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.
1988 - I discover music and learn everything I can about the mechanics of sound, instrumentation, and composition.
1997 - While attending university I become obsessed with website design, motion design, 3D, and digital audio recording. 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. Some friends and I start a funk/hip-hop band and we play at venues around Seattle.
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 much of my free time working on various DIY 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 fund an initial project. The frog touchscreen program quickly expands to three frog studios.
2010 - While at frog design, I lead an ethnographic research program for one of frog's premier clients, and I conduct interviews in Tokyo, Shanghai, Paris, and San Francisco across several months.
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 very 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 on 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 creative 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 invest in a remarkable urban regeneration project called Holzmarkt and become a member of the cooperative, partnering 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 emerging from the pandemic, we 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.
2023 - We travel to Sicily, explore one of the wine regions in Germany, and visit friends in Zürich and Basel. This is the year of personal and professional growth and development, AI, creative projects, health & fitness, and more. Stay tuned!
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