Wiser Usability helps companies, organizations, and agencies optimize their online services and interactive products for older customers. We are experts on designing for that population.
Our Principals
Kate Finn has worked on user interfaces and usability since 1983. After obtaining her Ph.D. in Computational Linguistics from Georgetown University, she conducted research on natural language understanding systems and automated speech recognition. She was at SRI International for 6 years, where she created prototypes of graphical user interfaces for sophisticated intelligence systems. Later, while working in multimedia and collaborative workstations, she co-edited the book, Video-Mediated Communication (1997). Since then, Kate has worked as an independent usability consultant, primarily on websites. She obtained a Certificate in Gerontology to better understand the unique capabilities and needs of older users. Currently Kate is co-founder and CEO of Wiser Usability. She also blogs about design, aging, and technology at kate-finn.com. Jeff Johnson has worked in the field of Human-Computer Interaction since 1978. After earning B.A. and Ph.D. degrees from Yale and Stanford Universities, he worked as a UI designer and implementer, engineer manager, usability tester, and researcher at Cromemco, Xerox, US West, Hewlett-Packard Labs, and Sun Microsystems. He has taught at Stanford, Mills College, and the University of Canterbury in Christchurch New Zealand. He has authored many articles and book chapters on a variety of topics in Human-Computer Interaction and the impact of technology on society. He is the author of GUI Bloopers: Don’ts and Dos for Software Developers and Web Designers (2000); Web Bloopers: 60 Common Design Mistakes and How to Avoid Them (2003); GUI Bloopers 2.0: Common User Interface Design Don’ts and Dos (2007); Designing with the Mind in Mind (2010), and Conceptual Models (2011). He is a cofounder and Vice President of Wiser Usability, Inc. and President of UI Wizards, Inc.
