About Mike
I design the tools people depend on when the work is complicated and the stakes are real.
I’ve spent my career on products where getting it wrong costs something: care teams trying to reach patients before a gap in care becomes a hospital visit, advisors trying to understand how they’re paid, church staff keeping track of the people they care for. That work has taken me through Optum/UnitedHealthcare, ACS Technologies, Northwestern Mutual, and my own practice, Supergreen Design.
What I’m best at is the part before the screens: understanding how the work really happens, finding the problem worth solving, and getting everyone to agree on it. Then I design it, prototype it in code, and stay close until it’s in people’s hands and we can see what changed.
What I bring
Clarity in messy domains.
I’m at my best when no one has written the process down, the systems don’t talk to each other, and five teams each own a piece. I map it, find where it breaks, and make the path forward obvious.
Research that drives decisions.
I talk to the people doing the work, whether that’s coordinators, advisors, physicians or pastors. Then I turn what I hear into priorities a team can defend.
Working prototypes, early.
I build in code with AI tools, so stakeholders react to something real and engineers see exactly what we mean.
Outcomes, not just output.
I care whether it worked. On my last client project, coordinators scheduled 32% more patients each week while a comparable team on another tool stayed flat.
How I lead
I’ve led design teams and I’ve been the only designer in the room. Either way, I lead through the work.
At Northwestern Mutual, I took a small, struggling design team and turned it into a trusted partner. I set up regular critique and joint planning with product and engineering, and moved us from taking orders to shaping what got built. Three more product teams started asking for design help. I was promoted from Design Lead to Design Director in 10 months.
At ACS Technologies, I guided six designers and five researchers on the company’s flagship platform, and started a UX community of practice that raised the bar across product lines.
Today, I mentor early-stage founders, helping them figure out what’s worth building before they build it.
My approach is simple: give people clear problems, honest feedback and credit for their work, and stay hands-on enough to know what good looks like.
Experience
- Supergreen DesignFounder & Lead Product Designer
- 2023–Present
- Northwestern MutualDesign Director, Design Lead
- 2021–2023
- ACS TechnologiesPrincipal Designer, Senior Designer
- 2016–2021
- Optum / UnitedHealthcareSenior UX Designer
- 2013–2016
Earlier: agency art and creative direction, teaching design overseas, and a startup of my own.
Credentials
- Author of Better by Design: How User Experience Accelerates Growth, Loyalty & Innovation (2024)
- AI: Business Strategies and Applications, UC Berkeley (2024)
- Foundations in Design Thinking, IDEO U (2021)
Outside of work
I live in the woods outside Greenville with my wife and our two kids, surrounded by birds, deer and the occasional black bear. When I’m not designing, I’m usually building something: a garden, a chicken coop, a construction project, or the next version of one of my apps. I also collect sports cards and make a respectable homemade pizza.
Let’s talk.
What people say
“Mike's proactive, business-savvy approach transformed our project from concept to completion. He combines exceptional design skills with a focus on business growth, making him an asset to any team looking to elevate their digital experience.”