4 Job Postings Requiring Front-end Developer Skills

Creative Navigation LLC via Creative Hotlist 

Creative Navigation LLC, based in Loveland, CO, is on the lookout for a senior level designer/developer. This is not a job for a developer who is just starting out, but it's helpful to keep an eye on what skills companies are looking for while building up a portfolio. Loveland sits next to Fort Collins, home of Fat Tire beer and other tasty New Belgium brews.

Manzama via Craigslist

Manzama, in Bend, is looking for a front end web developer. They prefer an onsite worker, but might make an exception for the right person. Their list of technologies used is pretty extensive, so a beginning web developer might not have enough experience for this position.

Upsource via Craigslist

Located in Portland, OR, Upsource thinks pretty highly of themselves as a company to work for. It does sound like a pretty cool position. They are looking for a badass senior web developer with extensive design and coding skills, so non-badass beginners need not apply.

Kodak

I didn't realize that Kodak was still in business, but I guess they are plugging along after the implosion of the film industry. They are looking for a developer to work on one of their product lines. It would be interesting to see what they have in the works. They are looking for a minimum of 4 years experience or a bachelors degree.

4 Web Forms That Are Doing it Right (or Wrong)

St Charles

St. Charles' find a doctor form gives a variety of options for searching, but keeps it simple and straightforward. An advanced option button can be clicked to search by gender or alphabetically. The large text boxes and bold lettering are a good idea, especially for a hospital, as it makes the form useable for those with declining eyesight.


Deschutes Brewery

The contact form on the Deschutes Brewery website includes a beer quality option. Overall I would say the form is done well, but I think the beer quality option could remain hidden unless the user clicks a button or checkbox to add this option (like St Charles did for their find a doctor form).

Google

Google's advanced search option has helped me out many times, and it sure would have made life easier if it had been around in my grade school days. I like that they include search tips along the side of the form.




Ikea

Ikea's profile form is simple enough (although it could be better designed). My problem with it is that they ask the user to enter both their email address and password twice (the email is definitely overkill). I find the redundancy annoying and unnecessary and I've noticed that many websites have started to do away with it because there are better ways to verify information.

4 Web Sites Breaking a Usability Checklist Rule

I decided to pick on some local websites for this blog post, so here we go...

Identity

I would not know that the Phoenix Framing and Art Supply website was a picture framing business (based on the home page) if framing was not included in the business name. The site could use a prominent logo and clearer message on the home page. Another red mark: the colors (orange on black and lavender) are jarring, make reading difficult, and make me want to leave the site as quickly as possible. 

Navigation

With just a bit of shifting, the home page for Pure Care Dental of Bend could be significantly improved. The logo should move to the upper left, and the navigation menu should be placed across the top of the site. The menu is very hard to locate in its current position (below the photos), so just this small tweak would greatly improve this websites usability.

Prominent Logo

Bend Bulletin should do away with the banner ads across the top of their site. The ads compete with their logo, and make it harder to locate. The ads should be moved to the sidebar, so the logo takes a prominent position for instant recognition.

Scannable Content

The home page and about us page, at the Gear Fix, could use headings and/or emphasis to make the content easily scannable. A timeline would also be a good way to add a visual storyline and increase the readability of the about us page.

4 Examples of Simple and Stylish Navigation Menus

Jessica Hische

I really like Jessica Hische's sub-navigation menu. It includes snippets of her most recent projects. Her designs are very colorful, so the navigation menu feels very bold and fun. Her main navigation is very simple, but I think it is effective and suits her style.

Jen Gotch 

Jen has a creative, playful menu that I really enjoy. That being said, it is not a very effective menu because one must return to the home page to navigate to another area of her website. The menu is fun, but it really should carry through the entire site to help it flow

Frank Sturges Reps

Frank Sturges has a very simple, left floating, drop down menu to navigate through the artists portfolios. I really like this menu format, and love the site in general. Besides the artists menu, the rest of the information is right on the main page, which keeps the site from feeling overly cluttered.

Nike 

I'm using Nike as an example again, because the navigation menu is very stylish and effective. They have a lot of content, and this menu format keeps things feeling tidy and organized.