Portfolio | Resume | Biography

Biography

Michael W. Mitchell has been complaining about and seeking to remedy bad design and experience from about age 6 onward. The long family trips sitting in the "way back seat" of a 1972 Oldsmobile Custom Cruiser station wagon ("Bessy") provided the perfect opportunity and vantage point for Michael to begin observing the vehicle and its occupants' interactions with 'her'. This life-long scrutiny of design led him into the field of Human Factors Engineering and the burgeoning discipline of User Experience.

Michael received his Masters in Human Factors Psychology from the University of Idaho. His thesis work involved the redesign and simulator testing of navigation displays for TravTek™, an early in-vehicle information and navigation systems developed by General Motors Research Labs.

While working on his Ph.D. in Human Factors Engineering at Virginia Tech, QuickTime was released in Beta. The thrill of computer-based video and non-linear editing greatly altered his path, sending him into an early career in multimedia development. His dissertation work then investigated how interstitial questions of varying type affect depth of processing, learning and attitudinal change in teens using a choose-your-own-adventure type interactive video application which he cast, directed, filmed, edited and developed (using Authorware) for the National Institute of Health.

Dr. Mitchell has since gained significant experience working with IBM, Scient and a series of startup web-services and technology companies which has allowed him to be involved at every point along the software development process, from ethnography and persona development, focus groups and requirements gathering, participatory design and paper prototyping, early UI design concepts and iterative wireframe testing, through final user flow creation, html production, engineering and testing.

His experience designing and developing the "fatbubble" application inspired him to begin visualizing online transaction networks of every type very differently... as variable flows of energy in feedback loops between entities.

Questioning, observing and developing a visual language for how we interact online and offline, Michael has become fascinated with mobile situation-awareness, conversational AI agents and the notion of creating a mobile mirror world wherein integrated information and communication tools / service leverage a secure, online, encrypted, unified profile to allow radically personalized, situation-sensitive information retrieval.

Michael has recently spent significant periods of time back home in Idaho helping his family through a number of major life transitions and documenting his family's challenges as they attempt to collectively problem-solve the issues that all people will eventually face: aging parents and the seemingly inevitable mental and physical health issues, financial issues, transitionary care decisions and dealing with all aspects of their eventual passing.

Additionally, he has documented over 3 years of in-depth ethnographic and usability video footage of his brother Keith, a high-functioning, 49 year-old man with cerebral palsy, mild mental retardation and numerous physical and behavioral issues. Keith is a new cell phone user and Michael has been seeking to leverage and simplify access to existing mobile and web technology to assist Keith in becoming more independent, healthier, happier and more seamlessly connected to his network of family members, friends and service providers.

Recently relocating to the mountains near Santa Cruz, California where he lives with his beautiful girlfriend Laura. When not obsessing on his vision he is playing music, hiking, and enjoying all that the area offers. Michael is presently seeking work with forward-thinking user experience teams and companies in the Silicon Valley and San Francisco Bay Area.