Mike is a Product Design Leader with:
- 32+ Years of Visual, UI, UX, Digital, Graphic & Consulting
- 30+ Years of UX Design & Interactive & Web
- 24+ Years of UX Lead Product Design
B I 0
Mike grew up in Iowa, where corn is king, fields stretch forever, and yes—he ate plenty of it. It was honest, Midwest roots kind of living, the sort that sticks with you and shapes how you see the world.
He went on to serve four years in the United States Marine Corps, where he picked up discipline, perspective, and a lifelong case of the travel bug. After an Honorable Discharge, Mike headed west to sharpen his creative chops, attending the Colorado Institute of Art and the Rocky Mountain College of Art & Design in Denver. Different scenery, same drive—learn the craft and do it right.
A few years later, Mike pulled into San Francisco, CA, and stayed for two decades. It was the right city at the right moment. Surrounded by innovation, technology, and big ideas, he honed his tradecraft, tools, and experience at the epicenter of North American tech—learning fast, building smarter, and growing alongside an industry in full throttle.
When he’s not behind the design counter, Mike is usually chasing the horizon. He spends his time traveling through Europe, Asia, and Southeast Asia, often on two wheels. An avid motorcyclist, he’s ridden across the South of France, South Vietnam, and nearly every state in the Western U.S. Add in camping, overland Jeep expeditions, and time in the great outdoors, and you’ll find that Mike approaches life the same way he approaches design—curious, hands-on, and always ready for the next great road trip.
W H Y M I K E ?
Mike is cross-functional and collaborative, flipping effortlessly between creative flair and analytical precision. He loves tackling complex problems across the full menu of platforms—mobile, tablet, iPad, desktop, web, and IoT software—crafting experiences that feel just right, from first tap to final polish.
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A G I L E & D E S I G N T H I N K I N G
It always starts with empathy for the end user. From there, Mike identifies pain points, gathers data, and captures real evidence—then digs deeper to expand those discoveries into clear insights. He helps pave the user journey, collaborates closely, designs with purpose, collaborates again, revises, designs, builds, tests, and iterates the whole process over and over. Each pass makes the product better, sharper, and more intuitive—always with the end user seated front and center.
R O L E S
UX Product Owner, Technical Design Director, UX Strategist, UX Consultant, UX Designer, IoT Designer, UI Designer, Interaction Designer, Information Architect, Creative Director, Visual Designer, Logo Designer, Icon Designer & Graphic Print Designer.
L E A D E R S H I P
Mike has worn the leader’s apron for most of his career. As a Non-Commissioned Officer in the United States Marine Corps, he led, influenced, and mentored junior Marines through training, tactics, and the day-to-day grind—lessons in leadership that mattered most when it counted.
That same hands-on leadership style carried into his design career. Mike has mentored and led cross-functional teams across countless UX initiatives, working shoulder to shoulder with Senior and Junior Designers, Visual Designers, Content Strategists, Information Architects, Developers, and Engineers. Most recently, he led a UX team within the FBI, where he helped establish an Agile and Design Thinking process that’s still on the menu and in use today.
Mike’s leadership philosophy is simple and time-tested: he never asks anyone to do work he wouldn’t gladly do himself. He rolls up his sleeves, jumps behind the counter, and stays as long as it takes to solve the problem—so the team can step back, reflect, and enjoy the shared win together.
A G E N C I E S & C L I E N T S
At heart, Mike is an artist and designer who’s spent his career juggling creative roles with some of the industry’s most respected agencies. He’s collaborated with teams at places like Archer Design, EVB, Grand River, Hot Studio, Moore & Price Design, Odopod, Publicis Modem, Razorfish, Real Branding, Sequence, Singlebound Creative, The Linus Group, and YW Design—just to name a few. Each stop added a new skill, a sharper instinct, and a deeper understanding of how great design works across industries and markets.
Over the years, Mike’s work has landed on the tables of an impressive client roster. He’s partnered with brands and organizations including Atari, Bank of the West, Best Buy, Bing, BlackBerry, Charles Schwab, Cisco, the Department of Defense, the Department of Justice, Electronic Arts, Google, Gymboree, Intel, John Deere, Men’s Wearhouse, Microsoft, PG&E, Sam’s Club, SEGA, Sony, State Farm, and Wells Fargo—serving up thoughtful, well-crafted solutions no matter the size of the order.
U S A B I L I T Y T E S T I N G
User testing has been Mike’s best teacher—whether conducted in a million-dollar lab or out in the field doing scrappy, guerrilla-style research. In one memorable case, the team recruited participants who didn’t match the expected demographic at all. They weren’t typical computer users, yet they delivered some of the most insightful feedback anyone at the table had ever heard—perspectives that reshaped the product in ways no one saw coming.
That moment was a real eye-opener. It reinforced the lasting value of user and usability testing and served as a reminder that the most meaningful insights often come from unexpected seats at the counter.
D E L I V E R A B L E S
Analytic Reports, Usability & User Testing Reports, User & Stakeholder Interviews, Competitive Analysis, Use Cases, Audit Reports, Personas, User Goals, Sitemaps, Creative Briefs, UX Briefs, Strategy Briefs, User Interfaces, Icons, High- & Low-Fidelity Wireframes, Wireflows, Interaction Flows, User Flows, Task Flows, Flowcharts, Responsive Flows, Journey Maps, Storyboards, Product Roadmaps, Prototypes, Feature Matrices, Design Guidelines, Brand Development, Mockups, Design Assets, & Final UX Specifications.
S T O R Y B E H I N D T H E N A M E
It all started in the early 2000s while I was working at a startup in the San Francisco Bay Area. The company kept us well-fed—lunches, dinners, snacks, the works. I joked that I was sitting all day, stacking calories, and on a fast track to getting fat. My coworkers laughed, and the nickname “Fatty” stuck.
Around that same time, I was furnishing my 1950s-style kitchen and decided it needed a proper centerpiece—a custom-built diner booth to complete the look. I also wanted a place to showcase my work and experiences, so when it came time to put a site together, the name was obvious. That’s how FattysDiner.com came to life.
I’ve moved five times since then, and the diner booth has moved with me every single time. Some things just earn a permanent spot at the table.
Contact Mike today!