Topics include:
* marketing yourself
* legal/licensing issues
* pricing your services
* web technologies to keep abreast of
* and more

Beyond the sessions, this is a great opportunity to network with regional freelancers with complementary skills.

While the conference is based here in the Raleigh area, our speakers include both regional and out-of-state speakers.

http://indieconf.com has more info on sessions and speakers - final speaker selections will be announced in early September.

Get your ticket now at http://indieconf.com/register

Questions?  Call 919 827 4724

As a key member of the marketing team, the Web Designer will work closely with other members of the marketing team to develop and produce effective online properties that meet business objectives and clearly communicate company positioning and messages. This position will support various communication objectives across Bronto’s Marketing team and report to the VP of Marketing.

Bronto provides the opportunity to develop and execute engaging web designs for a variety of online formats, including websites, microsites, blogs, developer community properties, Twitter, Facebook and more. Through all of the online work, the unique Bronto brand must be kept to the forefront. The Bronto brand is not typical for the b-to-b or technology space. Our brand is fun, engaging, personal and while we take our business very seriously, we do not take ourselves too seriously. This is a chance to be part of a collaborative team who is willing to take risks. We are NOT looking for the same, staid approach as many in our space. The Bronto environment provides a more dynamic and compelling culture in which to grow professionally as a b-to-b corporate web designer

We are looking for a web designer who can:
* Solve business problems through strategic, insightful and creative design, executing at the highest levels of quality.
* Design and execute online media properties, communicating Bronto’s brand identity appropriately to each audience and in each medium.​
* Take ownership, lead initiatives and successfully execute through all stage of development - on message, on time and on budget.
* Perform project management duties including managing the production schedule, with flexibility and goal orientation.​
* Work with various internal constituencies to execute on corporate and/or marketing strategies.​

Requirements of this wonderful, fun, and exciting opportunity are:
* 3+ years designing and building websites. A B2B focus and/or SaaS experience is a big plus.
* A fantastic design portfolio showing world-class work you’ve done for corporate websites, blogs, landing pages, social media and other sites.
* Ability to take complex design mockups and execute them perfectly with handwritten and standards-compliant HTML & CSS.
* A knowledge of cross-browser compatibility issues as well as progressive enhancement techniques (using CSS3) for browsers that support them.
* A working knowledge of Javascript, Flash, and server-side programming languages is a plus.
* A knowledge of blog & CMS platforms (Wordpress, Drupal, Joomla, etc.) and ability to understand, create and update templates.
* Ability to work independently and produce high-quality work for multiple ongoing projects without breaking a sweat.
* Great presentation skills and the ability to share work with various internal groups, articulate design decisions and collaborate to determine final design considerations.
* A knowledge of current web design trends and excitement about future technologies (HTML5) is a plus.

With current technology, it is easy to build too much software, too fast. You can quickly get into a client project without helping them clearly think through their needs and goals. It is also possible to spend so much time planning a project that you never get to the hard work of actually building it.

Rapid prototyping and customer development come to our aid here. The concept is simple. Build the smallest thing possible that is at the core of the business idea and do it in a way that gives a sense of what the whole product will be. Then get it to your clients and encourage them to talk with their customers about it. Then rinse and repeat.

John will give a brief introduction and the describe techniques for putting the concept into practice. In particular, he’ll talk about using wireframes, paper prototypes, HTML prototypes, and dummy applications, as well as some designer to developer work flows.

Speaker:
John W. Long is a software developer and designer. He spends most of his time on the design side, but he can’t get away from dabbling in Ruby and Javascript. He is passionate about user-driven design and helping clients build successful businesses. John is the proprietor of http://wiseheartdesign, the creator of Radiant CMS, and an active contributor to open source.

Location:
Relevance
200 North Mangum Street
Suite 204
Durham, NC 27701

This is a full time, salaried position, working out of our office.  It is a great opportunity for any rising star who needs a change, wants more responsibility, more growth opportunity, or wants to have some fun while at work.

We want someone who is a team player, a problem solver, a hard worker, and has a thirst for learning new skills.  If you possess these traits and have a resume/portfolio to back it up, then contact us to set up an interview.

email resumes and a brief blurb about yourself to nick@smashingboxes.com

SUMMARY
Responsible for delivering the intuitive interfaces to our customers by performing the following duties.

ESSENTIAL DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES include the following.
• Create user flows, wireframes and visual mock ups from requirements
• Develop user interface designs and experiences
• Translates static design layouts into dynamic web interfaces.
• Work with Photoshop and Dreamweaver to produce templates of HTML and CSS
• Implement JavaScript libraries using JQuery and Prototype
• Research and analyze latest user interface paradigms being used on the market
• Works with product development team.
• Focuses on web optimization and coding of GUIs for websites and web-based applications.

Requirements
JOB SPECIFICATIONS
• Understanding of user-centered design and the ability to turn prototypes into functional designs.
• Understanding of and experience in user-centered design methodology.
• Thorough knowledge of all of the following: CSS, HTML, DHTML, JavaScript and related software.
• Experience implementing JavaScript libraries like JQuery and Prototype.
• Understanding of SEO concepts.
• Ability to work independently, as well as part of a team.
• Demonstrated ability to contribute to concept development and requirements specifications.
• Detail oriented
• 1 – 2 years experience is a plus



EDUCATION and/or EXPERIENCE
Bachelor’s Degree in Computer Science, User Centered Design, Visual Communication, Iterative Design or Related field from four-year College or university

Salary based upon education and experience level.
Local candidates only.
Graduate students welcome to apply.

Send resume to: rtptechjobs@gmail.com

Things You’d Be Doing:
- Migration of data from Postgres to MySQL.
- Development of data migration scripts.
- Optimizing database queries and structures.
- Mirroring databases for use in a development environment.
- Modifying and creating Drupal modules.
- Creating custom reports.

Stuff You Should Know:
- Experience with both MySQL and Postgres.
- Ability to write data migration scripts.
- Knowledge of SQL query best practices and database tuning.
- Some experience setting up mirrored/replicated databases, or a willingness to learn.
- Inherent desire to make things run faster and more efficiently.

Very Helpful Qualities:
- Enjoy learning new things.
- Strong problem-solving skills.
- Fondness for open-source software.
- Good communication skills, particularly in email correspondence.
- Basic familiarity with Drupal or similar module-based CMS.
- Computer Science degree or equivalent experience.
- LAMP/Wamp experience.

Still Reading?
Merge Records is a casual work environment. For the right person, the really cool thing about the job would be the fact that you would be working with an interesting and varied data set: bands, music, tour dates, sales, downloads, users, forums, blogs… you name it. It would be yours to optimize, normalize, and make elegant.

Send availability (the number of hours or days a week you’d like to work), resume, salary requirements, and a short introductory letter to the c/o this posting.

OK, so this “user experience” thing is supposed to be really important. From the tiniest start-ups to the mega-corporations, everyone wants to create products and services that are joyful to use, widely adopted, and much-loved by customers. But how do we actually go about creating great experiences for our customers? While design (including interaction, visual, and information design) is a critical component, many design teams fail to take full advantage of strategic thinking and user research to inform their work.

Let’s get up to speed on these critical practices. I’ll discuss strategy as a process of focus, and research as a process of empathy. For each area, I’ll present some key approaches that can help shift your perspective and embrace these modes of thinking. You’ll leave with a set of resources and activities for beginning to explore the use of strategy and research in your work — so you can help make your product or service better.

Speaker:
Abe Crystal, Ph.D., is a principal at MoreBetterLabs, a small but feisty company dedicated to creating a better Web through design. We’re currently developing our first product, ruzuku. Ruzuku helps passionate experts (such as authors, speakers, and coaches) create online learning communities. In addition, we work with clients (such as Duke University, NC State University, and NC LIVE), to improve their user experience. We’ve designed online communities, digital libraries, and ecommerce sites. MoreBetterLabs is also presenting “UX 101”, a 2-day boot camp introduction to user experience methods, in September. See http://morebetterlabs.com/ux101/ for details.

Location:
Railinc
7001 Weston Parkway
Third Floor
Cary, NC 27513

Earlier this year, feeling overwhelmed by all the new technology filling the pages of his favorite tech blogs, David decided to commit himself to spending an hour with a new technology every day for a month. In this talk, he’ll share his experiences and explore the nature of motivation and what it takes to stay ahead of the programming curve. You can read about the project at http://techmonth.tumblr.com.

Speaker:
David Eisinger is a senior web developer at Viget Labs. He specializes in Ruby on Rails, javascript, and RESTful web services.

Location:
Rigsbee Hall
208 Rigsbee Ave.
Durham, NC 27701

You’re a developer. You write code. But your users don’t see your code. They only see the user interface. We’re going to have a conversation about how to think through your product’s user interface. We’ll focus on a few analytical techniques you can use to analyze your user interface and to communicate with a designer.

Speaker:
Jess’s fascination with rapidly prototyping products led him to building applications for the web where he contributed to several startups. 60% developer, 40% designer, and 100% ninja, he brings a singular focus on the end-user to any product he works on. Jess is a principal at Relevance.

Location:
Fragment Labs
226 Fayetteville Street
Raleigh, NC 27601

Jackson Fox and I will be ‘launching’ our product, ruzuku, at this event.

Would love to see some Refresh folks there!