Joshua Rapp
Specialties
user experience design, interface development, user research, usability, persona development, information architecture, motion graphic design and illustration.
User Experience Designer, Motion Artist, Animator and Film Nerd
Email: hello.there@joshuarapp.com
Affiliations
Co-chair the Gainesville chapter of the Interaction Design Association (IxDA), Member of JAX UX, Member of the Gainesville WordPress Meetup
Other Valuable Life Skills
Audio and Video Production, 2D/3D Animation, Ability to grow a beard, Social Marketing, Kung-fu grip, presentation skills, design sales
Graduated from New River Community College in 2006 with an A.A.S. in Applied Computer Science with a Specialization in 3D Animation.
Accomplishments:
Adjunct Teacher, Deans List
I have had the privilege of working for a variety of clients, both in-house and remotely, across the web for more than 15 years.
In all that time what has really intrigued me and kept me driven for so long is my passion for a better experience not only for the users but the clients as well. Building lasting relationships and developing ways to understand how people will use the sites and products I make on a day to day basis is what keeps me coming back for more.
No one person should be an island, and user experience is no exception. It should be seen as a collaborative effort across various disciplines with the UX team leading the narrative and integrating the change in the design work. This includes the customer base who also can provide valuable insight with a products experience and usability. It honestly what prompted me to write the UX Manifesto.
The best piece of advice I could give to anyone starting out is “Don’t be afraid to break things.” We learn new things when putting the pieces back together and experimenting is half of the fun.
Employment History to Date
Role: UX Design Lead
Objectives & Responsibilities:
Established a design system for use with software development, developed processes for an iterative design practice, conducted user interviews, created personas from qualitative and quantitative research, established user testing practice, worked with product owners to identify core pieces of the product design work, UI design, worked on ensuring 508 compliance.
Role: Lead UX Designer
Objectives & Responsibilities:
Established a design system for use across multiple departments, developed processes for an iterative design practice, conducted user interviews, created personas from qualitative and quantitative research, established user testing practice and usability lab space, worked with product owners to identify core pieces of the service design work, UI design, worked on ensuring 508 compliance.
Role: Multimedia Manager (Art Director)
I was originally brought into Cofense for my skills as an animator and illustrator, but as my responsibilities grew so did my contributions from a UX standpoint. During my time with the company we launched over 800 pieces of new education and email content to date while running video and infographic operational projects. I was able to break down communication silos by working with other teams within and outside of product to design persona, user flows, prototypes and branding elements.
Objectives & Responsibilities:
Motion graphic design, audio and video production, illustration, photography, web/print ready Infographics with responsive and interactive design, small budget animation projects, designing user-oriented interfaces and design systems, user research, market research, front-end development, groom content strategies, junior designer mentorship, balancing the spending budget.
Role: UX/UI Developer
Working at Mindtree gave me the ability to work inside of an Agile development environment and fostered more open communication with my development team. While working there, I was the User Experience and Interface Lead on several projects, such as working with Southwest Airlines and developing mobile UX strategies working with their Director of Mobile Technology.
Objectives & Responsibilities:
Develop methods for maintaining a lean user experience practice, run and manage usability tests, designing user-oriented interfaces, user research, market research, front-end development, content strategy/UX for an internal employee social network, intern mentorship.
Role: Lead UX/UI
I was hired at Imagination Incorporated as a contract user experience professional to help them build and advance their ad agency with the principle of a user centered design approach. During which time I’ve created successful campaigns for their client base and an eCommerce shop.
Objectives & Responsibilities:
Develop methods for maintaining a lean user experience practice, run and manage usability tests, design interfaces, hiring team members, creating development procedures, user research, market research, customer training, front-end development, project management.
Role: UI/Wordpress Developer
I was contracted by Jane Clark of Teakettica to help build and code her design work for her WordPress clients. As things progressed so did my responsibilities with the studio as I began copy writing for them from time to time. My core function still remains as the WordPress developer.
Objectives & Responsibilities:
Develop multiple WordPress based themes, build HTML/CSS/Javascript sites, responsive web design, copywriting, design consultation, content generation.
Role: Web and Multimedia Specialist
Most of my work involved desktop development RDA’s and RIA’s with my time being split working on video productions and post-production. I was on contract from Robert Half Technology.
Objectives & Responsibilities:
Creating rich desktop applications with Flash catalyst for marketing purposes, aid in shooting and producing various video shoots, audio production and post-production for training materials, creating web applications to deliver video content.