Gravity7 is Adrian Chan, a social interaction design consultancy in the social media space. Social interaction design includes not only user experience design but also social strategy and execution. I am based in San Francisco, California.
I started work as a content producer for educational and entertainment CDRom projects in 1993, writing and designing for companies such as Scholastic, PBS, and Sony. I then had my own web development shop from 1995 to 2003. In the past few years, I have combined my two interests — communication and technology — by focusing on social media.
I coined the term "social interaction design (SxD)" to suit the particular needs and interests of technologies of communication technologies and social media in particular.
In my 15 years of consulting experience, I have run a dating service. Have built websites great and small, designed content management systems, and branded companies. I have written countless requirements specs and set user flow and site architecture for over 40 web sites. My writings are used around the globe by designers and developers interested in frameworks for online social interaction. And a growing number of practitioners now recognize that social media design, like urban planning, must include some amount of social insight.
I blog on social media, film, and occasionally post for Mashable, Readwriteweb, johnnyholland.org, centernetworks, and the P2P Foundation. I am a Senior Fellow with the Society for New Communications Research, SNCR.org, and co-founder of the sxd salon.
My work is here.
Awards & notables
- Workshop: What is Social Interaction Design? CHI 2007.What is Social Interaction Design?
- Panelist at the Milken Institute Global Conference, April 2006.: Blogs, Wikis, MMORPGs, and YASNS: Shaking Up Traditional Education
- 2003 Maggie Finalist Best Online Publication Home Page Design, Best Overall Online Design, Best Online Publication for Yoga Journal.
- 2002 Maggie Winner Best Online Publication for Yoga Journal
- Best Educational Technology Product The Civil War, by Ken Burns. Interactive Laser Disc.
- Oracle Challenge Grant $100,000 winner for a cartoon-making toolkit.
Social Interaction Design: partial client list
(current clients under non-disclosure agreements)
- Likelist
- Klout
- Extractable
- Traction
- Partec (Peerpong)
- Sociable (formerly PartyBuzz)
- Greatnonprofits.org
- Razoo
- AdCouncil
- Orange (France Telecom)
- Asmallworld
- Anderson DBB
- Popularmedia.com
- TrustedOpinion.com
- Razoo.com
- Click.tv
- Clipsync.com
- Goingon.com
- France Telecom
- Echo
- Brickriver.com
- Ourstory.com
- 3bubbles
- Great Non Profits
Web Partial Client List
- The Yoga Journal (custom cms development and complete site with ongoing updates )
- Game Ready (complete web site update and maintenance)
- Marin Bikes (complete web site)
- Sierra Designs (complete site updates; ongoing)
- Intraspect (Identity, UI, and site)
- Webvan (UI review and icons)
- Reel.com (identity, site, and consulting)
- Smith & Hawken (site)
- EZ Login (site and consulting)
- Wave 38 (site and consulting)
- The Busy Planet (site and consulting)
- Winkler Advertising (online application interface)
- Briggs & Riley (site and consulting)
- Addwater (naming)
- Next Monet (naming)
- Tanqueray (naming)
- Co-owner, SF Matchmaker franchise
-