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UX Hours offers informal, free-form, office hours-style video chat sessions with professional information architects, user experience designers, user researchers and interaction designers, in 30- and 60-minute blocks.
30 minute sessions are $49. They’re best if you’ve never talked with a designer before, if you don’t know what you don’t know, if you’re not sure what you need, if you want to know if a designer is even the right sort of person you should be talking to. Or, if you have a very tight budget; perhaps this is your side project? Or, if you’re very experienced with design issues and need a second opinion, or someone to talk through a very specific problem with.
60 minute sessions are $129. They’re more expensive because they require a little more involvement from both you and us if you want to use the time well. You should understand your design issue and your customers well and be able to articulate any customer research you’ve done. Or, perhaps you’ve never done any research: an hour with a researcher can teach you how to find one and what your expectations should be for solving your problem. Perhaps you’re a startup and need a high-level product design review.
Whatever your needs, UX Hours allows you to talk with a professional designer or researcher within a fixed scope with no obligation. Sessions are reserved at least 24 hours in advance and may be held over Skype, Google Talk, Google+ Hangout, or FaceTime.
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UX Hours schedules with professional designers and researchers based on availability and need. You might not talk with the same designer or researcher twice, but you’ll always talk with an experienced, senior designer or researcher who can provide professional, timely assistance.
Our designers include William Yarbrough, a user experience designer living in Austin with a global focus. He has a wide array of skills including in-depth user testing, wireframing, and visual design. He’s passionate about mobile design and has worked in startups as far away as China to big public companies here at home like Dell and Demand Media.
Researchers include Elena O’Curry, a Chicago-based anthropologist & strategist who has brought an insatiable curiosity to projects ranging from frozen food shopping to automated retail. She has more than 10 years of global experience framing problems and generating insights to inform strategy & drive innovation. Her favorite tools to unlock and illustrate user needs include ethnography, contextual observation, cultural probes, consumer labs and experience modeling.
UX Hours is run by Vitorio Miliano, a skilled user experience and interaction designer with broad experience across many types of products and organizations (résumé and portfolio for the curious). Whether you’re a startup (he’s founded three and mentored others), a large company (he’s been a company man and a consultant) or another designer (he works to build better local design communities), Vitorio has the experience you need, whether for 30 minutes or for 30 hours a week.
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…if you have a specific interaction problem you can articulate and demonstrate.
…if you have a new idea but don't know how to proceed with product design.
…if you are an experienced designer and need a gut-check or professional second opinion.
…if you've never hired a designer before and need to learn how to find one.
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…second-guessing your current designer (let them make an appointment with us if they think they need to; you should trust them, or let them go).
…having us create deliverables for you, such as wireframes or surveys (but someone may be available for a full design or research engagement).
…organizations that require non-disclosure or non-compete agreements (we do not record our sessions and we keep our discussions in confidence, but such paperwork requires a full design or research engagement).
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A professional designer or researcher will follow up with you within 24 hours, either with additional questions, or with an invoice which includes your appointment information. You must pay the invoice for the appointment to proceed. Refunds are not given for unused time or for missed sessions. Sessions may be rescheduled given advance notice at the discretion of your designer or researcher.
Most fields are required.
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Have a question not answered here? Email us at help at this domain.
Need design assistance that’s not IA, UX, IxD or research-related, such as industrial design, visual design, graphic design, illustration, photography, communications design, copywriting, content strategy, or SEO? Email us at otherhours at this domain, and we’ll see if we can refer you to someone. Rates may vary.
