don demrow don demrow don demrow :: UI, SEO, web design and development specialist :: :: UI, SEO, web design and development specialist ::

see my resume in MS Word format (doc) - opens a new window.

expert answers to your UI, SEO, and web problems

I specialize in UI (User Interface) Design, SEO (Search Engine Optimization), web design, development of database driven websites, applications, content management systems, corporate intranet applications, usability, accessibility, and search engine strategy for corporate entities, small businesses, and non-profit organizations.

I have worked for some of the best companies on the planet, and there's a reason for that - it is because I care enough to do the kind of work that leaders in their respective industries expect.

a little about me
I started my internet design career in early 1998, in Munich, Germany while still attending college for Computer Management/Information Services. I worked for top-tier advertising, web design / development / new media companies there, until I came back to my home state of Wisconsin near the end of 2000.

More than 12 years of user-centered design / information architecture and development experience in the USA and Europe has given me the expertise necessary to offer the design, the usability, the functionality and the search engine ranking your company needs. You can only get this from a seasoned, senior UI web designer/developer.

I have an extensive proven track record in Search Engine Optimization (SEO), and I am a strong proponent of usability, section 508 accessibility, and adherence to validation and coding standards (W3C) and practices that facilitate cross-browser compatibility.

You can open my online portfolio here, or visit my links page to see some of the latest things I have been working on.

design and the interface
Good design is a cross between art and efficiency - a blending of principles that could be thought of as analogous to customer service plus ergonomics.

The most important thing in UI design for commercial business is that a prospective customer does not get so discouraged with the interface that they give up - the interface must be usable. There's no profit in partial transactions.

Statistics show that if a user has to wait more than eight seconds for an website to fully render, they will most likely leave.

Further, it doesn't matter how good your user interface is, if nobody can find it - an aggressive Search Engine Optimization (SEO) plan is essential to any company that hopes to be in business 5 years from now.

what are UI, GUI, UCD, and HFE?
UI is "User Interface" and is simply the name given to what a user (or "actor" as referred to in the world of usability) interacts with in the application. There are logical elements that are integral to the UI, and there are graphic elements to the design - this is where the term GUI or "Graphical User Interface" comes from.

UCD means "User Centered Design," and represents a conceptual milestone in the field of usability - simply by its existence, the term suggests that User Centered Design is, in fact, gaining the recognition it deserves.

HFE stands for "Human Factors Engineering," and is, quite simply, the science of how humans interact with systems.

You can read my "Usability and Intuitive Design" article here, or download it in MS Word here. (document size: 42KB)

my SEO/SEM philosophy
I only engage in what are known as "white hat" SEO practices. There is no justification for trying to cheat the search engines - even if such practices can yield a short-term improvement in SERP (Search Engine Result Pages) ratings, "black hat" SEO techniques will, over the long term, result in being penalized by the legitimate search engines such as Google, Yahoo, MSN, Live Search/Bing, AOL, and Lycos. The bottom line is, it does not pay to try to gain an unfair advantage.

The best advice I give my clients and students is, BE RELEVANT. That will yield better search engine results than anything else! If you compose well-written text about wizzy-widgets, you will be found by users conducting searches for "wizzy-widgets."

search engine optimization (SEO) results
I lived for a short time in Cincinnati, OH. By the time I had lived there for only five weeks, I had achieved top search engine results for terms such as "UI Cincinnati" and "SEO web Expert Cincinnati". Here are some of those results, which still stand today. This underscores the importance of using legitimate, or "white hat" techniques.

I'll let the results speak for themselves:

Google results for "UI SEO" - #1 of 4,090,000 (2/9/2010)
Google results for "UI Naples" - #1 of 405,000 (2/9/2010)
Google results for "Naples SEO Expert" - 1 of 71,100 (2/9/2010)
Google results for "UI Cincinnati" - #1 of 619,000 (2/9/2010)
Yahoo results for "UI SEO" - #1 of 13,400,000 (2/9/2010)
Live/Bing Search results for "UI SEO" - #1 of 1,540,000 (2/9/2010)
Google results for "Cincinnati SEO Expert" - #1 of 25,800 (2/9/2010)

These are proven results, and I've had the number one ranking for most of them for years now. Imagine what I can do for your company!

project update
I am currently working on a Flash-free JavaScript-based survey interface, which can be previewed here.

For Good User Experiences
I am appalled at the poorly designed interfaces I see daily on the internet.
More »

Limited Consulting Available
If your company is truly committed to offering your users an exceptional experience - and measurably so - and if you're not a small-time player, contact me. I am considering offering usability consulting services on a very exclusive basis. If your project is interesting, and if you can give me compelling enough reasons to take on your project, I can definitely help.

don demrow don demrow don demrow :: UI, SEO, web design and development specialist :: :: UI, SEO, web design and development specialist ::

expert answers to your UI, SEO, and web problems I specialize in UI (User Interface) Design, SEO (Search Engine Optimization), web design, development of database driven websites, applications, content management systems, corporate intranet applications, usability, accessibility, and search engine strategy for corporate entities, small businesses, and non-profit organizations. I have worked for some of the best companies on the planet, and there's a reason for that - it is because I care enough to do the kind of work that leaders in their respective industries expect. a little about me I started my internet design career in early 1998, in Munich, Germany while still attending college for Computer Management/Information Services. I worked for top-tier advertising, web design / development / new media companies there, until I came back to my home state of Wisconsin near the end of 2000. More than 12 years of user-centered design / information architecture and development experience in the USA and Europe has given me the expertise necessary to offer the design, the usability, the functionality and the search engine ranking your company needs. You can only get this from a seasoned, senior UI web designer/developer. I have an extensive proven track record in Search Engine Optimization (SEO), and I am a strong proponent of usability, section 508 accessibility, and adherence to validation and coding standards (W3C) and practices that facilitate cross-browser compatibility. You can open my online portfolio here, or visit my links page to see some of the latest things I have been working on. design and the interface Good design is a cross between art and efficiency - a blending of principles that could be thought of as analogous to customer service plus ergonomics. The most important thing in UI design for commercial business is that a prospective customer does not get so discouraged with the interface that they give up - the interface must be usable. There's no profit in partial transactions. Statistics show that if a user has to wait more than eight seconds for an website to fully render, they will most likely leave. Further, it doesn't matter how good your user interface is, if nobody can find it - an aggressive Search Engine Optimization (SEO) plan is essential to any company that hopes to be in business 5 years from now. what are UI, GUI, UCD, and HFE? UI is "User Interface" and is simply the name given to what a user (or "actor" as referred to in the world of usability) interacts with in the application. There are logical elements that are integral to the UI, and there are graphic elements to the design - this is where the term GUI or "Graphical User Interface" comes from. UCD means "User Centered Design," and represents a conceptual milestone in the field of usability - simply by its existence, the term suggests that User Centered Design is, in fact, gaining the recognition it deserves. HFE stands for "Human Factors Engineering," and is, quite simply, the science of how humans interact with systems. You can read my "Usability and Intuitive Design" article here, or download it in MS Word here. (document size: 42KB) my SEO/SEM philosophy I only engage in what are known as "white hat" SEO practices. There is no justification for trying to cheat the search engines - even if such practices can yield a short-term improvement in SERP (Search Engine Result Pages) ratings, "black hat" SEO techniques will, over the long term, result in being penalized by the legitimate search engines such as Google, Yahoo, MSN, Live Search/Bing, AOL, and Lycos. The bottom line is, it does not pay to try to gain an unfair advantage. The best advice I give my clients and students is, BE RELEVANT. That will yield better search engine results than anything else! If you compose well-written text about wizzy-widgets, you will be found by users conducting searches for "wizzy-widgets." search engine optimization (SEO) results I lived for a short time in Cincinnati, OH. By the time I had lived there for only five weeks, I had achieved top search engine results for terms such as "UI Cincinnati" and "SEO web Expert Cincinnati". Here are some of those results, which still stand today. This underscores the importance of using legitimate, or "white hat" techniques. I'll let the results speak for themselves: Google results for "UI SEO" - #1 of 4,090,000 (2/9/2010) Google results for "UI Naples" - #1 of 405,000 (2/9/2010) Google results for "Naples SEO Expert" - 1 of 71,100 (2/9/2010) Google results for "UI Cincinnati" - #1 of 619,000 (2/9/2010) Yahoo results for "UI SEO" - #1 of 13,400,000 (2/9/2010) Live/Bing Search results for "UI SEO" - #1 of 1,540,000 (2/9/2010) Google results for "Cincinnati SEO Expert" - #1 of 25,800 (2/9/2010) These are proven results, and I've had the number one ranking for most of them for years now. Imagine what I can do for your company!				project update I am currently working on a Flash-free JavaScript-based survey interface, which can be previewed here. For Good User Experiences I am appalled at the poorly designed interfaces I see daily on the internet. More » These are things such as: 1. Forms that don't work - When a form relies on code that is browser exclusive, or if (heaven forbid) your form is Flash without offering an HTML alternative for users that cannot view Flash, you'll not only make a user mad - you'll probably lose a sale. 2. Client side validation that is not only badly coded, but is actually vindictive - validation should not punish a user for entering incorrectly formatted data, but should assist and guide the user in the completion of the task at hand. 3. Pages that are not liquid - If a user has to horizontally scroll (this is actually called "panning") to read your page, or cannot see a section of the page because your web development team doesn't know how to dynamically size pages, your website will frustrate users, and again - you will lose sales. 4. Excessive clicks - A common misconception is CLICKS ARE BAD. This is not always true - the truth of the matter is this: UNNECESSARY clicks are bad. If a user has to "Click here to go to X section" then "Click here to go to X SUB section", then "Click here to go to X SUB-SUB section" (You get the idea), your website will frustrate users, and yet AGAIN - you will lose sales. Websites can be several layers deep, but don't make a user click endlessly for no reason, just to navigate your site. A good rule of thumb is two clicks maximum to get to any informational content - no more. 5. Hiding content behind HUGE forms - I don't generally mind providing a name, email address, or phone number to access content of value. And, I don't mind giving a legitimate company my address, if they're going to send me something. But DON'T make me fill out twenty blanks of ALL REQUIRED information - and don't EVER expect me to give you my social security number, date of birth, or mother's maiden name, or other sensitive or uniquely identifying information. I won't. Those people who know me know that I place great importance on the practice of good UI design, and on creating a good user experience, by applying good design practices to result in an intuitive user interface. The reason for this isn't arbitrary, it's driven by one of the most fundamental principles of good design: if users cannot complete the task on your website they wish to complete (buy a book, find information, track a package), they will go elsewhere, and they'll take their money with them. During the 1980's, men like Trammell Crow popularized the principles of customer service - real customer service principles that exemplified the slogan "Customer is King" - making people suddenly aware of the reality that the customer/client/patient, etc., is actually important to your business. Good usability practices are the manifestation of such principles. If you care about your users, make it easy for them to accomplish the task - the reason they're at your site - if you want to be successful. Men like Trammell Crow became billionaires by remembering that people matter. It is all about the user, after all! Yours in usability, *Don Demrow* Limited Consulting Available If your company is truly committed to offering your users an exceptional experience - and measurably so - and if you're not a small-time player, contact me. I am considering offering usability consulting services on a very exclusive basis. If your project is interesting, and if you can give me compelling enough reasons to take on your project, I can definitely help.
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