[Sigia-l] IA for non-web based projects

[O'Neill, Todd]

Thanks Robert. Many of them are using AE, but probably not to its full
power.

The "HR" culture in business today is so much about specialization. But
in media communications (my catch all bucket for the electronic media
user experience) at least, IMHO, the trend should be toward wide and
medium depth generalization. By creating specialized craft silos the
level of team communication MUST rise (inefficient) and the whole silo
mentality means that no ONE person really knows what is going on in the
project (ineffective.)

As you read I came to IA/UI by a slightly different path than you, but
it's the diversity of my background that makes me valuable, not my
specialization. I can bring ALL my experience and knowledge to bear on a
project, even though in some areas it may be shallow to medium depth.
I've gotten quite a few "Oh, we never thought of thats" over the years
that always affected (or had the ability to affect) projects in a good
way.

I love your IM story. I have a few good "video" friends in Atlanta. I'll
have to ask them about it. I vaguely remember reading something about
it.

Maybe while you're in town we can get together for lunch to chat shop,
without talking about our individual "shops".

Later!

Todd O'Neill Web Producer USAA Interaction Design and Architecture 
210-913-8312 todd.oneill at usaa.com 
These opinions mine not those of USAA. 
"The purpose of business is to create and keep a customer." Peter
Drucker


-----Original Message-----
From: Robert_Dornbush at capgroup.com [mailto:Robert_Dornbush at capgroup.com]

Sent: Thursday, May 13, 2004 8:49 AM
To: O'Neill, Todd
Subject: Re: [Sigia-l] IA for non-web based projects






Hello Todd,

I've got three words for your video friends:
Adobe After Effects

I am an IA from Atlanta working here in San Antonio at American Funds
(UI Designer - Architect on Client/Server GUI for call center).

I have been in the IT business for over 9 years, and I started out in
San Francisco as computer graphics studio mgr. in a printing business
(Quark, Photoshop, Illustrator, etc.). There I worked my way through a
'back to school' period of my life untill I got a 2 year certificate in
UI Design from the San Francisco State Multimedia Studies program ("new
media" -
wa-whoo!)

My first big break into multimedia was producing "Inside Guide to Park
City" a CD-ROM guide to all the ski resorts, restaurants, lodging, &
real estate in the Park City, UT area.  [this was financed by a local
real estate company] I was simultaneously doing virtual real-estate
tours on Kiosk for Sotheby's real estate.

Next I tried to break into the web design thing through IBM's
interactive design studio in Atlanta, and from there I migrated towards
the more hip "Think New Ideas" and "answerthink consulting" web
development shops.

Gradually I migrated from web UI Architecture to Software GUI
Interaction design (often for web-enable applications), and that's where
I am still mining for User Experience gold today.

Every step of the way I have encountered nay sayers who where like "You
know graphic design, but you don't know multimedia - I'm sorry but I
don't think you are right for this position" or "You know CD-ROM, but
you don't know the web - I'm sorry but I don't think you are right for
this position" or "You know the web, but you don't know client-server -
I'm sorry but I don't think you are right for this position" etc.

BUT given an opportunity, I have always proved those nay sayers wrong;
and I maintain that many of the same IA / UEA concepts apply across the
board.

In Atlanta I know of a digital video production company called
"Information Media" - their's is an interesting story that might hit
home with your video buddies.  IM started out as an internal DV
production unit for Coca-Cola in the early 90's before the Atlanta
Summer Olympics.  About a month before the Olympics they got a top
secret phone call from the then Coca-Cola marketing guru, Sergio Zyman -
who tells them to quit Coca-Cola because he's going to be sending a big
independent contract Their way. The bid on and won the opportunity to
shoot 21 coke commericals (one for each day of the olympics) in just 14
days.  It was a risky proposition, but they pulled it off with flying
colors, and are today the biggest video CG house in atlanta,  they do
commercials, intros for Turner and WB movie segments, etc.  They do it
all with adobe after effects and drives and drives (terrabytes) of hard
disk space, they came to me once to discuss some convergence of IA and
Video = multimedia, but the time was not ripe, and it hasn't happened
yet.

More Later...
Robert Dornbush
UI Architect /Interaction Designer