I left Flickr (love you guys) back at the beginning of December, and recently took a job leading the design efforts at a company called Kosmix ( www.kosmix.com ), which is filled with really smart people, and to date, has a non-unified design presence, and design with the big D has been underrepresented. But that’s a good problem to have, right? I think so. It means it’s a place that my team and I can have a ton of impact.
Kosmix is based in Mt. View and has an office in the city as well. We also work remotely if it makes sense.
I’m building a team from the ground up, and here are the types I’m looking for right now:
2 designers, contract for now, but that could change. You should be a top-notch graphic designer, have a long history of building consumer brands, and really get interaction design. All-rounders are best, as we’re a small team. Senior level for both of these gigs.
2 full-time front-end code folks, a.k.a. web developers. At Kosmix, you’ll be heavily involved in the design process, but might technically have an engineer as a boss.
There are a ton of projects going on at Kosmix, and right now is a chance to get in on the ground floor. It is important to mention that the executive team is fully behind my/our efforts to bring design to the forefront of the product development process, and whoever comes on board will have a chance to really make a difference at this company. The company is financially very healthy, the smarty-pants people are laid back, and the food/beverage selection is better than anywhere else I’ve worked in the past twelve years. Yay!
For more info about any of these jobs, just contact me.
Thanks!
I simply don’t have time to write here at this point in my life. The conversations have taken place here have been fun, and I thank you for participating. Perhaps one day I’ll have the motivation and time to pick up this blog again, but for now, it is time to continue focusing on other things, like actually designing products that people love to use, and staying healthy and happy all the while.
Onward ho!
At the end of a long week in the Flickr post-slideshow launch forum, I wrote the following bits in response to people repeatedly asking if we usability tested the slideshow before we launched it.
Of course we didn’t!
I just went back and reread what I wrote, and it seems worth it to publish here as well.
Flickr has never “usability tested” anything, at least not in the sense of taking something to a usability lab.
I’ve not been (working) here from the beginning, but I have been a user since almost the beginning. The nature of Flickr has always been to make bold decisions based on experience and opinions, put them out there, see how people respond, and tweak things along the way.
Sometimes they’ve been wrong decisions, and many times they’ve been groundbreaking-amazing-totally-cool decisions. I like to think that the reason Flickr rocks so hard is that Stew, George and the rest of the original crew didn’t take things into a usability lab, or usability test anything in the “proper” sense. How boring!
At its very core, the name Flickr Gamma (used to be Flickr beta) represents this playful, malleable Way of Doing Things.
So while you thought my response was perfunctory (and not funny), and I’m sorry if it came across that way, it really is the truth.
I highly doubt anyone on the team will ever make the decision to bring back the old slideshow. This type of decision is no different than the major redesign of Flickr’s UI a year or so ago, or any other semi-major tweaks that have happened. People always freak out at change.
I hope that answers your question.
In the end, think about this: had we taken it to a usability lab, and some group of 7 people spent 5 minutes in front of it while a researcher took notes, they’d have had their say in that time period. And then, a bunch more people would think it sucked anyway!
Instead, you get to use it, and have public discussions with the people who designed and built it, give feedback, and hear our answers to your questions in semi-real time.
I think that’s better, no?
(I might get smacked here, but whatever)
I think usability labs breed sterile, boring and faceless products. I *wish* all of the things I use on a daily basis came with the ability to ask questions and help debug WITH the people who design and build them.In my humble little opinion, it’s a much better way to do things.
So, thanks for your feedback. As Flickr always has, we’re listening to you, and making changes where they make sense and where we see fit.
I certainly know that there are many exceptions and business cases that fly in the face of this way of thinking, but from my current viewpoint, which is where I want to be, I don’t think there’s a better way to design products.
One question that remains with me, which I’ve discussed with various folks from Adaptive Path and IDEO, is how do design firms, which are limited in their ability to deliver long-term value in this realm, um, adapting?
This is my first time at SXSW, and true to its reputation, I am quickly deciding that it is more of a party than a conference. No complaints here though.
In my schwag bag, two items stuck out among the film flyers, lame web 2.0 company ads, and pamphlets containing bar listings. The first is a product called Nicogel, which is manufactured by U.K.-based Nicogel Limited. Nicogel’s tagline is ‘When You Can’t Smoke, Rub Nicogel On Your Hands’. They also continue by saying, “Nicogel is the FREEDOM that you have been waiting for! Look for Nicogel where cigarettes are sold.
Now, I don’t smoke. But damn if I’m not tempted to rub this gel on my hands…
The other pearl is in the official Chow Guide to Eating and Drinking in Austin. On page 35, the article is entitled HOW TO DRINK MORE (in all caps). Here are the bullet points:
- Eat fatty foods before boozing.
- Order a glass of water with each drink (and drink it!)
- Drink a negroni
- Stick to drinks you can see through
- Take vitamin B6 and avoid aspirin
- Know thyself
Unfortunately, I don’t have time to report every detail of their helpful list, but at least you can go look up what a Negroni is.
With that, I’m off for a day of panels and a night of parties. More soon.
Horrible news: a bike was stolen from a staff member at Rivendell HQ today. Be on the lookout if you’re in the Bay Area. The Craigslist posting reads:
55cm Rivendell Romulus (Red) stolen from Rivendell
HQ in Walnut Creek. Small canvas bag on back. It’s
a staff member’s bike, not Riv’s. Bad mojo. Bring
it back, call it in, no questions asked. 925-933-7304