Slide Incorporated (2005-present)
I work with a talented bunch of goons at Slide. As the principal designer, I'm responsible for design-related activity including the client-application user interface, website interface, logo and collateral. I report to Max Levchin, CEO, who made me realize that learning about liquidation preferences is much more engaging when it's with your money than when it's in a b-school text book.
Adobe Systems Incorporated (1999-2005)
I work in Adobe's User Interface team, helping create the user experience for products from the professional and consumer line.
I was hired by Andrei Herasimchuk who explained to me that interface design is about three things: aesthetics, behavior and organization. I don't think Andrei quite agrees with this structure anymore, but when you say something like that to a 19 year-old it leaves an impression which is why I continue to keep it on my site even in my old age.
During 2002 and 2003, I took what I had learned from working on Photoshop and Photoshop Elements and applied it to a new piece of digital imaging software that's easy enough for consumers to use. It's called Photoshop Album.
We were the first 1.0 product I know of to get 5 stars from PC Magazine. I've also included some other awards we won in 2003 and 2004:
A series of radio ads were produced in the Spring of 2004 to help market version 2.0 of the product. These ads were due in large part to the persistence of Tapan Bhat (at least, I'll give credit to him here). I've archived them here in MP3 format:
I wrote a white paper in the Fall of 2004 to describe the the philosophy and influences behind Photoshop Album. Photoshop Album 2.0: Ten Design Principles from Outside the Software Industry (PDF).
I left Adobe at the end of February 2005 to try something new. More details soon...
Microsoft Corporation (2001)
I worked with Microsoft designers and engineers in the Hardware Systems Engineering group under Leslie Leland and Mike Gifford, as well as coordination with the Pocket PC and eHome teams. I developed a prototype for a next generation input device focused on home networking.
National Aeronautics and Space Administration (2000-2001)
I worked with NASA scientists at the Ames Research Center at Moffet Field to test a hypothesis about a possible solution for usability breakdowns related to memory issues in cockpits. This research is being done in the Human Performance Lab, which focuses on usability issues related to aeronautics.
Justarrive Incorporated (2000)
A company with a strong focus on human experiences (take CRM and mix in Cialdini and a lot of hardcore design), Justarrive was started to revolutionize event ticketing and entrance processes. Two of the co-founders--Jon Bruck and Jared Kopf--were the founders of the Interaction Design major at Stanford University.
I worked with Jon and Jared on graphic design projects that communicate the benefits of the multifaceted platform solution to businesses.
VentureNova, a Casio affiliate (2000)
VentureNova is an incubator supported by Casio and other companies to support startup companies working on Internet appliances. The building is located in Mountain View, California, and was originally a Federal Credit Union. The project was to convert the space into an upbeat work environment.
I was hired by BJ Fogg and I worked with him and Craig Janik on creating a scope paper for the space design of the new building and working to bring in a space designer to execute the project.
DaimlerChrysler Corporation (1999)
This project was a collaboration between the Stanford University Persuasive Technology Lab and DaimlerChrysler to develop in-car entertainment with a persuasive intent, referred to as "influtainment."
I worked in a group of six headed by Jason Tester of Stanford University, along with Dr BJ Fogg, Director of the Persuasive Technology Lab. The final design was targeted to the business man, and was aimed at providing a commute to work that included an interactive way to learn about current events and daily news, persuading the user to be more open-minded, environmentally aware, and respectful of different ways of thinking and living. This project was presented at CHI2000 in the Netherlands.View the CHI article in Adobe PDF format.
Newport Electronics Incorporated, an Omega affiliate (1998)
I was brought into Newport Electronics by Bijan Ghofranian, head of Research and Development, to create a system that stamped meters with an identification number that would be used to track the meter's performance during calibration. The performance results would be stored in a database system that I designed and interfaced with another application that I designed.
I learned more about EEPROMs and IEEE protocols via RS-232 communication than I had expected.
On Slide's Design
"Slide builds on several recent trends in personal publishing and will find itself facing several rivals, including Yahoo and MySpace. But its simpler tools could give it a leg up on the competition."
CNet, August 2005
On Photoshop Album's Design
"Choosing the best among a strong lot wasn't easy, but we like Photoshop Album 2's beautiful interface; its snazzy, unique tagging system; and its sophisticated online photo gallery tool."
PCWorld.com, June 2004
"The strength of Photoshop Album is the interface. A timeline runs across the top of the picture database that gives you instant access to the months and years of collected images."
E-Gear, June 2004
"This is the best $50 you can spend once you've purchased your digital camera, hands down."
CBS News, December 2003
"Adobe deserves great credit for improving and simplifying Photoshop Album in version 2.0 and, in my view, it's the best choice for digital camera owners with Windows PCs."
Walt Mossberg, Wall Street Journal, January 2004
"With its intuitive interface, excellent tagging feature, and solid editing tools, Adobe Photoshop Album may be the last photo package you need."
Matt Graven, PC Magazine
"Photoshop Album has an amazing feature called 'Fix Photo' that does the best job I've seen of simplifying the photo-editing process without eliminating key features."
Mike Langberg, SJ Mercury News
"Adobe Photoshop Album offers many of the features that ACDsee does but is easier to use... I found Adobe Photoshop Album to be the best balance of form and function."
Kathleen Cullen, PC World
"While other graphic viewers handle at least some of these same tasks, Photoshop Album ($50) is the most powerful, logically designed and flexible that I've found after years of searching."
Peggy Rogers, Miami Herald
"With Photoshop Album, Adobe has done a remarkable job of addressing the most essential needs of digital photo collectors, while at the same time keeping things simple."
Sue Chastain, About.com