internet Explorer 6.