Hello. I'm Jack Howell,
a User Experience Designer based in New York City.
Since 1997, I've worked with clients such as Razorfish, LEGO, The Associated Press, Prudential and Brooks Brothers to craft smart, worthwhile and usable digital experiences. I'm happiest when working with smart teams on challenging projects.
Seeing how people actually use applications and devices is invaluable. I'll listen to users, walk factory floors, take courses - whatever it takes - to get a working knowledge of the product/service/industry I am working with.
Output: Personas, Business Objectives, User Scenarios
Getting a free flow of ideas early on is essential to the creative process. Brainstorming ideas on whiteboards is a simple cheap way to capture a large amount of ideas in a short amount of time.
Sketching is best done with a team made up of people with different points of view from among an organization.
Output: Experience Principles, Scenarios, Concept Models
Before any design starts I immerse myself in the problem at hand. Knowing what something IS NOT is sometimes as important as what it IS. Clearly defining what you are aiming to build is essential to a successful project. Describing a concept with metaphors can help teams to find new and interesting solutions to the problem at hand.
Output: Concept Models,
When developing an interactive application it is important to develop a "working" version as soon as possible. The fidelity of these prototypes are just as high as they need to be to illustrate the idea. I use a broad assortment of tools to explore ideas, from sticky notes to working touch screen applications, to quickly flesh out ideas. In this phase, failure is as important as success.
Output: Low to High Fidelity Prototypes
Once a project has reached the right level of maturity I translate the work into detailed schematics that document and describe the functionality of the project. These documents serve as project reference and as blueprints for technical development.
Documentation aids in the creative process by catching inconsistencies and forcing you to test the conceptual model agains multiple scenarios.
Output: Wireframes, Story Boards, Site Maps, User Flows
Once a project goes live it is important to watch how users are using the product. If the pathways that users follow are unexpected or against business goals you can look to this data to identify which features need to be reworked with minor tweeks or possible overhauls. Fixes can be made in an almost instant time once a problem is identified.
A/B tests are a great way of finding which designs will yield the best return.
Since leaving agency life I have been working on incredibly interesting projects with mainly small companies and startups. I look for projects that are like nothing I've done before, I've designed a full operating system for an in-production tablet, redesigned an English learning App that has become the #1 app in many foreign app stores, and more. I am currently looking for my next adventure. If you have a complicated, interesting or scary UX project coming up please get in touch and maybe I can be the one to help you gain success.
Razorfish | Senior Information Architect 2007 – September 2010
Focused on new new and emerging platforms such as iPhone, Android, Surface and physical computing
Created compelling digital experiences in a variety of platforms
Gathered user insights through interviews, observation and research
Created rapid prototypes in an iterative fashion to prove and/or disprove assumptions
RichFX | Experience & Creative Director 2005 –2007
Lead the creative and UX development for e-Commerce with The Advanced Development Group
Lead the research and development of online personalization applications
Clients included Brooks Brothers, Wal-Mart, Disney, Burberry, and JC Penny
The Associated Press | Information Graphics Designer 2003 - 2005
Crafted news information graphics and applications for syndication
Developed data-driven applications to display instant election results and Olympic scores
LEGO Direct | Online Game Developer 2001 - 2003
Developed games and features for the children’s market
Brought smiles to the faces of children worldwide
APB Multimedia | Creative Director 1999 - 2001
Oversaw all creative and production services and staff for editorial site and applications
Crafted news and multimedia features with a focus on crime, justice and safety
Thoughtbubble Productions | Features Producer 1997 –1999
Produced broadband multimedia features for media companies including IFC, Bravo and AMC
Purchase College, B.F.A. Multimedia Design, 1997
