My name is Jon Bell and I love to create things.

  • Fresh Goods
  • The Usual
  • In Storage
  • Four-Star Reviews
  • SHIPPED:
    I Count Smiles

    Ten glimpses into a story, different each time. Get it here.

    NEW EXCITEMENT:
    [secret project]

    I was asked to help my friends with something. I am flattered and working hard on it now.

    IN PROGRESS:
    Sketchbook Project

    This year I'm participating in
    The Sketchbook Project. The overall concept is done, so I'll be polishing it up for a few months.

    IN PROGRESS:
    Drift Deck

    A wonderful collaboration with Dawn Lozzi and Julian Bleecker. For iPhone wanderers.

    IN PROGRESS:
    Cloud Placement

    My comic formatted for the iPad.

    NEW IDEA:
    [untitled]

    The kind of iPhone app I've been waiting for. I'm currently brainstorming the concept.

    IN EDITORIAL:
    Sticky Notes

    I designed over a thousand sticky notes and gave them to a friend. They've all been scanned, now she's trying to figure out what to do with them.

    ON ICE:
    Combinery

    A different kind of iPhone game.
  • Ignite Seattle

    I spoke for 5 minutes about design at Ignite Seattle on December 1st. Watch the video or read the slides.

    My Design Blog

    I started up a design/inspiration blog over at designdare.com.

    mamaswap.com

    Cheaper than eBay, easier than Craigslist, and started by my amazing wife. Check it out.

    The Book I'm In

    I did a lot of Flash work many years ago, and some of my work was featured in a book put out by the Victoria & Albert Museum in London.

    ienjoy

    A twitter account where I post things that I like. Take a look.

    Yet Another Comic

    Started almost ten years ago and updated more sporadically than I'd like. For years, I've hidden the link to the comic. I'm hoping by showing it off, I'll end up drawing more often.
  • How to Talk
    to Designers

    I was asked to give a talk at the Seattle PHP user group to a group of its members. I had a blast.

    Jott for iPhone

    I was the user experience lead, PM, and wannabe iPhone developer for an application that launched on day one in Apple's AppStore.

    It held the #1 productivity spot for several very exciting days, and was featured by Apple in the AppStore and print media.

    Jott Express

    The desktop counterpart to Jott.com and Jott for iPhone was tons of fun to design.

    Jott Express was best known for its blazing fast speed and fully functional offline mode despite being a cloud-based application.

    Rodin

    In 2001, I wrote a CMS in under 5k and used it to run my own websites. It got written up favorably in a UK magazine, confirming my suspicion that the British are my biggest fans.
  • My Portfolio Is
    a Bit of a Secret

    For most of my career, and especially now that I'm at frog design, I've been sworn to secrecy.

    Instead of breaking my NDA, let me share some nice things people have said about me:

    “Jon is incorrigibly, chronically, fatally, frightfully creative. He is never not studying things, making things, or making things better. This is a guy maxing out his possible positive contribution to the world, and enjoying it.”

    — William van Hecke
    User Experience Lead,
    The Omni Group


    “Jon's passion and enthusiasm for great design can be inspirational, but belies a deeper talent. The critical eye that powers his intuition for design is also turned on refining his own work, strengthening the product of any team that includes him.”

    — Hans Gerwitz,
    Technology Director, frog design


    “ Jon will keep you forever on your toes. He crosses boundaries aggressively, but with understanding and an eagerness to learn. He is selfless. He lifts everyone around him with only a tiny, friendly nudge. He is dedicated, insightful, daring, clever, passionate, and endlessly curious. It's rare for so much influence to flow from such a gentle soul. I'm lucky to say that Jon is a friend, and I can't wait to work with him. ”

    — Mike Kruzeniski,
    Creative Director, Microsoft

Oops, you caught me in the middle of a redesign :)