XPLANE was challenged to create an application that was more than just a “page turning” tool. “The process definitely challenged our designers, making us consider new ways to enhance functionality around how data was being presented, while also fostering intuitive interaction between the user and the application,” said Parker Lee, executive vice president, global account services, Dachis Group. “The end result really does put a new face on information.”

You can download the “World in Figures” iPhone app from the iTunes store today. The iPad version is in development.

We didn’t.

A love letter to Designers from XPLANE on Vimeo.

Dear future XPLANE Designer,

We may not have met yet, but I suspect you’ll receive this letter as if it’s a call from a wayward kindred spirit. See, we’ve got this magic chemistry that’s precious and rare. In short, I’m looking for you. More directly, the world needs you.

First, let me tell you that XPLANE is unlike anywhere you’ve worked before. We give respect to Design by using it as a proper noun. We’re neither an advertising agency nor a marketing group — we’re a consultative Design studio wherein Designers employ the arts of listening, strategizing, creating and presenting on a daily basis.

Now that I have your attention, please allow me a few moments to tell you why you’re so very special.

For starters, you have stunning visual chops. You have the talent, experience, and skill needed to deliver every time. Some of our best Designers on staff have advanced degrees, while others have no formal training at all. Wherever you land on the spectrum, you’re able to balance your academic credentials with an intuitive flair that leads to jaw-dropping and timeless visual Design.

This said, you know that great looking work isn’t everything; experience creation is your ultimate goal. Yes, you know the nuts and bolts of how to build interactive and print projects from the ground up, but the reason we’re interested in you is your ability to place yourself within the minds of your audience. You uncover what is interesting to them, mastermind what will surprise them, and formulate what will help them to best understand and retain what they experience.

You think like da Vinci. Everyone can draw, it’s true, but you can REALLY draw. Like, with a pencil. Or with a marker while standing in front of fifty people. You might even be able to draw with a tablet on your computer. What’s more, you can listen and draw at the same time. And chew gum. Kidding about the gum. Drawing is the start of every project we do and shepherding your Designs from inception to completion requires that you be a true renaissance man or woman to make the grade.

While I know you can find fulfillment in nearly every Design challenge, you can afford to expect a great variety. At XPLANE, you’ll work sometimes from a directional void and sometimes within strict guidelines. You won’t be making web banners because you’re an industry-agnostic multimedia ninja who is constantly asked to stretch into illustration, writing, motion, sound Design and much more. You’ll Design for varied industries and for some of the most exciting companies in the world, including many of the Fortune 100. Some currently active studio projects include mobile apps, interactive sites, touchscreen experiences, process maps, training courses, print campaigns, visual languages and animated movies. Diverse, right? Here are some examples: http://xplane.com/portfolio. Here are some more: http://youtube.com/user/xplanevisualthinking.

You’re not just a studio Designer — you travel well. We won’t keep you locked in some tower. In fact, you might be in Portland your first week, off to San Francisco for a few days, then straight to Vegas, then back to the studio. Maybe even a jaunt to Brussels. We have clients all over the world and guess what — we send our Designers to meet them at the beginning of almost every project, so make sure your passport is up to date.

You can appreciate sky-high limits. We’ll encourage you to try new things and you’ll have the freedom to be as creative as your project (and budget) allows. This means you’re a natural learner. You’re curious, even nosey. You’ll act autonomously but won’t feel alone in your endeavors. But be warned – with such freedoms, come great responsibilities. This job isn’t for the faint of heart.

Now in closing, I must ask, did you know that XPLANE was voted by our employees as one of Oregon Business Journal’s 100 best Places to Work? Yup. We’ve been working really hard to earn that title. We know that at the end of the day, it’s all about our people. They’re our most valuable asset. One more DYK — we’re also one of Oregon Business Journal’s Fastest Growing Companies for five years running. When you have great people with great talent, you attract great clients and create great work.

Now you know what we’re looking for. I can’t wait to hear your thoughts.

Much love,
XPLANE

PS: If you feel that you’re right for us, please send your résumé, portfolio and references.

How to apply

• Portland studio: http://xplane.catchthebest.com/apply/7d3e/25b2
• Amsterdam studio: http://xplane.catchthebest.com/apply/5b59/25b2
• St. Louis studio: http://xplane.catchthebest.com/apply/61d6/25b2

And good luck. We can’t wait to meet you! <3

I love my iPad, but the finger-only interface has been a continuing frustration for me. As an artist and designer, I want to do things that I can easily do with a pen and paper, like write, scribble and sketch. But these are not things we typically do with our fingers, any more than we eat soup or salad with our fingers.

Apple apologists will say that you can sketch and write with the iPad, and indeed we can. Yes, and indeed we can also eat salad or even soup without utensils if it’s absolutely necessary. But that’s not ideal, is it? Over the years we’ve developed tools, like forks, spoons, knives and yes, pens, that make life easier. We should expect no less from our interface designers.

Recently I participated in a stimulating discussion on Twitter with user experience designers @docbaty, @daveixd, @mojoguzzi and @fred_beecher that left me thinking — could we solve this problem without changing the hardware? And indeed I think we can.

The problem that a pen solves (beyond carrying ink around) is that it gives the user the ability to “see where they are going.” Using your finger to draw on the iPad, or even one of the many styli that are available, has the tendency to hide the point of the virtual “pen,” thus hiding the path.

Now imagine an interface that allows you to use the natural gesture you use to write with a pen or pencil, and gives you a point that you can see. Suddenly you can see where you are going and the primary problem is solved.

One of the things that occurred to me this morning — which led to this insight — was that when Apple first “virtualized” the keyboard by adding it to the software interface instead of the hardware, there was a lot of initial resistance. I was one of those resisters. I couldn’t imagine using a phone without a physical keyboard. But over time, I learned to use the virtual keyboard and now I appreciate the additional flexibility that this interface gives me: to have more screen or less as the case demands.

Why not do the same with the stylus? A “virtualized pen” would answer most of my gripes and over time I would probably come to love it. I might even stop carrying a pen and paper around. And that would be an interface I could fall in love with.

The Touch Gesture Reference Guide is a unique set of resources for software designers and developers working on touch-based user interfaces.

The guide contains: 1) an overview of the core gestures used for most touch commands 2) how to utilize these gestures to support major user actions 3) visual representations of each gesture to use in design documentation and deliverables 4) an outline of how popular software platforms support core touch gestures.

The Interaction Design Pilot Year is a collaborative initiative between Copenhagen Institute of Interaction Design (CIID) and The Danish Design School (DKDS). Our aim is for students, faculty and staff to work together in a multi-cultural, multidisciplinary studio environment to co-create a new kind of education that is relevant for academia and industry.

Design books are often expensive and contrary – sometimes the book is worth having for the physical production values alone, sometimes for the images, sometimes for the words and, occasionally, for all three. We wanted to cover those elements in our reviews so that you know whether it’s worth owning.”

Now ground-breaking research by cognitive psychologist Professor Simon Liversedge and his team at the University of Southampton has shown that this is not actually the case. They found that our eyes are actually up to something much more exciting when we read — our eyes look at different letters in the same word and then combine the different images through a process known as fusion.”