Where are the Rich Internet Application *Designers*

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I came across an interesting job post for a company, Blist, I’m fairly familiar with looking for a “Rich Internet Application Designer“. The “RIA Designer” position is going to become one of the most important jobs in the Rich Internet Application space. Jesse Warden talks about this a bit (his wife is a usability ninja)

What does a RIA designer do? Creates interfaces, makes usable designs and works with designers and developers to create those interactions. It’s a pretty important part. They are part information architect, part RIA developer, which is kind of a tough mix.

The position really hasn’t existed until now because usability in software, let alone web applications, wasn’t as important (or easy). Now it is, so these people are in high demand. And what tools do they use? Expression Blend seems to be the best thing right now, but Fireworks is out there. It’s something that will be interesting to watch over the coming months. RIAs are actually helping to create NEW types of jobs. I think that’s a good sign.

[tags]Rich Internet Application Designer, Rich Internet Applications, Expression Blend, Blist[/tags]

Related posts:

  1. Do all Rich Internet Application Technologies Suck?
  2. Is Rich Internet Application a Bad Term?
  3. The Elusive Rich Internet Application
  4. Ryan Stewart, Professional Rich Internet Application Blogger
  5. Speaking at the Rich Internet Application Summit with Adobe and effectiveUI
  • http://www.flashcomguru.com Stefan Richter

    A good sign indeed, but where are the designers to help me make my work looks cool? Ryan, if you find one please send him/her over :-)

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  • Marlon Smith

    Yeah, as development is my primary skill, I’m in the process of building my design, usability and IA skills. It’s opened my eyes to a whole new way of developing products, I don’t want to sound corny here, but it has changed the way I build software forever!

    I am in the beginning stages of this and there is so much information and theory out there, but as a software developer User Centric Design (UCD) has been the most rewarding.

    UCD/IA/UX is what’s missing from the SDLC of a large percentage of our consumer and corporate software development projects! Over time I’m hoping the industry and education will help make design a first class process of our SDLC.

    Microsoft seems to have awakened to this and has the resources to influence a large section of developers and architects. Hopefully as Microsoft begins to add more roles to its Team System products, designers who find themselves using MS technologies, will have a home on the projects.

    Adobe has established tools and are making some moves in the developer space, but for me, as I am not a Adobe developer, it’s hard to see a cohesive vision, beyond just delivering enabling technologies like Flex/Flash/Apollo.

  • http://subvert.ca/ Geof Harries

    As far as tools go, Expression Blend is only for Microsoft app deployment, correct? Conversely, if you want to deploy in Flex or Apollo, you’d use Fireworks. I don’t think there’s more than these two options available, unless you count Illustrator.

    Speaking of Fireworks, as an interface/interaction designer myself, is the Flex code output from CS3 reasonably good? There’s a new Export option that I’m interested in using for my app design projects.

  • http://www.terrytech.tk Terry

    Hi, My name is Terry Welsh- I’m recruting for this a RIA applciation developer to work in NJ- it’s a full time gig with an internationl financial software firm.
    If you know anyone that would be interested/qualifed, please contact me at 212/293-4432 or Terry@cisny.com; I’d like to chat with them.
    Thank you.
    Terry Welsh
    Managing Director-North America
    Concepts in Staffing

  • http://subvert.ca/ Geof Harries

    Thinking about this further from a designer perspective, most of us have been wholly caught up in XHTML, CSS and Javascript over the past few years. There’s a huge community of designers who are very comfortable in these “traditions” but very few of us who have made the leap to Flex and RIA interface design.

    Momentum is starting to shift, but designers are typically the last to latch onto new technologies. It therefore may be a long time before there’s a varied selection of designers to even contact, let alone decide between. Those of us who have already started designing for Flex (wink, wink) have a leg up here.

  • http://www.scalenine.com Juan

    I was/am having a hard time just finding designers to help contribute to scalenine.com in the way of themes. Maybe I’ll start a site where other Flex designers, or any RIA designers, can register and post their work. It’s neat hearing a demand is building for what I do, but also for Flex developers in general.

    Hopefully with the release of the new CS3 suite of products there will be more RIA designers using Flex here pretty soon. Some of the things you mentioned in previous posts make me think this is a promising assumption.

  • http://www.newput.com Jonathan Curtis

    I’ve been part of the RIA scene for several years and witnessed firsthand the increasing need for both UX design and RIA development talent. Without the appropriate application of this technology, the results can be disappointing at best.

    At Newput we have built and continue to develop a team that is comfortable in both worlds. We are riding the wave right now and see the demand for the hybrid skills only increasing in the near future.

  • on line wagering

    Super Informationen verpackt in einem tollen Design.