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Copywriter
My Client is seeking an interactive creative copywriter to concept, manage, and execute content for high profile rich media banner campaigns and websites. Campaigns will seek to drive program awareness, increase affinity for the brand, and drive click thru’s. The copywriter will work closely with the art director to ensure that the tone and style are consistent with the visuals, manage and respond to client feedback, and amend and revise campaigns based on performance.
Requirements
• Experience with concepting, campaign development, creative brief development, and creative execution of rich media banner campaigns
• 4-6 years interactive copywriting experience for national brands
• Experience and understanding of creative opportunities afforded by rich media technology
• Ability to articulate and present ideas effectively
• Ability to work with Art Directors to create a successful campaign
• Ability to respond to performance metrics to achieve client objectives
• A positive, professional attitude in a team setting
• Strong attention to detail
If you wish to be considered for this position please email a list of urls clearly explaining your involvement on each project along with a current resume.
SENIOR UI AND INTERACTION DESIGNER
Location
• San Jose, CA
Job Type
• Regular, full-time position.
My Client and their team is seeking an Senior UI and Interaction Designer to create user-centered design processes to make a more intuitive, frictionless and cohesive virtual world.
We’ll do this by working with the user interface team and improving core existing features of the site (from message boards to art arenas to trading, to stores, to profiles and journals) as well as introducing new features (we’ll tell you in person ?). The ideal candidate will help define and communicate the broader ‘gaia world’ vision and apply that to each feature.
Strong candidates will have experience leading the design for one or more complex web-based services and a broad understanding of the methods for their creation, including participatory design and rapid prototyping. The candidate can balance multiple projects and still see the bigger picture to make strategic decisions.
Requirements include a synchronized focus on conceptual design, detailed design and overall brand awareness all based on a passionate interest in and strong grasp of our wonderful users. This position offers a combination of hands-on design work and leadership opportunities. This is a regular, full-time senior position based in our HQ a few minutes north of the San Jose airport.
Responsibilities:
- Help make Gaiaonline easier and more intuitive (and more fun!) to use.
- Assess current site features and usage patterns
- Draft high-level user flow and navigation systems
- Create conceptual designs and page functionality and flows.
- Help drive methodology and promote good UI patterns
Skills & Qualifications:
- 4 years+ of user interface design experience.
- Strong conceptual design, collaborative, and organizational skills
- Dedication to detail and deadlines
- The ability to effectively negotiate interactions between designers and engineers.
- Enjoys leading and motivating others and being part of a fun-loving, hard working team.
- MS in human-computer interaction or related field preferred; BS in either Computer Science or Graphic Arts a plus.
- Strong graphic design skills.
- Demonstrated experience in designing extremely usable, consumer-oriented web-based interfaces.
- Excellent leadership, communication and teamwork skills.
- Experience in HTML, Javascript, and CSS.
- Strong conceptual skills
- Evidence of exceptional and innovative interface design work
- Strong understanding of human factors and usability best practices.
- A basic understanding of how web-based presentation layer technologies work and how to exploit them, including DHTML, Flash, and AJAX (do not need to be able to code)
- A strong understanding of visual design and how it can shape and influence user interface
-Good sense of humor ?.
Sr. Graphic Designer
SENIOR GRAPHIC DESIGNER
Location: San Jose, California
Job Type: Senior Graphic Designer
Status: Full-Time
My client’s creative team is seeking a Senior Graphic Designer to help lead the overall artistic vision and execution for the company. This is an opportunity to put your well honed skills and boundless creative energy to work in an environment filled with passionate people, exceptional creative talent and a truly unique mission. This position reports directly to the Senior Art Director.
The Sr. Designer will be responsible for driving exceptional creative from concept to completion in an environment of boundless creative opportunity. They will work collaboratively with the Creative Director and other creative team members including writers, designers and illustrators to bring the company’s strategy dramatically to life in the market place and expand the depth and breadth of the Gaia world. The Art Director will join a management team that includes User Experience, Illustration and 3D game design. The ideal candidate will posses formidable creative energy and the ability to help harness the substantial creativity of our art team and creative partners.
Key Responsibilities/Performance Requirements:
• World class creative thinking and exceptional design skills
• Multi-tasking and project management. Able to see creative projects through from concept to completion.
• Presenting creative solutions to management and project owners
• Ability to coordinate with outside agencies and manage internal clients
Required Skills:
• BA/BS in graphic design, advertising or related field
• Strong conceptual design, collaborative, and organizational skills
• 5-7 years related experience, agency experience a plus
• Adobe CS software, Flash
• Enjoys leading and motivating others and being part of a fun-loving, hard working team.
• Sense of humor
Copywriter
Location: San Jose, California
Job Type: Copywriter
Status: Full-Time
My Clients creative team is seeking a Copywriter to help craft the tone for marketing and corporate initiatives for the company. This is an opportunity to put your well honed skills and boundless creative energy to work in an environment filled with passionate people, exceptional creative talent and a truly unique mission. This position reports directly to the Senior Art Director.
The copywriter will be responsible for exceptional copy in an environment of boundless creative opportunity. They will work collaboratively with the other creative team members including writers, designers and illustrators to bring the company’s strategy dramatically to life in the market place and expand the depth and breadth of the Gaia world. The copywriter will join a team that includes User Experience, Illustration, and 3D game design. The ideal candidate will posses formidable creative energy and the ability to help harness the substantial creativity of our art team and creative partners.
Key Responsibilities/Performance Requirements:
• World class creative thinking for marketing and corporate initiatives
• Writing, editing, proofing projects from online/print advertisements to corporate website content
Required Skills:
• BA/BS in english, advertising or related field
• Strong conceptual, collaborative, and organizational skills
• 5-7 years related experience, agency experience a plus
• Branding experience a plus
• Enjoys leading and motivating others and being part of a fun-loving, hard working team.
• Sense of humor
Interactive Designer/ Developer
My Client is seeking an Interactive designer. Candidates should have 3 years of interactive design experience. They are looking for rare individuals that have a gift for original thinking, a broad exposure to design and design styles as well as having a mastery of the tools involved in developing the interactive medium. Candidates must have proficiency with PhotoShop, Freehand or Illustrator, 3d apps, Video editing, Sound design and HTML development tools. Candidate must have extreme proficiency with Flash motion development and actionscripting. He/she must have excellent communication skills and be a great team player. We are looking for people that are willing to work hard and grow.
We are currently not considering International candidates beyond Canada at this time. You must be a resident of or be willing to relocate to southern California. But hey it is not that bad we are a mile from the beach.
Executive Creative Director
To be posted on 3/25/08
Sr. Manager of IA
TITLE: Senior Manager, Information Architecture
DEPARTMENT: User Experience, Marketing
REPORTING TO: Sr. Manager, Information Architecture
GENERAL SUMMARY: The Senior Manager of Information Architecture is responsible for leading and managing a group of IAs in the definition and creation of the user experience (UE) at our client. This position requires a strong understanding of user-centered design techniques and cross-functional collaboration in a fast-paced environment, and requires the creation of a cohesive short- and long-term strategy across projects in a specific area of business focus. He / She advocates their team’s role and communicates the impact of the services they provide.
The Senior Manager, IA leads their team in collaboration with the design and development teams to build user experiences, and promotes successful cross-functional communication and partnerships with the UE team, business product management, program management and development functions. This includes the ability to communicate and consult with clients about the customer experience and business goals, the ability to create front-end solutions and strategies that meet both users’ and business needs via wireframes and user tasks / processes, and navigation systems.
He / She is responsible for the growth and talent development of their team. This is a management position that may require managing 1-6 associates.
ESSENTIAL DUTIES & RESPONSIBILITIES:
Management (40%)
Provide direction and guidance to members of the IA team; may manage 1-6 associates
Responsible for the development of IA staff, including facilitation of training, talent development and annual performance reviews
Communicate best practices, goals and feedback to develop each team member
Review ongoing work and deliverables of team members as well as lead formal and informal critiques
Delegate work effectively across the team, assuring optimal coverage of work and capacity utilization
Participate in project prioritization and level of effort exercises. Recommend and allocate IA resources to on-going projects and initiatives, and make appropriate project assignments.
Leadership (20%)
Provide strong leadership; within the IA group and across the UE department
Review work performed by UE project teams and provide feedback
Build key partnership with peers in Business Product Management and Engineering groups
Engage and participate with Business Product Management and Engineering groups for release planning, process monitoring and enforcement
Lead the IA team and other UE team members to drive for the improved creation and evaluation of UE processes and deliverables. Be an advocate and change driver of best practices based on industry standards for innovative techniques and solutions.
Work with functions across the company to ensure good communications and foster a collaborative work environment
Strategy (20%)
Work with Business Product Management to contribute to overall product and project strategy
Has a deep understanding of business strategies and how to translate those into clear, executable steps
Analyze customer-related research to better inform UE efforts and deliverables
Direct discovery (research) on project-related topics to better understand UE and customer needs, best practices and successful UE strategies
Define success metrics for UE projects and track successes
Develop resource allocation plans based on strategic imperatives and business goals for the year
Grow capacity and the capabilities of the team by incorporating new and innovative methods
Project Work (20%)
Participate occasionally in project work when needed, mainly in new products or offerings that require a certain level of strategic definition in new business areas
Requires all the skills of a contributing IA including:
Proposed and lead project definition activities when project scope requires
Work with other project team members to define methods to be used, including competitive audits and secondary research
Produce highly accurate wireframe documentation and other specifications required to implement design
Provide QA feedback to and consultation with Business Product Management and Engineering prior to launch
Highly aware of competitor best practices
REQUIRED QUALIFICATIONS:
Competencies: Skills, Knowledge, Abilities
Functional Competencies:
IA Expertise, a deep understanding of the principles of Information Architecture and Interaction Design
Drive IA design activities including the creation of process flows, site maps, wireframes, prototypes and functional specifications
Act as a strong advocate for the customer, and has an excellent understanding of user-centered design and navigation structures
Experience with flowcharting / diagram creation tools (Visio) and office productivity suites (Microsoft Office)
Solid knowledge of the constraints of website design
Ability to quickly and thoroughly evaluate the quality of team’s deliverables and provide the appropriate feedback and direction
Knowledge of different best practices for workflow processes related to UE activities, including both cascade and rapid iteration models
Ability to recommend and collaborate with other disciplines to implement processes changes based on opportunities
Demonstrate flexibility when prioritizing issues, and successfully balance speed and quality. Drive multiple initiatives and projects forward and follow up on issues to be fixed later.
Work quickly and efficiently without sacrificing a consistently high level of attention to detail for self and team
Interpersonal Competencies:
Strong and effective communicator, both verbally and written
Take a proactive approach to UE and cross-functional communication
Flexible, highly organized and able to recommend priorities for projects
Set project schedules and estimate / manage own time accurately and effectively
Very good project management skills: able to work on multiple initiatives or projects, reprioritize as needed and consistently deliver on time
Builds confidence in others through consistent quality deliverables and reliability
Can resolve conflicts constructively with minimal input from manager. Very diplomatic.
Anticipate potential project problems, and can quickly and effectively create solutions or contingency plans
Escalate issues appropriately to manager and project team
Collaborate successfully within the UE team, Creative team and across the company
Demonstrate willingness to teach and contribute to the team
Leadership Competencies:
An effective advocate for the UE team with business owners and UE management
Present ideas effectively, and is a strong communicator in a variety of presentation situations, including presentations to a large audience and the Executive team. Minimal feedback from manager; can create an effective presentation independently. Excellent writing skills.
Excellent project management skills. Able to work on and/or oversee multiple initiatives or projects, and reprioritize as needed. Able to set accurate project schedules, timelines and level-of-effort. Help team manage their time.
Delegates effectively to team members
Actively teach, mentor and contribute to the team
Able to promote and facilitate communication and collaboration with others. Work to continually improve and enhance cross-team collaboration.
Consistently offer proactive and timely communication
Actively seek out feedback from manager, peers, team and clients; improve own performance based on that feedback. Give effective feedback to peers and direct report(s) to consistently drive quality results and team development.
Accountable for own projects and any of his / her team’s projects. Ownership of new and/or complex projects. Coordinate projects across teams.
May receive direction or advice from their manager, but is expected to bring ideas and solutions to issues raised. Work actively with team to solve problems.
Handle significant pressure with grace
Experience:
7+ years web-based information architecture or interaction design experience, including the design of the overall information architecture of several sites and advanced transactional design experiences
1-2 year management experience
Demonstrated success in leading IA or UE efforts on collaborative multi-functional teams, including project definition, planning and execution
Strong knowledge of Internet usability / user interface best practices
Experience in translating business requirements into IA and UE strategies
Experience in user research planning, observation and translating user research into design decisions
Experience working in a large-scale development environment
Exceptional information presentation (graphic and written) experience
Web design experience, including HTML, the capabilities of web browsers across multiple platforms and new technologies
Experience with the following: Visio, Word, Illustrator, Director, Photoshop and various HTML editors
Minimum Educational Level:
Bachelors or Masters degree, preferably in HCI, Information Science, design disciplines, other relevant field or related work experience
Sr. Interaction Designer
Title: Sr. Interaction Designer
Location: SF Bay Area - 30 minutes from SF
Compensation: low 100’s DOE
A progressive mobile-technology company is searching for an Interaction Designer to join its creative team and focus on user interface design and usability. This fast-paced start-up needs a designer with a significant amount of interaction design experience with consumer Web sites (preferably wireless sites and applications).
The ideal candidate will have worked on consumer e-commerce sites and will have solid experience in user interface, interaction design, information architecture, user research and usability testing. This hands-on role offers an opportunity to have a real impact on a dynamic Web site and its progressive, exciting mobile technology.
Responsibilities include:
* User research and usability testing
* Gathering user research and understanding user needs (HCI)
* Translating business requirements into intuitive interface solutions
* Developing application maps, process flows, wire frames and mockups
with accompanying interaction rules based on user needs, technical restrictions and requirements and business needs
Requirements:
* Two to four years of experience in user interface and interaction design (Web application experience is a must)
* Significant amount of interaction design experience with consumer Web sites (preferably wireless sites and applications)
* Experience translating business requirements into intuitive application interface solutions
* Information architecture experience (strategic planning and diagrammatic skills)
* Ability to ask appropriate questions, communicate effectively and persuasively convey design solutions to a broad range of stakeholders
(marketing, product managers, engineers, customers and others)
* Strong attention to detail and exceptional organization, logic and analytical skills
* Ability to multitask and prioritize tasks; comfortable with tight deadlines
* Proficiency in a variety of design tools such as Visio and Fireworks
* Excellent oral and written communication and presentation skills
* Familiarity with Java, including J2ME interactions and patterns
* Familiarity with presentation layer code and working knowledge of application layer design
* Able to measure and quantify design impact on user behavior
Please review our available positions posted. If you do not see a position that matches your set of skills, please feel free to email me you resume.
Also note, not all positions are posted.
Sr. Interaction Designer
Company Overview
We are a new interactive media startup focused on video in stealth mode right now and are looking for an experienced graphic/flash designer to come and join our team. We are backed by industry veterans from the technology and entertainment industry. Principal owners are also mainstream celebrities. We are currently well financed through various angels.
This company hasn’t been talked about in the news (we did this on purpose) but we have a product that is going to raise the bar in the online advertising space. If you are looking to work on some of the world’s top entertainment properties, then our company is the place to join. Talk is cheap but we have a highly experienced & seasoned team that will challenge you and push you to the limits to help build out our product for a debut in Q2, 2008.
If you are a risk taker and want to join a great company in the making then by all means send us your resume. Our company is based in San Francisco, CA with offices in LA. We offer a flexible work environment which includes work-life balance including tele-commuting (work from home), but will require you to be in the office a few days a week to facilitate collaboration.
Job Description:
The Senior Graphic/Interactive Designer will be responsible for the definition and graphic development of all consumer/business-facing aspects of our vertical. You will be responsible for working closely with product marketing and the technical team to create and layout the user experience. You will collaborate with team members to understand the needs of the UI, and design and construct cohesive and aesthetically pleasing user interface solutions. You will work proactively to stay knowledgeable of current implementation technologies and best practice solutions. The ideal candidate will have a visual design background and strong understanding of the process of human interface design.
The job requires someone who has excellent insights into online user experience, enjoys building world-class consumer products, and is passionate about delivering products to market that delight the consumer.
Being well versed in Web Analytics & Client Side Application Design is a major plus and important. Our application is web-based but carries a Windows/Mac Client Side Application as well.
Qualifications
What we look for most in a person is not the degrees, but the “can do” attitude because time and time again, tenacious attitudes and the willingness to work hard and not give up carry the most weight when we measure our people.
Creative Eye & Exceptional User Experience Skills a Must
Create UI design concepts and solutions that support the company goals
* Collaborate with multidisciplinary teams to conceive and improve the user experience
* Design interactive navigation, controls and icons
* Own the entire design for the consumer facing web portal.
* Create wire frames, mockups, and interactive prototypes
* Communicate and partner with teams to iterate the design vision
* Innovate new solutions, with the ability to present multiple design ideas
* Contribute to the culture of communication, collaboration and inspiration
REQUIRED SKILLS
* Excellent UI design skills and an outstanding portfolio of interactive projects
* 5+ years experience in web design and a solid understanding of the relationship between content, visual design, user interface and technology
* Experience and participation in the complete product lifecycle of launched websites, software applications or games (TV interface experience a plus)
* Core competency in graphic design with emphasis on consistency, attention to detail, simplicity and innovation
* Possess strong communication skills with the ability to listen, articulate your design and advocate best practice solutions
* Work collaboratively with other designers, product managers and engineers
* Be organized, work effectively under deadlines, and manage multiple concurrent projects
* Ability to take direction to meet creative and business needs
* Strong understanding of implementation technologies, and how to design with limitations
• Expert abilities with the Adobe® Creative Suite, Flash, ActionScript experience a must
* HTML, CSS a must
• MAYA experience a definite plus
* Consumer Internet experience preferred
Strong work ethic, flexibility, good initiative, proven attention to detail, communication skills, and the ability to work well within a diverse, challenging, and rewarding environment is required.
Package:
Salary: $65-80,000 per year based on experience as a full time employee
Option Package: Depends on experience
Bonus: Based on Year 1 Performance either cash or stock
Upon applying, please provide us with your resume/portfolio and a cover letter providing us with some thoughts as to why you would be the right person and what you think about the state of online video and what could be done to raise the bar. Creativity is a major plus in our book.
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