Highlights from my career journey... and other influencial moments.
1985 - I receive my first computer (an Apple Macintosh) and my first game console. My passion for technology and computing platforms is born.
1997 - While attending university I become passionate about web design, interactive media, and various digital creative projects. I build computers that can handle all of these quite well and spend the next several years exploring what's possible.
2002 - After graduating from university, I build websites and e-learning applications for clients while I search for my first big professional opportunity.
2004 - I plan a summer trip to Europe, but my plans change after interviewing for a design role at Microsoft. Little did I know that I would end up working on creating a next-gen Xbox game console platform (i.e. the Xbox 360) for the next 3.5 years.
2005 - I work hard at Xbox and help design, produce, and ship the Xbox 360 console, Xbox.com, Xbox Dev Kit (XDK) releases, various peripherals, and more.
2006 - After a successful console launch, I am rewarded with even more responsibility and I become the UX owner for the settings area of the Xbox 360 Dashboard. I continue working on post-launch features and improvements for the console, and take on new projects like the Xbox wireless headset, XNA Game Studio Express, Windows on Xbox, audio projects, internal tools, and more.
2007 - I leave Microsoft in the Spring to join Amazon where I help launch the Amazon Pay division, which included a suite of payments and checkout products. Also, I wait in a very long line to buy the first iPhone, and my life is changed forever.
2008 - I join legendary design firm, frog design, and start my tenure in the Seattle office, working with clients such as Microsoft, AT&T, Intel, and others. Later in the year I transfer to the headquarters in San Francisco. The next chapter in my life begins.
2009 - I spend my free time working on various projects including building large touchscreens using different infrared tracking techniques. Several colleagues join me in launching a large touchscreen prototyping lab at frog, and I convince the studio heads to give us seed funding to create a prototype. The frog touchscreen program quickly expands to three frog studios.
2010 - While at frog design, I lead a global user research program for one of frog's premier clients, and I spend several months conducting interviews in Tokyo, Shanghai, Paris, and San Francisco.
2011 - I finally take that trip I was planning years earlier and spend the entire summer exploring Berlin. In the fall, I rejoin frog design in the Seattle studio.
2012 - Over the next several years I lead design for both consumer and pro audio applications at some exciting music technology companies, Ultimate Ears by Logitech and Beatport.
2014 - I give talks at several public events about my background, creative endeavors, accomplishments, and values. It's the first time that I do any real public speaking, and I enjoy it a lot.
2015 - The Apple Watch is released in April, and I become obsessed with the potential for wearable technology to benefit humanity. One month later I join the Fitbit design team where I help design their first Smartwatch experience (Fitbit Blaze), which won 17 awards at CES. I also work on a separate low-cost tracker (Fitbit Alta), the Aria 2 Smart Scale, and manage design for new and legacy products, features, and various initiatives as part of the Cornerstone team.
2016 - Some friends and I start a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization and organize fundraising events in SF & NYC to help support human rights and civil liberties in the United States of America. I become an investor and limited partner in one of San Francisco's most beloved music venues.
2018 - I relocate to Berlin and begin working on a series of projects involving AR/VR, sound design, and gestural interfaces. I also start an innovation blog and travel extensively to events and conferences around the world.
2019 - I become a member of the Holzmarkt cooperative, and partner with creatives, entrepreneurs, local businesses and supporters to facilitate a sustainable community development along the Spree river for the people of Berlin to come together.
2021 - We travel to Iceland for several weeks and see everything from glaciers, to lava spewing out of an active volcano, to tiny elf houses, and countless other things. I join New Work SE (part of Hubert Burda Media) as Head of Design at one of their business units.
2022 - After the pandemic, I visit Denmark and Sweden for the first time. I also volunteer for a week at the Ukraine border with World Central Kitchen, a relief organization that supports refugees with nourishing meals and needed supplies.
2024 - In January, I join Klang Games as their UX Design Director. I build a high-performance team, and drive UI/UX development for an ambitious new open world society simulation coming out in 2026.
2025 - I give a talk at the UX360 conference in Berlin, where I explore how UX has evolved from a secondary function to a strategic driver of business success. I also provide some practical tips on ways that teams can elevate their organizations product development practices, including the benefits of increased design and research collaboration.
2026 - We are on track to release SEED - a society simulation MMO game, where the relationships you build, the work that you do, the businesses you create, and the governments you elect directly influence the future of your society.
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