Responsive Web Design Podcast showcases Ushahidi's design team

Responsive Web Design Podcast hosts Karen McGrane and Ethan Marcotte graciously invited Ushahidi Senior Designer Sophie Shepherd and me to talk this week about how our design team’s focus on performance and pattern libraries has improved the usability of Ushahidi’s products -- in the developing world, and everywhere. Our 28-minute conversation touches on Ushahidi’s internal design and development process, including how the design team (comprised largely of former agency designers) communicates with developers and stakeholders at an open-source product company. We also discuss our approach to the use of cutting-edge interactions and frameworks on the web, while ensuring our products can be used anywhere, under any conditions, on any device. Sophie and I are grateful for being given a stage with Karen and Ethan, two web design trailblazers, to talk about our work at Ushahidi. They’re kind of a big deal. Karen McGrane is an industry leader in content design and strategy. She’s spent the past 15 years helping companies publish on the web, and today, she’s doing it again with mobile, bolstered by her book, Content Strategy for Mobile. Her book describes how content structures, editorial processes, and content management technologies need to evolve to support what she calls “adaptive content.” Ethan Marcotte, with little exaggeration, is a founding father of “responsive web design.” He coined the term and authored the popular book of the same name, which has been widely praised, as it demonstrates how designers and organizations can leverage the web’s flexibility to design across mobile, tablet, and desktop -- and whatever might come next. You can listen to the Responsive Web Design Podcast on the program’s website, or with your favorite podcasting app, via RSS or on iTunes.