For twenty-five years I've designed digital products and led the teams that build them within complex and highly regulated industries. I’m a firm believer in design being a relentless advocate for the people who use the products we create.
2023 — Present
Design consultancy supporting complex and highly regulated industries by delivering strategy, research, and product design.
2021 — 2023
Grew the Field Rewards design practice from two people into a high-performing team and led its first end-to-end experience vision.
2016 — 2021
Led UX for the flagship product (including eleven designers and researchers) and crafted design strategy to integrate and cross-sell products.
2013 — 2016
Designed large-scale healthcare systems and led the mobile experience for UnitedHealthcare/AARP through release.
1994 — 2013
My early career was spent working in agencies (branding/marketing), teaching design overseas and transitioning into UX through my own startup.
Redesigned the core patient outreach and coordination tool for a healthtech company preparing for IPO. Working from a 12-person user reference panel through iterative prototyping and close developer collaboration, we simplified layouts, clarified hierarchy, and cut repetitive actions.
50% increase in scheduling per day creating over one million dollars in business value every year
1 / 4The field rewards organization inside a Fortune 100 insurer was shipping one-off projects with no shared picture of where the experience was headed. Over a year, I secured funding and led research with 20+ users — synthesizing 1,000+ insights into design principles, system components, and vision vignettes told through a key persona.
Executive buy-in that drove alignment and influenced the product roadmap and annual funding
1 / 5A small, low-maturity design team was carrying critical digital transformation work with fractured product and engineering relationships and heavy turnover. I rebuilt their internal processes: design reviews, team health checks, retrospectives, joint planning, and hired 15+ designers plus and several associate directors to expand leadership capacity.
200% growth in team capacity, cross-functional alignment, and consistently reached annual productivity targets
Seniors were among the fastest-growing mobile audiences and the least served by the existing site. Guerrilla and lab testing pushed the design toward a two-level information architecture, explicit Back and Home controls, print-to-digital color coding, and strict WCAG AA typography, contrast, and touch targets.
A surge in mobile traffic and unexpected new memberships by senior users enrolled on mobile
“Mike's strategic design leadership was invaluable in defining our future strategy and standardizing design practices across projects. His empathetic approach empowered our team and improved our collaboration across departments.”
1 / 4A Cooking Journal for Home Chefs
I designed Pen & Apron as a personal cookbook that invites friends to share recipes and notes. It features easy recipe link translation, personal notes, and a hands-free recipe view. All are welcome, check it out!
penandapron.com
1 / 3An Online Local Produce Marketplace
Most local farmers are limited to selling one day a week. To help local farmers and buyers find each other, I created an online marketplace that promotes discoverability and purchasing.
1 / 4Elevating Lovable UX Design
After much building on Lovable, I realized non-technical founders shipping AI-built apps need better UX. Features include a 40-point UX audit with a prioritized scorecard, paste-ready fix prompts, and installable design themes with tokens, components, and motion.
betteruxvibes.com
Twenty-five years of designing and leading design.
Yeah, I've been doing this awhile, but there's nothing I'd rather be doing. My happy place is talking to users, ideating solutions, and building things. Even better is getting to do that as a team. Besides client work and my own projects, I regularly consult with internal teams and founders.
The appeal of UX has always been that it aligns with my values. I think technology should serve people. I think humans are the future, not robots. And I think the pressure and demands of running a competitive business require more engagement with users, not less.
Greenville SC has been a great community to do that work. Please visit if you haven't been. I live here with my wife Tiffany and two awesome kids, Ruth (10) and Joseph (12). We live in the woods surrounded by birds, deer, and the occasional black bear. When I'm not raking leaves or removing trees, I'm probably building something (physical or digital) or curating my collection of sports cards.
The best part of UX is the people. Lets connect on LinkedIn.
Connect on LinkedInI use AI regularly to do product research and build proof of concepts. For most projects I still wireframe or sketch but quickly move into prototyping that lets me design the experience in code. It has its tradeoffs, but for me as a designer that didn't previously work in code, it allows me to get a better feel for what the end user experience will be.
