Gordon Montgomery BA, MSc
Bio | Clients | Principles | Approach | Engagement | CV/résumé
Gordon’s work (since 1993) ensures everybody remembers to “think like a user” and helps deliver results which are effective, efficient and satisfying.
Gordon advocates social justice for information design by synthesizing linguistics, usability, information architecture and accessibility issues into 21st century, universal advice for successful, well-structured and easy-to-use designs.
Since founding gmeta.com, serving companies big and small, Gordon has also taken up the position of Executive Director with webguides.org which seeks to supply strategic usability services to mission-based organizations. Webguides delivers these services by training students and others new to the industry as web consultants.
Formally educated through a degree in Linguistics and a Masters in Human Computer Interaction, most of Gordon's strategic and tactical thinking is based upon 1000s of hours spent watching what users are really doing on websites.
From Northern Ireland, Gordon attests to speaking several languages ( some of it English...) and has a black belt in Judo – though this is not used in client negotiations unless really necessary.
The story of the name G|META is that: "g" is a symbol used to denote intelligence and "meta" often refers to "what lies beneath", the inference being that G|META is about intelligently underpinning web design.
- More than 10 years international Information Design consulting experience.
- Masters level Human Computer Interaction education.
- Performed 100s of Expert Reviews for Fortune 500, global and local companies.
- Always optimizing user experience, simplifying design and boosting business metrics.
- A must-see energetic and inspirational speaker.
- Specific competencies
- Usability expertise in design, testing and research.
- Information Architecture expertise in designing conceptual wire-frames and blueprints.
- Generation of entirely new concepts from scratch based on best practices.
- Design and building skills for usability testing laboratory facilities.
- Running focus groups, surveys and web metrics analysis projects.
- Testing in mobile technology and international environments.
- Project strategy
- Gordon's client selection process and business model is often dictated by projects that have a fundamental altruistic aspect. These tend to be projects where stimulating creative design combines closely with solid analytical research to produce both engaging and efficient universally usable designs.
- Organizing expert teams (swarms) as required.
- Selecting the most effective, efficient design and development tools and methodologies.
- Advocating for Applied Universal Design: usability, accessibility, IA, localization, device-independence, creativity, customization and personalization.
- Personal
- Born in Northern Ireland and a skilled linguist, Gordon has particular fluency in French and German.
- Gordon is an energetic, catalytic player enjoying an entrepreneurial environment.
Some beneficiaries of G|META's services
Bio | Clients | Principles | Approach | Engagement
The Peace principles™
Bio | Clients | Principles | Approach | Engagement
These are a core set of simple information design principles developed by G|META. Application of these principles during the analysis and design phases of a project ultimately leads to happy users. The first step therefore in assessing any interface or interaction is to fully apply the elements behind the principles below:
- Primary purpose:
It should be obvious at a glance what each web page does. - Effortless ease:
Customers should not have a puzzle to solve, while moving through information. - Approved accessibility:
All pages need to be valid, accessible and usable via target technologies. - Complete consistency:
The interface and its layout always need to look and behave the same way. - Expected execution:
The interface should respond as a typical customer expects it to.
Building on existing Universal Design (UD)
Fundamentally, we build upon the thoughts of the late Ron Mace.His definiton of Universal Design is:
- the design of products and environments to be usable by all people, to the greatest extent possible, without the need for adaptation or specialized design.
- to simplify life for everyone by making products, communications, and the built environment more usable by as many people as possible at little or no extra cost. Universal design benefits people of all ages and abilities.
- address only universally usable design, while the practice of design involves more than consideration for usability. Designers must also incorporate other considerations such as economic, engineering, cultural, gender, and environmental concerns in their design processes.
- offer designers guidance to better integrate features that meet the needs of as many users as possible. All guidelines may not be relevant to all designs.
G|META's Applied Holistic Design (AHD)™ approach
Bio | Clients | Principles | Approach | Engagement
As a generic goal for all design, we're synthesizing, applying and advancing current UD principles in relation to today's global, social and informational needs.
The approach is simply to:
- unify approaches to "human user" design - be holistic
- make information available to anyone, anywhere, in any language, on any device...
- dispel the common belief that Accessibility is synonymous with Universal Design
- break down the silos between kindred design disciplines
- combine human-centered design fields of study into one practical approach
- increase inclusion of age-oriented design issues
- increase inclusion of mobile device design issues
- increase inclusion of linguistic design issues
- increase inclusion of creative design issues
- increase inclusion of web coding standards issues
- increase inclusion of business economics issues
Service approach
G|META advises you on how to make your technology easier to use.
Our services are designed to help you more successfully interact with your customers by gaining a better understanding of their behaviors and then designing directly to those behaviors. Any service can be performed internationally using our mobile testing kit and unparalleled linguistic expertise.
All services are constructed in a modular fashion making them easy-to-combine.
Event sequence in a typical G|META engagement
Bio | Clients | Principles | Approach | Engagement
- Propose
- Contact
- Prospect assessment and qualification
- Proposal creation and sign-off
- Analyse
- User and System scenario clarification
- Users, Goals & Tasks identification
- Persona building
- Review
- Expert review and/or full Customer Experience Testing
- Brief, prioritized "findings & recommendations" report
- Deliver
- New Design Guide (wire-frames & blueprint) construction
- Design and implementation Seminars
What to expect
- A unique and highly experienced consultant with a hybrid approach covering usability, information architecture and universal design
- Dedication and passion in relation to your goals whilst advocating your customers best interests
- Best practice and cutting-edge strategies
- A good-humored, energetic and ultimately catalytic style
Bio | Clients | Principles | Approach | Engagement
Why not call for a chat: (+1) 512 377 9691 (w) / 299 3637 (m) or e-mail: gordon@gmeta.com.
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