User researcher for authoring tools / 3-week project

Freelance Anywhere

About the project

We’re a privately-funded research lab that makes digital tools for creative professionals. We need your user research superpowers for a short gig to map out a user domain.

Possible domains include authors (think Scrivener), architects (think Sketchup or AutoCAD), industrial designers (think SolidWorks), and generative artists (think Processing or MaxMSP).

About you

You are:

  • passionate about understanding the thinking, emotions, and motivations behind user behavior
  • experienced with ethnographic interviews and finding and synthesizing insights
  • strong at communication via writing, presentations, and/or open-ended discussion
  • empathetic and intellectually curious

On this project you will:

  • work with our team to choose a target demographic (e.g. writers, architects, …) to research, ideally one you find meaningful or already feel connected to
  • discover communities where these folks hang out (e.g. subreddits, meetups, print publications)
  • find a handful of people from the demographic and conduct ethnographic interviews with them
  • collaborate with our lab’s product CEO to synthesize all of the above into a document or presentation for the team

About us

Ink & Switch is a research lab for digital tools. We build prototypes based on the cutting edge from academia combined with a sharp focus on solving real problems for users. We believe in computers as devices for creativity and augmenting human intellect, rather than addictive consumption or “engagement” boxes.

Our team is all-remote. It’s a low-ego environment where we learn from one another and try to have fun along the way.

Logistics

  • USD $35 – $60/hr / €30 – €55/hr depending on your skills and experience
  • ~30 hour contract over ~3 weeks starting in Jul – Oct depending on your and our team’s availability
  • work remotely via Slack, Trello, Google Docs, and videochat
  • flexible hours centered on US east timezone
  • possibility for further gigs of a similar nature if this one goes well