I’m Brian Kerr. At Different Chairs I help my clients (1) design and develop web applications, while (2) making sure they’re a good fit for their organizations, constituents, and constraints, and (3) devising ways to maintain and improve them after I’m gone.
Every project is unique, and I’ll do whatever I can to make yours a success. You’ll find me consulting in a few areas:
Software development. Creating features and applications, then getting them deployed as part of a repeatable process. Sometimes I’ll help an established team discover and learn to work with unfamiliar tools, or come to terms with a new project.
Design. Doing the research and creative work to answer questions like: Who will be using this? What do they expect? What experience should they have? Which user paths, layouts, constraints, and requirements invite this experience?
Content management. I’ve seen too many applications become ineffective because they don’t engage and motivate the people they rely on to keep things moving along.
(This one’s a secret.) Facilitation. Creating and supporting a shared venue for learning and engagement for myself, for whomever I work with, and for everybody who’ll use the things we make.
Please enjoy this passage from A Pattern Language (01977), Christopher Alexander’s cybernetic/humanist construction kit:
“A setting that is full of chairs, all slightly different, immediately creates an atmosphere which supports rich experience; a setting which contains chairs that are all alike puts a subtle straight jacket on experience.”
Physical variation is as important for the web as it is for the rest of the built environment — something to be accounted for not just in terms of access, but of utility and comfort.
I’ve been working on the web since 01999, delivering products in a variety of languages (Python, Ruby, Groovy, Javascript), frameworks (Django is still my favorite), and common content management systems, deployment tools, and servers. I’ve created responsive designs, as well as experiences tailored for mobile devices.
I’ve consulted in a variety of industries for clients large and small, including broadcast and news media, startups, higher education, the nonprofit sector (nonprofits, foundations, and MSOs), marketing, and manufacturing.
I’ve attended, participated in, and helped organize a number of open space events. I’ve also presented at several traditional meetings and conferences. I have two degrees:
Need more details? Want to talk about your project or ambitions? I’m looking forwards to speaking with you. Please find me at brian@joechip.net on e-mail, iMessage, and FaceTime, or on twitter as @chairkicker.
I’m currently exploring engagements for the second quarter of 02013.