Gavin Jones

Gavin Jones

Designer/developer @ Independent Joined over 10 years ago Gavin has invited Andy Mathieson

  • 5 stories
  • 96 comments
  • 18 upvotes
  • Posted to [DN Suggestion] New threads need to be approved by original members, Feb 20, 2020

    If anyone wanted to, they could band together a new admin team for a subreddit and try drive traffic over...mods haven't given a shit about DN for years

    5 points
  • Posted to Apps to convert Sketch assets to React Native components?, in reply to Jan Semler , Apr 16, 2018

    I'm well aware of Brad Frosts writing, and I myself am a full-stack developer with a background in design.

    Please stop making assumptions about the aptitude of myself and my team, it's not conducive to the purpose of this topic.

    0 points
  • Posted to Apps to convert Sketch assets to React Native components?, in reply to Jan Semler , Apr 16, 2018

    I have a team of developers, we're just looking for ways to optimise the process of converting assets from Sketch to ReactNative. For React, the current sketch export tools serve as a fine starting point for the developers.

    0 points
  • Posted to What's your workflow with wireframes and Jira?, Apr 16, 2018
    • We use LucidChart to define names and visually represent the pages, containers, components, and fields.
    • LucidChart is used to create the database schema, process maps, SWIM diagrams etc (using the same naming convention)
    • The same names are used in Sketch, with a separate page just for"Components"
    • The team stay synched via Zeplin (inVision is used for presenting)
    • Work in JIRA references the component/container/code, plus links to the relevant LucidChart documents if needed

    • When communication moves from JIRA to Slack, either the issue/task is referenced by its tag number, or the item in discussion is referenced as ~"page.container.component"

    Initial LucidChart naming file...pages contain containers, containers contain components, components display data etc. If someone's lost, they open this file and search Zeplin/Sketch/Jira/Slack to see where its referenced...creation of this doc could no doubt be automated from Sketch...

    0 points
  • Posted to Work without a contract? How does that work?, Apr 16, 2018

    I don't work with contracts anymore for project billings..instead the payment milestones are frequent, and are presented clearly during the bidding process. If a client breaches the agreement mid-project, then work stops. If a contract were in place, we would reach the same outcome...only with allot more overheads dealing with legal.

    Other contracts are signed, i.e. confidentiality agreements, ownership of code, right to display etc...but those are generally boilerplate agreements not requiring very much back-and-forth.

    A contract's only worthwhile if you have intention to enforce, and frankly, I'm not going to take someone to court over lost-earnings for work I haven't executed.

    0 points
  • Posted to Zoommy 3.0 – More than 50,000 free photos from 50 sources, in reply to Artem Nosenko , Dec 13, 2016

    Fair enough, just interested to hear why you chose a desktop app over a webapp for a project like this. Did you choose to go desktop as it fits your skillset better....or do you expect better sales figures via delivering through the App Store?

    0 points
  • Posted to Zoommy 3.0 – More than 50,000 free photos from 50 sources, Dec 13, 2016

    Is there any reason you decided not to publish in the App Store?

    0 points
  • Posted to How do you bill for site maintenance?, Dec 12, 2016

    I use an exhaustive Service Level Agreement contract, which details exactly what the client receives for a monthly fee. In a nutshell they generally cover uptime support, backups, general maintenance/bug-fixing, and user/admin support.

    As example, one client gets 4 hours of one-to-one support included in their SLA. Basically to do standard CMS activities which they could actually do themselves.

    If anything is more than a simple change, we draw up a new project for the work.

    This method ensures I have guaranteed income from several sources per month at a fixed rate. These retainers enable me to take holidays and forecast easier.

    0 points
  • Posted to Do you have any business tips you wish you knew when you started out?, Nov 21, 2016

    Sign-off is irrelevant if it isn't meaningful.

    Link product requirements contracts to a payment schedule in order to receive meaningful sign-off.

    The higher level of contract sign-off required (CTO/CEO), the more diligently the project staff will work with you to run the project on time and on budget.

    Work to frequent milestones, with each milestone requiring payment.

    Take how long you think the project will run and add on 30%.

    Work with freelancers/contractors before you hire for a position. A job requirement is fine, but you'll quickly learn through the freelancers what's actually essential in the job...professionally and personally for the other team members.

    If you don't consistently recognise and reward your teams achievements, they wont stick around for long. Small gestures and simple words go a long way when people work hard to make your company a success.

    1 point
  • Posted to Site Design: Repick.co - Curated well-designed products, in reply to Rodriguez Salt , Aug 29, 2016

    Overlays might get designers knickers in a bunch, but they're fantastic at converting

    1 point
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