Job: UX Designer / Analyst, Wilfrid Laurier University

Wilfrid Laurier University is poised to meet its future with vision, energy, and optimism. Excellence in education and research supports an academic community addressing critical business, economic, social, and environmental challenges. With over 19,000 students and 2,100 faculty and staff across locations in Waterloo, Brantford, Kitchener, and Toronto, Laurier is a mid-sized university with small-school strengths: experiential programming, engaged alumni, high levels of student satisfaction, and a unique culture inspiring lives of leadership and purpose.

Reporting to the Manager, User Experience, Web Services, is seeking an experienced UX Designer and Analyst with a passion for usability and a strong background in data analytics and reporting. The successful candidate will lead all stages of user experience design, from planning to measurement, translating requirements into meaningful online experiences that work within the context of organizational priorities. The incumbent will have responsibilities for the configuration and deployment of Google Analytics; providing statistical analysis of data and information surrounding website metrics and performance, the role will present research findings as prioritized, actionable recommendations to stakeholders across the university.

The ideal candidate will possess a Bachelor’s degree in User Experience, Interaction Design or a related discipline, with a minimum of five years recent related experience. An advocate for UX Strategy, best practices, principles and methodology; the incumbent will possess advanced skills in Google Analytics with working knowledge of Google Tag manager. The incumbent has a proven ability to recruit, design, run, and analyze qualitative and quantitative research experiments including use of workshops, surveys, and focus groups, to measure and inform web structure and performance with a strong knowledge of web accessibility and its implications for user experience design.

Diversity and creating a culture of inclusion is a key pillar of Wilfrid Laurier University’s Strategic Academic Plan and is one of Laurier’s core values. Laurier is committed to increasing the diversity of faculty and staff and welcomes applications from candidates who identify as Indigenous, racialized, having disabilities, and from persons of any sexual identities and gender identities. Indigenous candidates who would like to learn more about equity and inclusive programming at Laurier are welcomed to contact the Office of Indigenous Initiatives at jbecker@wlu.ca. Candidates from other equity-seeking groups who would like to learn more about equity and inclusive programming at Laurier are welcomed to contact the Diversity and Equity Office at diversity@wlu.ca. We have strived to make our application process accessible however if you require any assistance applying for a position or would like this job posting in an alternative format, please contact Human Resources at 519-884-1970 ext.2007 or hr@wlu.ca.

Should you be interested in learning more about this opportunity please visit www.wlu.ca/careers for additional information and the online application system. All applications must be submitted online by July 27, 2018.

Job: Lead/Senior Product Designer at ConseSys

ConsenSys is a venture production studio and the leading technology firm in blockchain globally. We deliver products, solutions and platforms built using blockchain technology to transform how business is done in complex network of buyers, suppliers and consumers.

Our teams are busy at work building the future of identity, financial markets, commerce, the music industry, security, and infrastructure, and more. To accomplish this we’ve built out a flat organizational structure which we call the ConsenSys Mesh: a network of individuals & teams working autonomously and towards the same goal.  Our mission is to use these decentralized solutions to fundamentally reshape the economic, social, and political operating systems of the planet. If you are someone that thrives in a fast-paced environment where being self-directed, determined, and resilient are a requirement, we would love for you to join us.

About Product Design at ConsenSys:

The excitement surrounding the possibilities of blockchain technology are at an all time high—and rightly so. Designers at ConsenSys must balance passion for the technology while knowing when and how to focus the conversation on our users. ConsenSys designers enjoy an open and inclusive culture and the freedom to explore and experiment. We are always iterating and improving our work, the culture, and ourselves.

About the role:

We are currently seeking a Lead Product Designer with a passion for organizational behaviour and development in the Ethereum ecosystem. You have an interest and/or SaaS based experience in human resources, autonomous management, and open platforms—you are passionate about the needs of users in relation to these areas. As a Product Design Lead at ConsenSys, you will take products from ideation and rough prototypes to high fidelity designs, relentlessly validating and pushing for accessible, delightful design solutions.

Responsibilities:

• Lead a collaborative design process from conception to launch: partner with small, global teams of engineers, product managers, and researchers to identify user needs, define product strategy, and create roadmaps
• Develop storyboards, prototypes, and high-fidelity visual design to effectively communicate interaction and design ideas
• Actively give and solicit feedback from other designers in order to continually raise the bar for quality
• Mentor junior designers or interns, growing and iterating on our design culture by  participating in design-team-wide initiatives such as recruiting, developing design principles, and improving design tools and process
• Evangelize design and product thinking methodology
• Fearlessly take on highly complex problem areas and then publish what you learn
• Grow a design team as the product matures

Requirements:

• You have 5+ years of experience working as a product designer on agile teams
• You have solved complex problems with elegant, shipped product—evidenced in an online portfolio featuring end-to-end product design
• You demonstrate product vision and use data and experimentation to provide product direction.
• While you may not have a branding or marketing background, you understand customer experience and the relationship between brand and product design
• You’re excellent at articulating design decisions, presenting to clients or stakeholders
• You’re effective at prototyping at varying levels of fidelity
• You demonstrate solid leadership skills and an ability to develop strong partnerships with product managers and engineers

Even better if:

• You’re interested in or have experience with decentralized applications and blockchain
• You’re interested in or have experience working with self-managing organizations and modular platforms
• You have experience at both large organizations and start-ups
• You are able to facilitate design thinking workshops
• You enjoy some amount of ambiguity and freedom to experiment
• You’ve built or worked with design systems
• You have front-end development experience

Here are some of the perks of being part of a unique organization like ConsenSys:

• The forefront of a revolution. At ConsenSys we fundamentally believe that a next generation of technologies presents the opportunity to create a more just and equitable society.
• A dynamic startup environment. ConsenSys is a thought leader in the blockchain space and we are absorbing a significant portion of the mindshare. This is both exciting and challenging, as we learn to scale our organization while adhering to the principles of decentralization.
• Continuous learning. You’ll be constantly exposed to new languages, frameworks and ideas from your peers and as you work on different projects — challenging you to stay at the top of your game.
• Deep technical challenges. This entire ecosystem is about 10 years old. Ethereum itself is still a toddler. There is much work to be done before these platforms can scale to the order of millions or billions of users. ConsenSys is building the technology platforms that can get us to those next thresholds of scale.

Click here for the latest updates from ConsenSys.

Apply!

Apply through the ConsenSys website.

May 2018: How FreshBooks persuaded its customers to accept radical change

How do you persuade your customers to try your new product when they’re already pretty happy with what they’ve got? How do you get them to migrate to a new product that, technically, has fewer features? How do you overcome the dreaded “switching cost,” the pain of learning something completely new?

In this talk, Aaron Wright and Jeff Kraemer will detail how they researched migration experiences (which are usually terrible), explored UX designs using a lean UX process, and ultimately launched a migration experience that lives up to FreshBooks’ mantra: “Execute extraordinary experiences every day.”

In 2014, FreshBooks launched an ambitious, secret project to reinvent itself—a complete redesign and rebuilding of its flagship product, a cloud accounting application used by over five million people. The old product was saddled with both technical and UX debt, and we just weren’t able to deliver what our customers needed quickly enough.

After two years of testing and iterating in weekly UX sprints, we were confident that the new product was a much better experience for users. But: it had fewer features. And the first thing we learned when we asked customers what they expected from a new FreshBooks was “more features!”

So, we had a challenge: we needed to persuade our customers to leave a product they generally loved, move to a new one with fewer features, and avoid making it another awful migration experience.

We’ll explain how we researched and designed that experience, list some lessons we learned, and offer key takeaways for anyone planning to introduce their users to a radical change.

Bios:

Aaron Wright:

I stumbled into the field of UX while pursuing a degree in Graphic Design at York University. Originally just trying hone my web design and app-building skills, I soon learned that there was, in fact, an entire field devoted to the study of user experience itself and immediately changed focus. And I haven’t looked back. I’m now a UX Designer at FreshBooks since 2012, livin’ the dream of taming complexity and trying to make boring work (like accounting) as close to fun as humanly possible.

Jeff Kraemer:

I ran my first usability test back in 2001; this was before screen-recording software, so recording the test meant pointing a VHS videocamera at the screen. Since then, I’ve spent time specializing in content strategy and instructional design, but I really love being a UX generalist. Previously at Workopolis and Usability Matters, I am now Principal UX Designer at FreshBooks.

Please register for this free event

Thursday May 24, 2018
5:30pm to 7:00pm
3rd Floor Theatre, Roddenberry, Communitech
151 Charles Street West
Kitchener, Ontario

Pizza and drinks will be served at the event.

March 2018: Beyond the Hype: Transformative Entrepreneurial and Intrapreneurial Design

This month, we’re excited to have speaker Karel Vredenburg of IBM Design join us.

From start-ups to large enterprises, everyone is talking about innovation, disruption, transformation, design thinking, iconic branding, signature experiences, as well as things like artificial intelligence, machine learning, audio interfaces, big data, IoT, VR, and AR. There’s a lot of hype, a lot of excitement, and a lot of money being spent but little focus on the fundamentals and what really makes a difference. We’ll briefly review the history of design and the interface to technology from the point of view of a 106 year old startup, IBM, and then explore the common transformation myths, and the key foundational ingredients for effective design transformation by examining entrepreneurial and intrapreneurial companies. We’ll also discuss the design challenges inherent in several new technologies and proposals to address them. We’ll finish up with an open discussion with the session attendees to solicit their ideas, thoughts, and feedback on the topics raised during the session.

Karel’s Bio

Karel has spent his professional career dealing with design, technology, human affect, cognition, and behavior primarily through the human interface to technology. His current interests are in advances in design practice, design-based organizational transformation, the innovation ecosystem (design school, business school, university, entrepreneur, and enterprise), and the ways in which technology can extend, optimize, and improve work, play, relationships, education, health, and overall fulfillment. He is director of design at IBM and responsible for IBM Design’s worldwide client programs and serves as the head of IBM Studios in Canada. He’s also Industry Professor at the DeGroote School of Business, the DeGroote Health Leadership Academy, and McMaster University. Karel joined IBM in 1988 after having done graduate studies, research, and teaching at the University of Toronto. He introduced User-Centered Design at IBM in 1993 and assumed a company-wide role in 1995 leading IBM’s community of designers, leading the development of design methods, languages, and technologies, and leading the design of the commercialization of the IBM Watson. In 2013, he introduced IBM Design Thinking to IBM product development laboratories worldwide and introduced a tailored version of it to IBM consulting services and technology services organizations worldwide in 2014 through 2016. Karel now leads the development and activation of IBM Design Thinking for client facing professionals worldwide in addition to providing leadership to IBM’s Canadian design studios. Karel is based in Toronto, blogs at karelvredenburg.com, hosts a podcast called Life Habits, and his social media coordinates include @karelvredenburg on Twitter and LinkedIn and @karelveganburg on Instagram.

Pizza and drinks will be served at the event.

Please register for this free event

Thursday March 15, 2018
5:30pm to 7:00pm
3rd Floor Theatre, Roddenberry, Communitech
151 Charles Street West
Kitchener, Ontario

January 2018: Designing Interfaces that Compel and Motivate

January’s uxWaterloo event will be held at the Games Institute at University of Waterloo and involves both a talk and demos you can try. Feel free to join for either or both.

In the absence of performance or usability benefits, what compels people to interact with technology such as the red dot on our smartphone email app, the number of likes on our latest post, or the “just one more turn” button in our favourite video game? There are many lessons from psychology that we can learn about basic human needs, and what ultimately motivates interaction.

In this talk, Mark Hancock will give an overview of the basic human needs of competence, autonomy, and relatedness. He will discuss the idea that the success of novel technology is due largely to its ability to satisfy these basic human needs, and he will relate this concept to his lab’s research on virtual and augmented reality, 3D interaction on multi-touch tables, and applications in therapy, education, and gaming. You’ll also have the chance to try out some of the novel technology he’ll talk about, including a way of enhancing virtual reality experiences with the haptic experience of physical objects.

About the speaker

Mark Hancock is an associate professor in Management Sciences at the University of Waterloo, and Associate Director of the Games Institute. He is also a General Chair for this year’s ACM CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems (CHI 2018). His research includes the design and development of interfaces and interaction techniques for mixed reality, multi-touch digital surfaces, and games, with a focus on physical-like 3D interaction.

Parking at University of Waterloo

Parking will be provided for free. You will need to get a scratch ticket to put in your car from a volunteer at the front door of the Games Institute (map).

Please register for this free event

Wednesday January 24, 2018
Talk from 5:30 to 6:30pm
Demos from 6:30 to 7:30pm
The Games Institute, University of Waterloo
175 Columbia St West, Waterloo, Ontario

UX Designer – FairVentures Innovation Lab

If you’re interested, share your resume and portfolio with Adam Euerby, Sr Product Designer, at the Lab: aeuerby@fairventures.ca

User Experience Designer

Are you a UX designer early in your career looking for experience in a number of industries and projects? Interested the early inception stages of the product lifecycle? At FairVentures Lab, we’re looking for a UX Designer to help us work with Fairfax companies spanning insurance, restaurants, and retail industries to explore new markets and create innovative digital products and services. In the position, you’ll help with doing UX research to explore market and customer opportunities, rapid prototyping for mobile and other digital channels, and visual design for clear and realistic presentation of design concepts to customers and stakeholders. You would also contribute to the FairVentures Innovation Lab research agenda, exploring new digital experience channels and techniques including VR, AR, voice, chatbot, using applications of data analytics, behavioural economics, game design, and persuasive design.

FairVentures Innovation Lab is the innovation initiative of Prem Watsa’s Fairfax Financial Holdings Ltd. We’re a diverse and experienced team of passionate technologists in the areas of product, design, data, startup investment, and software development. We research, develop, partner and invest in innovative solutions to support the Fairfax family of companies. We’re centrally located in Downtown Kitchener in one of the largest corporate innovation spaces of the Communitech Hub. The beautifully retrofitted heritage tannery building has full kitchens with espresso machines, a fitness center, an indoor basketball court, games room, private showers, and a patio with BBQs; all in proximity to the buzz of over 100 start-ups within the local incubation programs.

Come join us in this exciting opportunity to help shape the future of world-class Canadian company operating on the global stage. For more information on Fairfax Financial Holdings please visit www.fairfax.ca

WHAT ARE WE LOOKING FOR?

• Quick learners with a creative and analytical mindset.
• Systems thinkers who are always looking for new ways to frame problems and design solutions.
• Motivated team players who are capable of owning and driving assignments.
• Desire to explore new technologies, methodologies, and tools.
• Entrepreneurial spirit and a desire to explore the unknown.

RESPONSIBILITIES WILL INCLUDE:

Interaction Design

• Design prototypes for web, mobile, chatbot, data visualization, and other digital applications based on input from user research, design sprints, and other requirements sources.
• Create mockups, workflows, conceptual models, and other design documentation to communicate design concepts to the Lab team and Fairfax stakeholders.
• Elicit feedback on design concepts to drive iteration and refinement of design concepts.

User Research and User Testing

• Recruit participants from sources such as Fairfax companies, local sources, and agencies.
• Plan research activities including objectives, research questions, hypotheses, methods, interview scripts, and surveys questions.
• Coordinate interviews such as participant scheduling; remote calling; prototype set-up and instructions; notetaking; and other tasks required of those attending the interview.
• Analyze data (notes, photos, videos, etc.) for patterns to develop user personas, context scenarios, and other user and context models.
• Communicate findings and implications from user research with Lab team and Fairfax stakeholders.

Visual Design

• Clear and realistic presentation of design concepts to customers and stakeholders.
• Design with a consistent look and feel that conveys a believable brand concept.

Research and Lab Support

• Create visuals such as diagrams, infographics, logos, presentation slides to support the Lab’s outreach and communications to Fairfax companies.
• Research in UX issues of emerging technology (ex. AI, voice UI, chatbots, AR, VR, Game-based design, advanced web technologies).
• General UX support (FV website, presentation visuals, newsletter contributions, etc.).

QUALIFICATIONS, SKILLS, & OTHER REQUIREMENTS:

• Portfolio of work that demonstrates your approach to solving user experience design problems.
• Product design experience preferably within a software, hardware, and/or start-up environment.
• Proficiency with design and prototyping tools such as Sketch, Figma, Photoshop, Illustrator, Balsamiq, Axure, Framer, Principle, etc.
• Experience with responsive web and mobile design.
• Experience conducting primary research including user research interviews and user testing.
• Comfortable facilitating or supporting the facilitation of design-related workshops.
• Excellent visual communication skills including whiteboard sketching, presentations slides, diagrams, etc.
• Excellent communication skills (spoken and written).
• Working knowledge of the Microsoft Office and Google Products.
• Familiarity with software development processes, Agile and Lean methodologies is an asset.
• Experience working a UX designer on an agile development team.
• Front-end development experience not required, but an asset.

September 2017: Looking back and looking ahead at UX in Waterloo Region

It’s been almost exactly ten years since uxWaterloo held its kick-off meeting at the Accelerator Centre in Waterloo. And it’s been just four days since the 2017 edition of Fluxible wrapped up. Given these milestones, we think a more reflective and conversational session is in order.

What do we want the next 10 years to look like? What’s on your mind UX-wise? What do you love about the UX community, both locally and globally? What are you looking for more of? How might the Waterloo Region become the place that designers in Canada want to call home?

Join us for lively conversation in which it’s 100% guaranteed that we’ll come up with all the answers! Or, if not, we’ll at least set the stage for ten more years of uxWaterloo topics. Yeah, let’s go with that…

Please register for this free event

Thursday September 28th, 2017
5:30 to 7:00 pm
3rd Floor Theatre, Roddenberry, Communitech
151 Charles Street West
Kitchener, Ontario