Hello
I've spent the past twelve years designing across healthcare, finance, transportation, and sustainability — on teams building things that actually shipped. I've co-founded two startups, led design on products used by real people in real contexts, and spent a lot of time inside organizations where creative thinking isn't a nice-to-have. It's the whole job.
That work taught me something I didn't expect to learn: creative thinking is a practice, not a personality type. It's a muscle. And like any muscle, it needs resistance to stay strong.
Most of us stop giving it that without noticing. The briefs get clearer. The process gets tighter. The work gets delivered. And somewhere in there, the part of your brain that used to wander — that used to turn a problem sideways just to see what else it might be — goes quiet.
My passion is to bring impactful ideas to life.
What I make
Workbook
Open Studio
Thirty exercises to train your creative mind the way a gym trains your body. Structured. Progressive. Something you actually do.
Newsletter
Form Follows Nature
One thing from the natural world, bi-weekly, that changes how you see something in yours.
Design Work
12+ years of shipped work
Across healthcare, finance, transportation, and sustainability — products used by real people in real contexts.
“I looked for a book that would help. I didn’t find it. So I made it.”
Open Studio
Not a theory book or a motivational read — something I could actually do. Something that would train those creative muscles back into use the way a training program trains a body. Open Studio is thirty exercises across six chapters. Designed to be used flat on a desk, pen in hand, with no correct answers waiting at the back.
Form Follows Nature
Form Follows Nature is a newsletter about what nature has figured out and what it means for how we think, make, and move through the world. It comes from the same place Open Studio does — a belief that the best thinking usually starts with paying attention to something you'd normally walk past.
Some of the organizations I've designed for
Mike has done a phenomenal job capturing requirements from the client and using his technical expertise to develop website design options for them. The client is consistently impressed with his expertise and recommendations. Mike has very strong collaboration across the team to ensure various work stream efforts synchronize with the website vision. Furthermore, Mike has presented technical ideas to a non-technical client in a manner that makes them feel comfortable, and more than satisfied with the direction of our work.
Ryan Lundregan
SS4A Project Manager / GuidehouseThroughout the project he was a great collaborator – communicative, open and solution-focused – and a great contributor – accountable, thorough, and thoughtful. Mike approaches his work with curiosity, an analytical mind, accountability and respect. I found him to be a great teammate because I knew I could rely on him to keep things moving, connect the dots in our research and analysis, adapt and troubleshoot.
Kat Backof
Senior Product Strategy Manager / TurnitinThe amount of valuable insight he and his team provided was very impressive for such a short amount of time. With very little guidance, he was able to incorporate all aspects of the UX design process and provide us with deliverables that will be very valuable to the entire Cecelia Health team. Mike is hard working, empathetic, has great attention to detail, and would be a great asset to any UX team.
Owen McGillicuddy
UX Design Lead / Cecelia Health