Episode 8 - Jonathan, UI Designer
I caught up with UI Designer Jonathan during a recent visit to Google’s headquarters in Mountain View, California. Jonathan explained how he and the rest of the UI crew keep Google’s products fun, interactive and easy-to-use!
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Caitlin: Hi Jonathan! How long have you been at Google?
Jonathan: I’ve been at Google for almost four years. I’ve always been based in Mountain View, but I’ve moved around to a bunch of buildings I think I’m at move number five now.
C: What made you interested in Google?
J: I studied human-computer interaction at school, which is a hybrid of computer science, design and psychology. I wanted to solve really interesting problems on a huge scale and help users at the same time, so it seemed like my interests aligned pretty well with Google’s.
C: Tell me about your role as a UI Designer?
J: UI (or User Interface/Interaction) Designers are part of Google’s larger User Experience Team, which also includes User Experience Researchers. These are the guys who help us understand what products we should be building based on what our users want. I actually started out as a Researcher, then moved to the Design team two years ago. As a designer, my challenge is to make Google’s products simple and intuitive. Sometimes this means taking existing applications and making them easier to use, or working with engineering teams to build user-friendly products from the ground up.
C: What projects and applications are you working on now?
J: I’m currently working on Google Buzz, but before that I was on the Friend Connect team. We helped people add easy-to-use social functionality (like log-in systems and comments gadgets) to their websites. Basically, creating social outlets where the community visiting a site could come together to talk and share. I enjoyed working on Friend Connect partly because it wasn’t a traditional stand-alone product like Gmail or Maps. Instead, we were designing things for people to take off the shelf and add to their own sites. Additionally, there are a lot of different users for us to consider - not just the people who will be interacting with the widgets, but also the people who own the websites. How does the community interact? How do site owners find, get, and manage the gadgets they add to their sites? How can we make it easier for them to analyze and iterate on the social functionality of their site? These are types of questions we would ask ourselves.
C: What's the most interesting piece of design you've had the chance to do at Google?
J: Hmmm...I helped design a product called Reader Play which is pretty radical from what we traditionally do at Google. The goal was to create something fun and entertaining that felt more like a TV experience than a traditional web application. I think we were pretty successful – Internet chatter has been positive and lots of people reported spending hours just reading funny comics and watching cool videos!
C: Do you interact with other teams a lot?
J: Yup! Members of the UI team don’t always sit together. Instead, we sit individually with the engineers who are building the products we’re working on. This means we have daily interaction with engineers, product managers, PR, legal, the whole gamut. So, I’m currently sitting in the middle of the Buzz development team. There’s a ton of us in a small space with desks in a star configuration. We’re packed in - but we like this because it makes the barrier to collaboration so much lower. If I’m working on a design, I just peek over my monitor and wave at the product manager. He peers around the corner, looks at what I’m doing and gives me feedback - right then I’ve got instantaneous buy-in or approval. So, being in a tight environment really helps us get things done.
C: Sounds like close quarters are good for creativity! What do you think is the coolest thing happening in the tech world right now?
J: I like all the stuff that’s happening with alternative forms of computing, i.e. devices we wouldn’t traditionally consider to be computers - things like Android phones or iPads or whatever - the idea that it’s not just about a keyboard, a screen and a mouse anymore. There are all sorts of other ways to interact with technology now; touch screens, for instance. Touch screens can allow more intimate interactions where you feel like you’re directly manipulating the objects on the screen. There’s just something satisfying about that! All this is really interesting to UI Designers. No more of: ‘I really wish I could create a certain type of app or design but I can’t cause I don’t have a keyboard.’ Now, the keyboard can be on the screen. When you’re not constrained by the physical capabilities of hardware, you can do some really cool stuff with UI.
C: What do you do when you’re not being a Google UI Designer?
J: I play guitar. I’m into the Beatles, Pink Floyd and general classic rock.
C: Who isn’t?!
J: And, as you can see from my t-shirt, I’m also into video games [Jonathan is wearing a Super Mario t-shirt].
C: Cool shirt! I remember the first time I played Super Mario Bros. 3, back in 1988. I remember thinking it was the most hgh-tech, realistic game that could ever possibly be created.
J: I have a television from 1984 and an old Nintendo system on top of it with all my games that I still play (and some of the newer stuff as well). I also have an obsession with Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland, by Lewis Carroll. I have about 20 copies of the book - some are over 100 years old. I love old books with cool bindings, I like the physical experience of holding, reading and ‘interfacing’ with them.
C: Well, I guess that’s why you’re a User Interaction Designer!
J: Yeah, I’m really interested in all types of interface and experience - whether they’re software-based or not. Taking out a vinyl record or picking up a book creates a really important user experience that doesn’t always translate in the digital world.
C: And finally, on a completely unrelated note: If a car travelling at the speed of light switches on its headlights, does it make a difference?
J: Ummm...it depends on if there’s any traffic? Obviously, you do want other space cars to see you coming!
C: Fabulous answer! Thanks for talking with me today, Jonathan!
J: Anytime, Caitlin!
Who says you can’t have fun at work?
Posted by Carolyn Lee, University Programs
