Local firm specializes in designing experiences and solutions.

John Rumery

After leaving a local software firm three years ago, Joe Johnston, soon became the first Grand Rapids employee of Universal Mind, a technology company with its headquarters outside of Boston, MA and with offices in Colorado and California.  With expertise in user experience design, the Grand Rapids office soon become Universal Mind's hub for that specialty and within those three years, the Grand Rapids office grew to eleven employees.

User experience design helps create the experience a customer has with a product or service. In the case of software, it is often time making programs more user-friendly, eliminating redundant features and integrating the program with other parts of an organizations technology programs.

Johnston explains that the team at Universal Mind is roughly made up of three groups: specialists, designers and technologists.  As a team their time is spent on discovery and trying to understand how customers work with various devices.  After that begins the development and implementation process.

To showcase their unique talent, the group began the development of a consumer application that focused on creativity and collaboration.  In a relatively short time, the team developed and introduced iBrainstorm.  Launched in late July of 2010 it quickly rose to become the #3 free download of iPad applications.   Johnston estimates that there have been almost 500,000 downloads.  Although the application is free, Johnston states that the popularity and success of this program is essentially advertising for their firm and indicates that they have landed several projects because of iBrainstorm.

Beside consumer application tools, where in the last six months opportunities "are exploding" due to the popularity of the Android, iPad and iPhone, Universal Mind also works on enterprise applications that help businesses to be more efficient and effective. Johnston cites the development of better customer relation management programs as an example.  In some cases the applications they develop are used internally and in other instances an application might become a retail product for their client.   

Johnston shared a recent YouTube video that captures some of the work of Universal Mind.  Like the user experience team, Johnston is proud to state that both the video and music are local talent.

Johnston states that Universal Mind are always looking for talented people but acknowledges that finding individuals locally with a user design background in not always easy.

Source: Interview with Joe Johnston, www.UniversalMind.com.

John Rumery is the Innovation and Jobs Editor for Rapid Growth Media. He is an educator, board member of AimWest, WYCE music programmer, entrepreneur, raconteur and competitive barbecuer living in Grand Rapids, MI.  He can be reached at [email protected].  For story tips you can e-mail [email protected]