Machine Learning for Creators
RunwayML · Design & Development · 2019
I spent several months with RunwayML helping them make machine learning capabilities more accessible to folks with no coding experience. The team moves fast.
In the short time I was there we had four significant releases. I led design and implementation of an onboarding feature aimed at improving retention, coded RunwayML Experiments targeted at showcasing the platform's power (see below), and created a section of the website dedicated to integrations.
I also helped move the team toward design best practices by creating a component library in Figma and establishing a weekly cadence of user interviews.
Machine Learning Experiments
Personal · Design & Prototyping · 2016-2019
I'm really excited about machine learning and how it can be used to augment instead of automate. Using tools like ml5.js and RunwayML, I've built a variety of experiments that explore both expressive and utilitarian possibilities for machine learning.
Some of my favorite projects include a squat counter that analyzes your form, a simple machine for matching drawings with emojis (based on Mike Matas' prototype The Brain), and a functional proof-of-concept of a UI for chaining the inputs and outputs of different models together.
These things are easier to understand when you see them, so I've included some demo videos below.
Streamlined Identity Management
AT&T · Design & Prototyping · 2018-2019
AT&T faced a big challenge following the Time Warner merger: many customers subscribed to multiple services, but each service required a separate account because of legacy systems.
I led an internal team of 8 designers, researchers, and content strategists in creating a unified authentication and identity management experience across all AT&T properities. To do this, we had to partner with many parts of the business to coordinate a strategy for merging accounts and standardizing UI.
In the process, we helped develop a new design language for all AT&T products and integrated tech that uses network data to shortcut password authentication. The new experience is in the process of being rolled out.
Passive Listening Assistant
AT&T · Design & Development · 2018
During a project centered around new search capabilities at AT&T, my boss and I had the idea to augment call center agents with an assistant that listens in on calls, determines the customer's intent, and presents the agent with suggestions for their next step.
After building a prototype that was convincing enough to secure executive support, I worked with a team of engineers to develop a functional proof-of-concept.
Most of our effort went into analyzing call records to identify common intents and training machine learning models based on those intents. A recording of the final demo is below.
AI-First Student Experience
Big Tomorrow · Design & Prototyping · 2017
Quite a bit of thought has been put into the future of higher education, but how students interact with institutions gets less attention.
While working at Big Tomorrow, a design consultancy focused on education and healthcare, several colleagues and I had the opportunity to explore how emerging technologies might shape the student experience moving forward.
This work was intended to inform future engagements with clients like the University of Texas and Harvard Business School. It also allowed us to develop some ideas about Contextual User Interfaces which are fleshed out in the full case study.
Early Concepting for Portal
Facebook · Design & Prototyping · 2016
I joined a small team at IDEO tasked with developing interaction concepts and prototypes for Facebook's new telepresence device. Most of our work centered on two things: (1) an interaction model that shifted between GUI and voice, and (2) initiating visits without explicitly calling someone.
This project was completed before privacy became a key priority for the company. Though our emphasis was on giving people maximum control over their visitor policy, some of the ideas would have required face tracking and other explicit signals of availability to work. As such, they didn't make into the final product.
New Tools for Diabetes Care
Tidepool · Research & Prototyping · 2016
Tidepool is a non-profit, open-source effort to reduce the burden of managing Type 1 diabetes. Blip, the cornerstone of their software suite, serves as a hub for all a person with diabetes' data from various devices. I was invited to help their design lead craft a vision for how to analyze and present trends in that data.
The team had been having issues getting meaningful feedback with prototypes that used fake visualizations and dummy data. I helped them create high fidelity prototypes with real data in a short time. These got better feedback, giving the team higher directional confidence .
Early Concepting for DIRECTV NOW
DIRECTV · Design & Prototyping · 2016
This was another project completed freelancing for IDEO. Our team crafted a vision for DIRECTV's then new streaming service.
We investigated a variety of interaction models and concepts with high fidelity prototypes. This approach made it easier to test with users and communicate ideas in large reviews.
Some of the key themes we pushed were bringing the magic of live into an on-demand experience, evolving discovery into a personalized channel just for you, and making your mobile device a companion to the 10 foot experience.
Better Phone Calls
Bellow · Design & Prototyping · 2014
Text messaging is great for certain kinds of communication, but it's a poor substitute for presence. Voice and video calls are better, but why is it so hard to pick up the phone?
With Bellow, two colleagues and I built an app that tried to address the social friction the current call model encourages. We replaced interruption and anxiety with a system focused on mutual availability and control.
Designing for Fitness Tracking
Runkeeper (now ASICS Digital) · Product Design · 2012-2014
Runkeeper is one of the world's largest digital fitness platforms with over 45 million users spread across 192 countries. At different points during my two years there, I led design for Growth, Elite (paid offering), and Brand Partnership teams.
During the company's march towards profitability, I had the opportunity to work on everything from generative training programs to brand-powered reward systems. ASICS acquired Runkeeper in 2016.
Upgrading Science Lab Notebooks
Agilent · Research & Prototyping · 2014
Agilent's Electronic Notebook (ELN) was developed to help scientists better capture, index, and mine their work. But an overly complex UI and desktop focus meant that it was challenging to use within its intended lab context.
Together with a small team, I helped define, design, and implement a tablet version of the ELN suited to the specific needs of lab workers.
Graduate Student Work
Copenhagen Institute of Interaction Design · Design & Prototyping · 2012
I attended the Copenhagen Institute of Interaction Design where we prototyped hardware, software, and services together as a class. Projects I'm most proud of include a modular set of audio controls that live on your fridge, an exploration into how emerging technology might influence our experience of death, and an extra energy efficient lamp named Fickle.
Simpsonify
Personal · Prototyping · 2015
A colleague wondered aloud about how much work it would take to develop a simple web app that could translate a user-defined keyword into Simpsons-speak. I spent an afternoon prototyping it for fun using Framer.js, a library of made up Simpsons words, and the Big Huge Thesaurus API.
Search Party
Personal · Prototyping · 2015
Lots of talk about what VR means for gaming, but there's also interesting cinematic opportunities. Search Party is a quick demo of a choose-your-own-adventure style music video.
The basic concept is that you start out hearing a song in the distance, and then can either move towards or away from it. This mechanic allows the experience to become a bit of a maze, where the only cues for reaching the music's source (i.e. solving the maze) are auditory.
Runkeeper Flythru
Runkeeper · Prototyping · 2013
During a hackathon at Runkeeper, I teamed up with the company's CTO Joe Bondi to compose little GIF summaries of tracked runs and bike rides. The idea was to combine GPS traces, Google Streetview timelapses, and animations layered in based on activity-specific triggers.
We prototyped a proof-of-concept that automatically generated timelapses client-side and then rendered them out as GIFs server-side. More technical details in case study.
