Michael Darius

Human Futures Planning

2022

Exploring music identity construction, object narrative and the connected self, Michael designs music applications, helps with strategy and aligns on ALANA’s curated vision for the future with roses/foundation’s unique approach to artist development. Growing the world's first AI-based artist development and product design firm with my wife ALANA has been quite the ride, to say the least. As the head of product design, I've had to wear many hats and tackle a variety of tasks and challenges. But hey, that's what being a design founder is all about, right? One of the unique aspects of our company, roses/foundation, is our focus on helping artists and founders design their business logic and evolve out of the ambition-shaming culture that unfortunately still exists in many creative industries. It can be tough for artists to feel confident in their business pursuits, and we aim to provide the tools and resources they need to succeed. In terms of challenges, there have been many. For starters, the field of AI is constantly evolving, which can be both exciting and overwhelming. Keeping up with the latest technologies and techniques is a never-ending task. But perhaps the biggest challenge has been finding a balance between my wife's creative vision and the practicalities of product design and development. ALANA is an artist at heart, and it's been a learning process for both of us to find a middle ground between the two. Overall, though, building this company with ALANA has been a truly rewarding experience. It's been a unique opportunity to combine our passions and talents and create something truly innovative and groundbreaking. Snarky but sweet, just like we like it.

Professional Photographer

2007

Team portraiture, product photography, professional portraiture/headshots, events, fashion, editorial. When I am between design projects, photography is one way that I inform my design process to regroup my understanding and reawaken my creative imagination back to the human ideal. Surrounding myself with people when they are doing what they consider to be living their best life, reaching their unique potential serves as a natural reminder to me why designing for people is still worthwhile. Worked with Apple's Product Photography Team & Macy's | Bloomingdales Private Label Apparel Photography Studios. Residencies: Palace of Fine Arts, Fillmore West, The Midway, SFMOMA, SFJAZZ, Berber, Hotel Via, Proper Hotel, AltConf, Apple, OneDome, Monarch Catering, Star Models, RAW artists, Naked Music, Dropbox, TechCrunch, Vau de Vire society, SF Mint, Hotel Via, Pink Mammoth, Salted Music, San Francisco Symphony, Cascade SF, Clarity (design systems conference), Palace of Fine Arts, Herbst Theatre, Angel Launch, Forbes, Burning Man Project.

Photographer

2019

Review Board Advisor

2011

Principal

1999

Client list: Apple, Pepsi, iTunes, Cisco Design, NeXT, Adobe, 3com, Sony, Hallmark, Kodak, Eyefi, McAfee, Universal Music Group, BMG, Motown Records, RHINO, Verve Records An interdisciplinary boutique design consultancy and global research firm based in San Francisco. Using cross-industry measurements Darius/Design partners with founders and developers to create meaningful branded product experiences for unreached communities and international mobile markets. Darius/Design exists to champion the strategic and business value of design while serving to investigate the boundaries of art, self and society between sentient beings and tangible objects through purposeful interaction, empathic discourse and ubiquitous learning. Projects: Organic growth of boutique firm operations. Established a design research and team resource library for executive coaching and client workshops. Lead facilitation planning for weekly design workshop ‘I Love Mondays’ developing design economy and coworking accelerator for IxDA chapter experience planning. Pattern Engineering for Cisco Telepresence Products and Device Systems. Developed material design language/motion principles for Cisco Symphony design system. Developed visual metaphor studies, color studies, specification language and prototypes for RelayTV a desktop set top sharing experience for live display interaction. Teamwork Athletic iPad ProSphere Configurator for Jersey Decorator Experience. System Pathways and human interaction layer for Eye-fi wireless memory camera card. WoltersKlewer CCH icon development, workshops and tax desktop software design. Furnish design vision and design direction to Wearable World, Inc. and Wearable World Labs incubator members while establishing each as design conscious entities within the Internet of Things (IoT) and Internet of Wearable Things (IoWT) ecosystems. NorthStar by Spime: Developed visual language for location 2.0 mobile application.

Principal Designer, App

2018 - 2019

Built an ethos and design system for the next generation of Macy's App. Facilitated the establishment of Macy's first Design System. Performed design research, in-store customer research, design workflows, customer journeys Designed Macy's | Bloomingdales first contactless frictionless mobile payment processing system. Designed in-store app features and Store Guide features. Facilitated workshops with product teams design reviews with design teams. Designed proofs of concept challenging established definitions for product strategy. • Designed current and future channel user experience to meet long term and near term business goals and user needs (KPI’s and user success metrics). • Collaborated with executives, managers, product managers, engineers, and researchers to define, conceptualize, and design user-facing products. • Partnered with the UX leadership team to define the channel experience and to ensure deliverables are consistent with the user experience design vision. • Designed across web, mobile apps, and in-store environments, ensuring a consistent user experience across different platforms.   • Worked through channel design problems from beginning to end: conceptualized new products and features, designs storyboards, workflows, interactions, wireframes, high fidelity mockups, and design standards based on business goals and user research. • Championed user experience design throughout the company and contributed to making design an essential process for improvement and innovation. • Served as a subject matter expert and thought leader on user experience design across the company as well as the broader design community. • Mentored user experience designers across the company. Built upon team quality, team understanding, team morale and team processes in order to create a culture of learning, collaboration, respect and open communication where the best ideas rise to the top and team members feel empowered to contribute their best work and ideas.

Principal Design Coach / Facilatator

2016 - 2017

The concept of "I love Mondays" originated as a series of street-side participatory design workshops aimed at evangelizing the idea of engaging at the civic level to address wicked design problems. These workshops were held in public squares and were open to anyone who wanted to participate. The goal of these workshops was to create a space for people to come together, brainstorm ideas, and work collaboratively to design solutions to some of the most pressing issues facing their communities. Case Study: One of the first "I love Mondays" workshops was held in a public square in downtown San Diego. The theme of the workshop was "Designing for Social Equity." Participants included designers, activists, community organizers, and anyone else who was interested in exploring ways to address issues of social inequality in the city. The workshop began with a series of short presentations on different aspects of social equity and how design can be used to address these issues. This was followed by a group discussion, during which participants shared their own experiences and ideas for addressing social inequality in the city. After the discussion, the group broke into smaller teams and began working on design concepts. Each team was given a specific challenge related to social equity, such as increasing access to affordable housing or improving public transportation for low-income communities. Over the course of the day, the teams developed a variety of creative and innovative solutions to these challenges. Some of the ideas included a community-driven housing development project, a rideshare program for low-income residents, and a public art installation highlighting issues of gentrification. At the end of the day, the teams presented their concepts to the larger group and received feedback from the other participants. Many of the concepts were well received and generated a lot of interest from the community.

Head Of Design

2013 - 2014

Design facilitation and agency growth for Wearable World and Incubator Labs members.

Design Principal

2006 - 2010

Led agency growth and boutique strategy operations. Client management, human interface design, direction, mentoring. Product design facilitation.

Design Chair

1999 - 2005

Key Projects: Apple Webmail: Led design of Apple's first webmail, aligning with webAqua design. Influenced global webmail standards. Apple’s First Gift Card Experience: Designed Apple's first gift card experience for retail, initiating a digital gift card trend with a Target pilot. iTunes Music Store: Key role in digitalizing music sales, streamlining the buying process and revitalizing the industry. Mac OS X Dashboard: Prototyped Dashboard, introducing widget spaces and influencing iPhone app design, enhancing the Mac platform experience still felt today. Cloud-Based Storage (iDisk): Pioneered iDisk, anticipating the needs for online storage and sharing with a focus on security and usability. Cloud-based Services: Led the design of iTools and .Mac, integrating cloud services in Apple's ecosystem, paving the way for MobileMe and iCloud. Cloud-Based Bookmark Syncing: Designed .Mac Bookmarks, blending design and engineering for remote access solutions. iTunes Producer: Crafted iTunes Producer, simplifying music distribution to iTunes Music Store for artists and labels. iTunes Essentials: Curated iTunes Essentials, enhancing music discovery and listening experiences based on user preferences and trends. Garageband: Transformed Logic Pro features for Garageband, making music production accessible to diverse skill levels. Playlist Sharing: Launched playlist sharing in Apple's music ecosystem, fostering a community of music enthusiasts. Photo Album Publishing Tools in HomePage: Developed HomePage's photo album tools, simplifying digital photo sharing, capitalizing on digital photography trends. The Digital Lifestyle: Integrated app-based features into daily life, creating a unified experience across Apple products, influencing user-technology interactions.

Lead Interface Designer

1997 - 1998

Led interface design research for 3com marketing and corporate communications.