Jeff Kell
UX / UI Design Leader of Global Creative Teams
Highlight Reel.
Below are selections from Jeff Kell's recent ventures, projects, and multimedia works.
105 Conversations
January 2012 - Present
105 Conversations is a blueprint for current and future generations. It's an advocate for the millennial generation, a syndication of solutions from thought leaders, and a real-time discussion that is outlining the greatest quandaries in education, technology, leadership, and innovation.
Below you can see a sampling of the 105 Conversations endeavor. More interviews can be viewed the the 105 Conversations official website, which you can check out by clicking the link below...
This is a behind the scenes photo from the interview with George P. Shultz, inside the Hoover Institution at Stanford University.
George P. Shultz, former United States Secretary of State and Secretary of the Treasury, signed this coffee mug after our interview, which has since become a signature of 105 Conversations.
Meeting Gavin Newsom for the first time. I invited him to be a 105 Conversations interview in NYC at the 2012 Clinton Global Initiative.
Meeting Will.i.am for the first time and inviting him to be a part of the 105 Conversations project.
Interviewing Blake Irving, CEO of Go Daddy, about his views of the future of technology, innovation, and leadership in the United States and abroad. This interview will launch with the new 105 Conversations website in the coming weeks.
Meeting Arianna Huffington in San Francisco, after her interview with Sheryl Sandberg.
Telling Elon Musk that I appreciate his willingness to stick it to the man and build stunning products that matter. His advice to me: "Do something you're passionate about and it will make it lasting and meaningful."
Tim cook, CEO at Apple
Meeting MC Hammer at the Evernote Conference.
When I started 105 Conversations, I had no idea how to shoot video or what equipment would be needed. After some hard lessons in high definition videography, editing, and photography, things are a little easier with BorrowLenses as a sponsor of the 105 Conversations project. For those who are curious, all 105 Conversations interviews are captured with a Canon 5D Mark III with a 24 - 105mm stability lens and 2 Sennheiser lavalier mics and a Zoom H4n recorder. If you'd asked me a year ago -- what I just described would've been completely foreign. 105 has been a humbling journey but I've loved every minute.
Inaugural Client Dinner
June 13, 2014
The Inaugural Client Dinner was a celebration and thank you for some of the most foundational clients of Jeff's Old Dog, New Tricks Computer Consultation business. This group and many others assisted with word of mouth, helping Jeff grow the business to clients all over the San Francisco Bay Area.
Jeff Kell Enterprises
Founder & CEO
Jeff Kell Enterprises is a marketing consultation company, primarily focused on web presence, brand, strategy, and campaigns. Jeff Kell Enterprises has helped to build and expand the brands of XEODesign, XEOPlay, Tilt World, Thirst Labs, 105 Conversations, Andante, mutu.tv, and The California Crawfish Company. Below are a few case studies from Thirst Labs, XEODesign, XEOPlay, and Tilt World.
Thirst Labs
Strategic Consultant
Thirst Labs created an app called Thirst, a personalized social news app via an iOS, Web, and Google Glass interface. The real magic was an algorithm they created to scrape the web for hundreds of thousands of topics per day, giving the end user a more relevant experience. As I joined them, they were experimenting with data visualizations and a topic search that aggregated immense data by date. Check out Thirst Labs at http://thirst.co.
The Thirst iPhone / iPad app redefined the way people consume media by allowing real-time discussion around a myriad of people and topics, incorporating Facebook and Twitter to provide personalized content. After about a month of working on the latest Thirst iOS apps, we craved for something that would disrupt and be new. Google Glass was announced and we got to work, literally coding an app that integrated into the established Thirst servers, overnight.
My role was to assist Thirst Labs in the executing of releasing the Thirst Droplet Google Glass app. The app was coded in a 72 hour time frame, making it one of the first 10 apps to be released for the Google Glass platform. Arguably, it was the best topic aggregator at the time. I was instrumental in rebranding Thirst as innovator on the Google Glass platform, allowing them to pursue a completely new technology, branching out from the world of iOS but remembering where they started. I worked around the clock for 3 intense days with Kunal Modi and Han Kang, who at the time were CTO and a Software Developer, respectively. As we were creating the Google Glass App, we found that it was difficult to get access to Google Glass, as demand for them was skyrocketing. We were able to borrow a pair from a friend to run our tests and launch the app into the wild. From a marketing perspective, it was some of the most fun I've ever had in Silicon Valley. The timeline was tight, which made seeing the first post to Google Glass surreal. See it below.
One of the interesting parts of building a Google Glass app for the first time was that we weren't able to obtain a pair of Google Glasses for testing, until very near our 72 hour deadline.
A Look Inside the Thirst Droplet App for Google Glass.
This is an example of what a push from Mashable would look like on your Google Glass.
This the first push that we registered on Google Glass. It was a moment I'll never forget, as Kunal Modi, CTO at Thirst Labs, put Google Glass on and saw this message. It was the only proof we needed that it worked and then we focused on the design of it. Goosebumps!
The interface seen within Google Glass.
The user of the Thirst Droplet Google Glass app could select the given topics they wanted pushed to their Google Glass.
The settings panel was created to allow the user more control of notification frequency and topic organization.
Thirst Labs worked around the clock for 72 hours (May 9th - May 11th) to code a Google Glass App called Thirst Droplet.
Robert Scoble interviews Thirst Labs about Thirst Droplet in the Rackspace studio.
Robert Scoble, Silicon Valley tech blogger, interviews Thirst Labs about the Thirst Droplet Google Glass App, after they coded and launched it in just 72 hours.
The links below are to a Mashable and a VentureBeat story about the launch of Thirst Droplet for Google Glass.
Mashable: How Thirst Built The Ultimate News App For Google Glass In Just Three Days
VentureBeat: Google Glass gets the first news app for the ‘connected generation’
XEODesign, XEOPlay, Tilt World
Director of Marketing
Launched Tilt World, XEOPlay's flagship iOS game, which was striving to create real world social good through gameplay. It launched at DEMO Spring 2012. I was responsible for all aspects of taking the product to market, including digital marketing, branding, marketing strategy and implementation, strategic relationship management, social media influence, and PR.
“Jeff has boundless enthusiasm, a love of quality presentation materials and swag, a fan of all things Apple, eager to make a deal, and put in the hard work to meet a deadline and deliver. He enjoys the thrill of face to face negotiations. Looking forward to tracking the course of development of his career.”
Blessed to work with a titan.
As I started working at XEODesign, it became apparent that my new boss, Nicole Lazzaro, had an eye for design.
The way she looked at the world was different, creative, and she was always thinking, writing her daily thoughts and sketches in journals. I was so wrapped up in helping her launch the iPhone version of Tilt World, that I didn't realize what amazing lessons I learned about launching a product, design, iOS apps, the App Store, and what users are looking for when they buy an app.
Nicole Lazzaro and Joe Hewitt, were responsible for creating Tilt World, the first ever accelerometer game for iOS. Hewitt, went on to create the iPhone specific version of Facebook.
I joined the XEODesign because I really liked the idea of a game that could promote social causes, using gameplay from players around the world. If you're going to game anyway, why not apply those points toward social good campaigns? XEODesign set out to plant 1,000,000 trees in Madagascar, using the points from players of Tilt World to work toward the goal. Of course, the Tilt World platform could be applied toward other campaigns over time in different adventure packs. Working with and launching Tilt World at DEMO changed the way I look at apps. Now, when I work with an app, I always ask, why? Nicole created an awareness within me to look at the purpose of everything I become involved with and to define the "why" behind the utility of a company or the iOS application in this particular case.
Nicole Lazzaro, President of XEODesign, speaking as a keynote speaker at the Game Developer's Conference.
Nicole Lazzaro, President, XEODesign
Nicole Lazzaro, the founder (in 1992) and President of XEODesign, Inc., has twenty years expertise in Player Experience Design (PXD) for mass-market entertainment products. Widely recognized as one of the top women working in video games and a leading figure in mobile and social games, Fast Company considers Nicole one of the 100 most influential women in high tech, and Gamasutra voted her one of the Top 20 women working in video games. Nicole has spoken at the US State Department, and has been cited by Wired, Fast Company, ABC News, CNN, CNET, The Hollywood Reporter, and Red Herring. She has improved over 100 million player experiences and has worked with EA, Ubisoft, D.I.C.E., Lucas Arts, Disney, PlayFirst, The Cartoon Network, and Nickelodeon on such popular franchises as three of the Myst series, Diner Dash, Fusion Fall, Mavis Beacon Teaches Typing, Jeopardy Online, as well as creativity coaching for the designers of The Sims.
Source: Nicole Lazzaro's Personal Blog
This is the Official Tilt World International Trailer! Tilt World Launches Adventure Pack 2! Left all alone in the green Blighted ooze that was once Shady Glen, Flip the mighty tadpole decides to bring back the forest and friends.
Nicole Lazzaro launching XEOPlay's flagship app, Tilt World, at the DEMO Conference in Silicon Valley.
Some of the team behind creating and launching Tilt World.
This is the USB press kit we handed out at the DEMO Conference.
The back of the Tilt World download card.
Tilt World Booth at DEMO Conference.
The front of the app download card we created for Tilt World.
The links below are about the launch of XEOPlay's Tilt World at the DEMO Conference:
Forbes: 12 Candidates to Become the Next Instagram
VentureBeat: XEOPlay’s beautiful iOS game Tilt World strives to make a real-world impact
Old Dog, New Tricks Computer Consultation
Founder & CEO
Wrote business plan and developed marketing materials for the Old Dog, New Tricks business at age 19. Provided assistance with computer purchase, setup, maintenance, trouble-shooting, and ongoing consultation for a mature adult market. Emphasis on Mac products, although equally competent with PC hardware and software. Managed client computers remotely under contract via screen sharing. Responsible for the sale of at least 60 Apple computers and numerous other Apple devices via Old Dog, New Tricks.
Above is the front of the latest edition of the Old Dog, New Tricks brochure.
Above is the back of the most current Old Dog, New Tricks brochure.