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MAX Media

Max is a 3D design, animation, and presentation creation tool all in one. It was a complete redesign and combined multiple stand alone applications into one. The legacy applications were designed and developed by engineers with no design collaboration or custom visual design. MAX, the new application, enables television stations to forecast, detect, visualize, present, and share the weather in their own way, reflecting their own news brand. Meteorologists choose the capabilities they need from a suite of products to produce custom, accurate, and visually advanced on-air weather and traffic forecasts on all platforms.

 

Max was my first and most complicated project at WSI. The legacy products were Linux based and made up of multiple standalone applications that were designed and implemented by Engineers. This project had complicated workflows, scenarios, never-ending customizable options, and the ability to push video and image assets to multple platforms. My work on this project is primarily visual design because the framework,  screens, colors, icons, widgets, and buttons are all custom. However, I still needed to fully understand the workflow and detailed interactions in order to guide users through the screens. I worked from "wireframes", provided by the Interaction Designers, participated in brainstorming, and participated in peer design reviews. I supported multiple Product Designers on multiple features simulaneously while creating and feeding the developers visual design screenshots, specs, and images. I used Photoshop and Illustrator to create mockups and image assets as well as Microsoft Blend to create textures, button looks and states, and custom controls.

 

 

  • Visit television stations to observe on-air Meteorologists presenting the weather to get a feel for the environment they work in, how they are using our current tools, and to discover opportunities for features missing that may help improve their workflow.

  • Perform usability testing with internal Meteorologists and on site. Decipher information gathered and participate in discussions with internal stakeholders for what to do and when.

  • Create a high level strategy and direction for the look and feel including color, layout, typography, and imagry. Translate detailed wire frames, and interaction design specifications for every feature and provide detailed visual designs and specifications. Work with developers to push the boundaries for what is possible and negotiate trade offs between quality and schedule as they arise.

  • Perform "peer reviews" of visual design implementation and quality assurance checks on all that is visual during various stages of implementation. Enter and describe bugs in the bug database and track.

  • Store and organize graphic files, visual specifications, and sources using a code management system (Perforce).

Tasks
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