Jason
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25+
Years in design
15+
Industries studiedFootwear · tech · aerospace · voice AI · +
3
Patent filings · mobile
∞
Curiosity · still climbing
Principal product designerDesign innovation lead

Designing what new technology makes possible.

I'm Jason. For 25+ years I've led design where technology was changing what a product could be: from footwear technology R&D at Nike, to the web in its early years, to design research at Ziba Design, and on to design strategy and innovation across mobile hardware and software, voice AI, aerospace, and social and emotional learning. Now I build AI products myself.

MIT Sloan · Strategy and InnovationHFI · Certified Usability Architect (CUA)
See the work

Open to senior design leadership roles, and fractional or consulting work.

Footwear R&DNikeDesign researchZibaWeb and human factorsWebCriteria, Safeco, IntelMobile innovation2007–08 · HTCInnovation strategy2008–12 · T-Mobile, CitizenAerospace UX2014–15 · HoneywellVoice2016 · VoiceBoxLearning2016–21 · Committee for ChildrenAI products2025– · ModelSpin, KitchenForgeTHE PRACTICETHICKNESS = YEARS

How I lead

The technology keeps changing, from footwear to the web, mobile, voice and now AI, and the way I lead changes with it. A new category needs a different team than a mature one, so I build each team around the product. What stays constant is the goal: turn an undefined problem into a product people actually use.

01

Find the opportunity

Turn an ambiguous space into a clear direction product, engineering and business can build against.

02

Build the right team

A 0-to-1 bet needs prototypers and researchers; scaling it needs systems thinkers and specialists. I shape the team to the stage of the product, and change it as the product grows.

03

Understand people

Human factors and field research, from athletes at Nike events to teachers in real classrooms.

04

Prototype to learn

Get concepts in front of people fast, in whatever medium answers the question. Today that often means working software.

05

Lead it to launch

Roadmaps, business cases and a team shaped around the product, not the org chart, from 0-to-1 concept through launch.

Six eras · newest first

I lead design from the first spark to the mainstream.

Every category I've worked in went through the same two curves. The numbers on the chart are my six eras; pick one to see where that category stood when I started, and what I led.

6 · 2025– · Independent

AI products, built end to end

When I started building with generative AI in 2025, Gartner had just placed it in the trough of disillusionment.

That's when the real work starts: framing the problem, directing the model, and testing until the result holds up in real use.

Source: TechRepublic on Gartner's 2025 Hype Cycle

  • Designed and shipped ModelSpin, a browser 3D turntable renderer, solo from concept to production
  • Built a resume tailor that can't invent experience: every line traces back to the source
  • KitchenForge: a layout engine that generates NKBA-compliant kitchen plans
WHERE I WORKWHERE MOST PRODUCTS STALLHYPE CYCLETRIGGERPEAKTROUGHSLOPEPLATEAUINNOVATORSEARLYADOPTERSEARLYMAJORITYLATEMAJORITYLAGGARDSADOPTIONTIME →654321

Curves after Gartner's Hype Cycle, Rogers' Diffusion of Innovations and Moore's Crossing the Chasm. Points 1–5 are my read of where each category stood; point 6 follows Gartner's 2025 placement of generative AI.

My six eras

Each number matches a point on the chart.

What I'm building now

I lead design, and I still build.

Five products I've framed, directed and tested with AI since 2025. Pick one to see what it does and how it's made.

Five projects
01 · In review

Instagram Explore Playlist Generator

The best new music I hear plays behind Explore posts, and it's gone by the time I scroll on. This Chrome extension keeps the songs and turns them into a playlist.

  • Lists the songs from Explore posts as you scroll, with a link back to each post
  • Plays them in a side panel and sends the ones you keep to Spotify
  • No data collection and no automation: it only reads what Instagram already loaded
Chrome extension · Spotify Web API · Claude CodeRead the case studySee it on GitHub
EXPLORE · AS YOU SCROLLPANEL → SPOTIFY PLAYLIST

Selected work

What I believe

Ambiguity is the job.

I start by exploring, not defining. The answer takes shape through the design.

Prototype before you persuade.

A working thing ends more arguments than a deck does.

Design is how a team decides.

My best work gets product, engineering and business committed to the same direction.

Keep your hands on the material.

Leading design doesn't mean leaving it. I still make things, and these days AI makes that faster.

Bring me the idea that's still a sketch.

Patents · mobile interaction

102104106FIG. 1US 8,160,565 · T-Mobile · 2012Multidirectional control for selecting actions on a phone202204206FIG. 2US 10,499,192 · T-Mobile · 2019Proximity-based device selection for communication delivery302304306FIG. 3US 2009/0244099 · HTC · 2009Switch methods and systems for input interfaces