Company

Media Hive brings the power of Internet technology to the end user to satisfy their needs, solve their problems and delight them.

Media-Hive is a full-service interactive solutions group built on the skills and experience of a core team of UI designers and developers. Our award-winning team brings proven expertise to any interactive project- from kiosks and handheld websites to interactive CD-Rom and online multimedia experiences. A solid knowledge of Information Architecture is a core competency- it defines our process and validates every solution we propose.

We are a boutique agency, made up of full-time employees and freelance consultants. We rely on an agency model- culling from a pool of expert developers and designers to build project teams that scale to meet short and long-term client goals.

Our mission is simple: To help clients realize the full potential of any interactive application by focusing on Information Architecture, Human Factors and web standards- which means that your solution works right the first time, and keeps on working while browsers, devices, and technology continue to evolve.

The Team

Jim Barraud
Jim Barraud
Senior UI Specialist

Jim brings 8 years of web user interface design experience that is fueled with a fascination for standards compliant markup and a design aesthetic that is clean and focused. He not only got into this business for his love of design and his fascination with technology, but because of belief that web sites and applications should work for the user, not against them. Accompanying every web project is his knowledge of Information Architecture, Usability & Accessibility Standards, which helps bring the clients content front and center, while making it easy for the user to find the information they’re looking for.

Rick Duyckinck
Rick Duyckinck
Chief Systems Architect

Rick is a veteran software developer and software architect with 8 years of professional experience using software to create solutions to complex business problems. He’s been fascinated by computers and programming since his first – a commodore 64, and will often stay awake into the wee hours immersed in the latest technology. Rick has worked on a wide variety of projects for pharmaceutical, financial, telecommunication and dot coms, using an even wider variety of software tools. He’s found that the best approach to writing software is to focus on simplicity and not loose sight of the user’s needs.

Thomas McGee
Thomas McGee
Strategy Director | Partner

An Application Design Architect with over 10 years experience in the planning, design and implementation phases of complex, large scale web-based applications; 10 years of user interface design experience in the financial, telecommunications, and pharmaceutical industries. Proven leadership, project management and team building capabilities in delivering products on time and within budget. Talent for proactively identifying and resolving problems. A strong communicator with excellent problem solving, technical, presentation and client relation skills.

Greg O’Keeffe
Greg O’Keeffe
Creative Director | Partner

With over 11 years experience designing visual, interactive, and audio solutions for print, screen and speakers, Greg holds an impressive career roster listing some of the most recognized names in tech, pharma, finance, telecom and entertainment. Since 1995 Greg has focused his efforts on building better user experiences, and often tells tales of animated gifs, Flash abuse in ‘98, the portal craze, and the foosball tables of the “tech boom”. Known for his obsessive attention to detail, Greg says of himself, “Greg embodies the spirit of a true media pioneer”. He currently spends much of his time commuting to work from his home in Brooklyn, NY.

Jon Sykes
Jon Sykes
Senior UI Architect

Jon is Media-Hive’s Trans-Atlantic token European. A resident of New Jersey for the last 7 years, Jon previously worked for technology firms in his native London and then New York. He has extensive front end development experience covering interactive web technologies and rich progressively enhanced user interfaces.

He has an unhealthy drive to produce sites that are coded ‘correctly’ (read: support the standards), are accessible, very usable and follow progressive enhancement methodologies. “Having a web site built for you that doesn’t meet any of industry standards, is like hiring an electrician who doesn’t follow building code regulations…. the wiring might work, but you never know when your house will burn down”.

Tom Sullivan
Tom Sullivan
UI Specialist

Tom is an interactive developer with years of experience creating web applications within the fields of retail, entertainment, technology, and even for the federal government. He comes to Media-Hive with a passion for using technology to build lasting customer relationships and drive customer satisfaction. When he is not tinkering with code, Tom enjoys playing poker, traveling to places warmer than New Jersey, and the perennial heartbreak of being a New York Jets fan.

Chris Luongo
Chris Luongo
Visual Designer

Chris has been working professionally for over 6 years in the fields of traditional and interactive graphic design. His studies at Old Dominion University in Norfolk, Virginia gave him a broad understanding of current design methodology and an appreciation of the origins of graphic design.

Throughout his career, Chris has played an integral part within creative firms in Virginia Beach, Beverly Hills, and his native New Jersey- working on projects which range in scope from Government to Extreme Sports. Chris is an extremely versatile designer who feels comfortable designing on different mediums and a wide range of styles. Chris brings to Media-Hive an intensity for great design and translating what the client needs into usable visually stunning work.

Gregg Helfman
Gregg Helfman
UI Specialist

Gregg has been working in the field of technology for over 3 years. In this short time, he has worked in a wide range of areas including web design, software configuration, testing, and project management. Gregg received his degree from Rutgers University in Information Technology & Informatics along with a minor in Psychology. His intention was to understand how technology affects human behavior and how human behavior can help to evolve technology. He concentrated mostly in the areas of Human-Computer Interaction, Information Visualization, IT and Learning, User Experience, and Web Design.

Since joining Media Hive as a UI Specialist, Gregg has honed his web design and development skills on key projects and company initiatives- and he continues to develop and maintain usable, scalable, effective, and engaging websites and web-based products.