20+ years of multidisciplinary design and team leadership across industrial, visual, UX, and AI design.
I specialize in designing for what doesn't exist yet, translating ambiguous, speculative futures into concrete experiences that guide strategy and investment. I also just like making things.
UX for AI
2023-Present
Shortly after ChatGPT changed the world in 2022, I began working on AI product UX at Microsoft, initially as an IC, now as a design director running a UX envisioning team of six. We partner with UXEs, applied science, and user researchers to envision future AI-native workflows for M365.
As internal strategy explorations, my team’s projects in this space remain confidential. Instead, I’ve shared a few essays on Substack about what the future might hold for UX design and information work as the world adopts AI.
Design Director, Copilot UX Envisioning
Wayfinding the future of information work
Years
2023-Present
From Physical to Pixel
2020-2023
Working at one of the largest software companies in the world provided an opportunity to branch out from hardware design and think about software. Leveraging my 3D visualization skills from 15+ years as an industrial designer, I joined the Fluent Expression team in its infancy, initially creating a variety of app imagery as a Principal Designer, before advancing to Creative Director and inheriting responsiblity for Microsoft’s emoji library and visual forms of in-product user expression.
Creative Director, Fluent Emoji
Jason Custer, Aaron Martinez, Sam Cundall, Nando Costa, Claire Murali, Leo Mateus & Tendril
Awards
D&AD Wood Pencil
Years
2022-2023
Principal Designer, Product Expression
With Alexis Copeland, Nando Costa
Year
2021
Microsoft Envisioning
2018-2020
Two years as hands-on Industrial Design Manager on the Office Envisioning team, creating third horizon hardware concepts to prompt consideration of the future of work and life. Our biggest project was the Flowspace Pod immersive workspace, built on research into focus, flow, and various postures of information work, a collab with Steelcase and Studio O+A.
Industrial Design Manager: Office Envisioning
With the Microsoft Office Envisioning team
Years
2018-2020
MNML
2007-2016
I joined Scott Wilson’s MNML as employee #001, contributing to the initial body of work that established the firm into the 2010s. Clients included Dell, Microsoft, Beats by Dre, Rand McNally, Loreal, and Newell Brands. Beyond design, I wore many hats, including architecting the studio’s visualization pipeline, cross-discipline design direction, copywriting, and marketing collateral creation. I also owned the largest Nerf dart gun in the studio.
Check out more from this era of work at www.speckofdustin.com
Side Projects
2011-Present
I’m a big believer in side projects as a test of skills and wide open experimentation without any consequences for failure. Through these projects I’ve grown tool competency, accelerated process, socialized ideas with the world, and even won some awards. Nowadays my side projects happen mostly in Claude Code, but here are some others blending products, art direction, and spaces.
