About
John-Henry Barac is an information designer. He is particularly interested in designing applications for iphone, iPad and other multitouch devices, all which offer exciting possibilities as well as challenges for users, publishers and designers alike.
“It’s physically direct. You’re much more focused — you can literally touch a fact and get more information about it.”
Speaking to Josh Benton from Nieman Journalism Lab
“The challenge with the iPhone app was to take what is essentially a huge amount of RSS feeds and make the experience feel as rich and editorial as possible.
Speaking to Alan Formby-Jackson from SND.org
Apple’s multitouch particularly rewards great design and punishes products which have a so-so user experience.
Having spent more than a decade as art director on the Guardian newspaper and associated publications, designing great user experience and interface for print, he was increasingly drawn to mobile internet, apps, touch interface and designing for the iphone. He left the Guardian in July 2009 to immerse himself in this emerging area.
In the years prior to leaving, JH had been an evangelist for iPhone as a great platform for a news organisation, and ended up playing an influential role in the Guardian’s mobile strategy. He was then invited back to design their first iPhone app, which was launched in December 2009 and received extensive praise for its usability, aesthetic qualities, attention to detail and offline service.
The possibilities which the mobile multitouch internet age brings are enormous, and John-Henry aims to bring his experience of making well designed, elegant and compelling pages for print into the world of screens and mobile. His work on the Guardian app was praised by colleagues as well as contemporary designers and developers. He has gone on to provide successful consultancy and concept development to a number of clients since.
here is a gallery of a sample of John-Henry’s work
Email John-Henry on johnhenrybarac@me.com
Follow him on twitter @johnhenry