Tanagram Partners

Tanagram Partners to Present at SPARK 2008

The AIGA Student Chapter of the Illinois Institute of Art’s annual SPARK event is designed to gather relevant industry professionals to present on collaboration and multi-disciplinary design. Tanagram Partners is proud to participate in this year’s program.

This year, the theme is “Motivate.” The event will focus on the motivations for industry professionals at work and play. Tanagram has a long commitment to sponsoring student design chapters and speaking on a wide variety of issues.

August 16, 2008
12:00 pm to 6:00 pm
Prairie Center For the Arts
201 Schaumburg Ct.
Schaumburg, IL 60193

Please visit spark.visualvoltage.org for more information.

Research Capability for Tanagram

Tanagram earlier in 2008 made the decision to move squarely into emerging technologies and complex digital product ecologies. For over ten years the company committed itself to engaging with the development of the internet and website development. Tanagram had always done due diligence on all of its engagements and has been known for informed solutions.

Due to the company’s collaboration with The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) (link to darpa) and the focus on cognitive and workload assist, Joe Juhnke identified the need for formalized research methods and approaches to help Tanagram integrate contextual enquiries, observational, and ethnographic methods for all of its projects.

Joe commented on his vision for research at Tanagram: “We at Tanagram believe that the human adventure, with regards to digital enablement, has only just begun. While we are deeply rooted in the conventions of today, we are constantly exploring opportunities for tomorrow. Stephanie was brought on to lead these engagements, including the exploration and revolution of immersive interaction systems such as virtual & augmented reality, user interface and biosensor integration, and further expanding the benefits of the human-computer dyad.”

Stephanie McNee was brought to Tanagram due to her interests and capabilities in advanced research. Her focus is understanding holistic systems, through developing knowledge methods and tools to guide the design of systems to support human performance in complesettings – with a focus on cognitive functions such as problems solving, decision making attention, error, perception and memory. Her experience at Hewlett Packard as a Researcher Cognitive Engineer and User experience design consultant to Austin (TX) design firms, coupled with her publishing drew Tanagram’s interest.

Stephanie, in a short time has brought research based thinking to an inquisitive based Tanagram environment. What drew her to Tanagram was “to focus on work in context: observe where things happen, abstract patterns from observation, using the data collected to build reusable design seeds that illustrate how requirements can be met. As researcher and designer, to identify patterns and leverage new technologies to support dynamic decision making in the face of anomalies, uncertainty, stress, and complexity.”

She received a Bachelor of Science from Glasgow Caledonian University in Internet Software Development and HCI, and her masters from Ohio State University in Cognitive Systems and Human Factors Engineering.

Design & User Experience

Tanagram has moved to realign Design as User Experience. This decision reflects the company’s transition from innovative marketing & communications by design to complex digital environments.

While design has been the wellspring for Tanagram for over ten years, due to increasing complexity of digital environments, work flows and systems based thinking, Tanagram felt that the issues around user experience and the skills and methods associated with it needed to be integrated.

Design thinking, or focusing on improved futures will be the umbrella for the company. Unlike critical thinking, which is a process of analysis and is associated with the “breaking down” of ideas, design thinking is a creative process based around the “building up” of ideas.

Rudy Chou has been secured by Tanagram to bring advanced rich media experiences to Tanagram’s already strong skills in digital thinking and technology. he brings over ten years of diverse experiences in running his own firm from Austin (TX) as well as having degrees in pre-med and architecture.

What drew Rudy to Tanagram was “their approach of looking at digital experiences through the four lenses of brand, technology, business and market. This idea excited me. I am very interested in creating work that is not just beautiful but also useful and relevant.”

Research, Information Architecture, User Experience and Project Management will inform one another on all Tanagram projects allowing for more sustainable solutions.

Focus Areas for Tanagram

For over ten years Tanagram has brought progressive design thinking to a wide variety of clients, representing many industries. The company was deeply rooted in collaborating with marketing and communications professionals to actively brand and position these companies.

Tanagram earlier in 2008 made the decision to move squarely into emerging technologies and complex digital product ecologies. This decision, and the creation of a research capability at the company created an opportunity for Joe Juhnke, CEO and Delivery Director, and Adam Kallish, Delivery Director, to review the traditional focus of the company. The company will focus on strategy & planning, digital innovation and performance improvement.

Tanagram has defined five areas of interest: Accessibility, Advanced Research, Decision Modeling, Digital Everywhere, and Social Architecture (link to page with this information). These were chosen based on market trends, client requests, and specific interests of Tanagram. Accessibility and moving beyond W3C using emerging technologies to enable vision impaired communities is already being utilized.

Adam commented, “Tanagram has historically been known for very disciplined and smart solutions from a design and marketing perspective. With the company now focusing on complex work and life environment and how digital technologies can help make life better for users, it was important to focus emerging interests to strengthen new capabilities. Our five areas are broad enough to address a new millennium’s issues and focused enough to be relevant to our clients.”

The company will monitor these areas of interest and link them together for as many client opportunities as possible.

Tanagram Partners Welcomes Delivery Director

Tanagram Partners welcomes Adam Kallish, who joins us as Delivery Director. This position provides thought leadership and project vision for all engagements and deepens client relationships. Working closely with project teams, Delivery Directors provide guidance on all aspects of a project to ensure quality thinking and delivery of integrated solutions.

Adam’s experience has included creative, business, and technology solutions for several market verticals. Known as a valued leader in the design community, he joins a multidisciplinary team at Tanagram working to find creative solutions to our clients’ needs.

“We’re excited to have someone of Adam’s caliber and experience joining our team,” said Joseph Juhnke, CEO and Delivery Director. “Adam will ensure that Tanagram continues to approach every project with curiosity and strategic design.”

“Tanagram has a long history of providing excellent design solutions,” said Adam Kallish. “I am pleased to be joining such a talented and driven team, and I look forward to working with each of them to continue to build upon Tanagram’s legacy.”

Adam actively lectures on design and technology at such institutions as the Indian Institute of Management, the National Institute of Design, and Swire Polytechnic. His published work has appeared in the Design Management Journal, inForm (AIGA), and Design Issues. He has held teaching positions at several design institutions, and is currently teaching a graduate level course at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. He has maintained past associations with the American Institute of Graphic Arts, The American Center for Design, The Design Management Institute, and The Institute for the Future.

Adam received his BA in Visual Communications from University of Illinois at Chicago; a MFA in Graphic Design from Rhode Island School of Design; and a Fulbright to India.

Tanagram Presents on Accessibility

Tanagram has been invited by Aquent to speak at the August meeting of the newly combined Chicago Interactive Design/Development Group and the Interaction Design Association on August 19th. Joe Juhnke and Erik Vorhes will present.

The impact of vision and auditory impairments, whether at birth or through the natural progression of aging, affects a person’s ability to interact with digital systems. Businesses and human rights advocates are becoming aware of these issues and require systems that address the need for accessibility.

Erik commented “Even though the World Wide Web Consortium released its first Web Content Accessibility Guidelines a decade ago, the web is still far from an accessible environment. It doesn’t have to be that way, though. Accessibility is about more than making the web usable for people with visual, auditory, or other impairments: it’s about making websites more usable for everyone, period. When we prioritize accessibility in our design and development, we create a more beautiful experience for all of us.”

What is web accessibility? Why does it matter? How can we prioritize accessibility in our work? Our presentation will provide an overview of the current state of web accessibility and why we need to improve compliance beyond current accessibility guidelines. We will showcase best practices and methods to improve compliance and most importantly, usability.

One of Tanagram’s focuses is on moving beyond accessibility to create compelling ways for both aging and visually impaired users to fully enjoy digital experiences. Tanagram will present the basics on what current accessibility standards are and why most websites are not compliant.

Update: This presentation was a phenomenal success, and we have plans for building on the questions raised at the event. See our event summary, on Spill, for more information about how this went.

Tanagram at the President’s Forum

Joseph Juhnke, CEO & Delivery Director, will lead a workshop at The President’s Forum, September 9, 2008 at The University of Chicago Gleacher Center on Web 2.0, the use of technology, and what is needed to compete—including a discussion of internet marketing (use of e-mail, social networks, communications, and online communities).

Adam Kallish, Delivery Director, will be on a panel at The President’s Forum discussing transitioning your business from a commodity to a value added provider with the discussion on providing services above and beyond the commodity your firm sells.

The President’s Forum is intended to be the premier educational event for Presidents of small and mid-market businesses. It is part of The Entrepreneurship Institute, whose primary mission is to provide opportunities for business owners to acquire knowledge, experience and resources needed to achieve their goals.

For more information on this event, visit www.tei.net/news.asp.

Update: We had a blast at the President’s Forum. Learn more about our experience on Spill.