Issue link: http://georgiancollege.uberflip.com/i/1043306
GRAPHIC DESIGN, 2004 AND ART FUNDAMENTALS, 2001 SENIOR INTERACTION DESIGNER, GOOGLE INC. MEET YOUR 2018 PREMIER'S AWARD NOMINEES Each year, Georgian nominates six outstanding alumni for the Colleges Ontario Premier's Awards. For 25 years, these awards have celebrated Ontario college graduates and the important social and economic contribution they make throughout Ontario and the world. To suggest a graduate for future nomination, email alumni@georgiancollege.ca. IAN BARLOW Creative Arts and Design category After graduating from Georgian's Art Fundamentals – Design/Visual program in 2001, and Graphic Design program in 2004, Ian Barlow began his career as a graphic designer and art director for advertising agencies in Toronto. He gained the necessary experience in web design, print communications and branding to take his career to the next level. In 2009, Ian determined the timing was right to make a change, and accepted a role as a senior designer at Evoke Solutions. Here, he led the design of a multi- platform suite of software for Kobo, and was instrumental in shaping the Kobo product portfolio, which included applications for mobile, desktop and web, as well as Kobo branded e-readers. Ian was able to apply the skills he learned at Georgian to his work, even as he transitioned from working in graphic design to working with technology and on mobile devices. "I wasn't learning in a vacuum. The Graphic Design program really gave me a lot of applicable skills to use," he says. "They taught a very hands-on tactical skill set. I had the tools and was prepared for the real world." By 2011, Ian was seeking a new challenge, and accepted a position as Senior Designer and UX Lead with Mozilla, an open source software company and the creators of the Firefox web browser. At Mozilla, he worked on guiding the design, implementation and ongoing feature development of Firefox on Android, and helped elevate Firefox's Google Play Store rating from one of the lowest in its class to the highest rated Android browser on the market, with tens of millions of active users. A self-described, "disrupter," Barlow now works as a Senior Interaction Designer at Google Inc., one of the world's largest tech companies. Working from the company's headquarters in Mountain View, California, his design leadership has helped to ensure the products and services he works on are easy to use and compelling to their end users. As a member of Google's Android team, he is helping to develop the world's largest mobile operating system. His recent project, Android Auto, is designed to bring a safe and seamless connected experience into every car through easy-to-use voice actions and integrated steering wheel controls with a simplified and intuitive user interface. It is clear that his story is far from complete. Whether working in print communications and branding, to creating interactive design flows and prototypes, to refining pixel-level visual design details, or working on some of the world's leading edge technologies, Ian is shaping how people adapt to and integrate innovative technology into their everyday lives, and is a testament to the versatility that a Georgian education can provide. 18 GEORGIANVIEW 2018