National software developer opens Grand Rapids user experience design hub

Universal Mind, an enterprise-level rich Internet application developer for the web, desktop and mobile devices, has opened its first development hub dedicated to user experience design. The new office, located in the Brass Works Building in Grand Rapids' Monroe North business district, began operations November 1.

The Westfield, Massachusetts-based company's client list includes technology leaders Adobe, Verizon Wireless, Kodak and JibJab, says Erik Loehfelm, director of user experience design and head of the Grand Rapids office.

One popular application developed by the company in conjunction with Adobe is the Verizon Media Store.

"We build the software in a user-centric way," Loehfelm says. "We determine who the users will be and design interactive software around those users in a beautiful, simple, elegant way.

"We consider Grand Rapids a center of design thought, especially as it relates to user design and interactive design, so it seems likes a good place to be a center of excellence," he says. "We like to call it the Silicon Mitten as opposed to the Silicon Valley."

Loehfelm has lived in Grand Rapids for seven years; the other four designers on the team are lifelong residents. All have worked together in the past and are active in a variety of technology-centric organizations, including Design West Michigan, AimWest and MichiganXD.

Loehfelm expects to add another 10 positions in the next six months and will use the office as a meeting space to bring clients from around the country for face-to-face meetings.

Universal Mind has offices in Massachusetts, Golden, Colo. and San Francisco. The company employs 50 fulltime workers and 70 fulltime contractors. Loehfelm says all of the company's resources work remotely, with the exception of the new Grand Rapids office which accommodates 15 people and is the company's largest location.
    
Source: Erik Loehfelm, Universal Mind

Deborah Johnson Wood is development news editor for Rapid Growth Media. She can be contacted at [email protected].