```cv
youtube
{"url":"https://www.youtube.com/embed/JZ28HuzQjyA?si=SqTXM6CmrldwQ6Hd&amp;start=2806","width":200,"height":113,"thumbnail":"https://i.ytimg.com/vi/JZ28HuzQjyA/hqdefault.jpg"}
```

In August of 2022, I particpated in a 2-week Music Residency in upstate New York. As part of the final performance, I composed and performed an original work for synthesizer, electronics and piano.

Creative Music Intensive

**Speaking the language of our counterparts**

(Transcribed from a talk given at On Deck Design, 3/30/2021. [\[Slides\]](https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1VRSQp-fZrXdUYYz3kwn92WWiVtpLu5zdjFIAA-SgKGc/edit#slide=id.gcccd8de7e5_0_180) )

## 🌞 GOALS FOR THIS TALK

1. Share experiences working with engineers

2. Facilitate dialogue around the topic of design in the workplace

3. Help you build better teams and products

## 🌐 GUIDING QUESTIONS

1. What do engineers and designers get wrong when they perceive each other’s roles?

2. How can we use the fundamentals of design to educate our peers to think more like us?

3. What can we learn from the engineers that can improve our design processes?

me

### 🏃‍♂️ growing up & school

1. Tried architecture

2. Started studying physics undergrad

3. Pivoted to computer science because I could make stuff

I used to make things as a kid - rockets, guitar effects, skateboards, toys, videos. I took a pre-college course in architecture and though I loved it, I was advised against joining the field and felt uncomfortable with the unbounded creativity. I ultimately studied physics because I wanted to know how the world worked. When I realized that at the most micro level of physics, no one knows anything, I defected to computer science and resolved to learn to make things instead.

Design isn’t considered a traditional educational path, and digital product design isn’t even on the radar for many kids. Established tracks like architecture are not inviting industries.

**design as:**

* abstract and arbitrary

* not scientific

* “just” art

### 🍯 Honey – c. 2013

1. Joined as a newb JS developer

2. We didn’t really know how to approach design

3. Early success hinged on good product / market fit

Some founders view design as a resource and not a process. Approaching our startup with a knowledge of the design process might have simplified a lot of early operations at Honey

**design as:**

* purely visual

* a luxury

I joined Honey fresh out of college as a javascript developer. Design was something we didn’t know how to approach. We were definitely trying to make our product look better but had little process around it. I have an awkward memory of going back and forth with my boss about how to position a button I was building. ‘Product’ was something my boss was passionate about yet couldn’t describe to me. Despite our lack of knowledge the company’s early success actually hinged on the design of the product. The founders had created and launched a prototype and were seeing organic interest in what they’d built, and were in the process of iterating.

### 🐼 freelancing – c. 2015

* Got a gig building a frontend for a translation startup

* Worked on design mostly to make my work easier

Discrepancies can leave big holes in a project that engineers often feel pressure to fill. This responsibility could fall equally on designers, but people often expect designers to create and engineers to implement.

**design as:**

* an path from database to user

* secondary to function

* When I left Honey I picked up a freelance gig building a frontend for a translation startup. I was working on a fixed budget, and I noticed that the designer’s screens were going to be time-consuming for me to build. As a result I took on a portion of the design work so that the UI would match the data model that already existed on the backend. It saved me and time and the company money. But I wasn’t really doing design, I was just creating a visual analog of the codebase.

### 🚕 Uber – c. 2016-17

1. Joined Uber at an intense time

2. Eng org was competitive and opaque

3. Started doing design work to solve a need

Engineers can sometimes get rewarded for creating and maintaining complexity. Often this is cheaper for the company in the short-run than rewriting software to be simpler.

**design as:**

* a wheel-and-spoke relation

* associated with pm + research

* something I could do?

Uber was my first experience working in a huge engineering org. Joining at that time was chaotic; the company was in hyper-growth mode and there was tons of legacy code and an intense engineering culture.

In that environment it was really competitive to get autonomy as an engineer. I found my a path by joining an internal tools team where I worked with business and design stakeholders to build internal tools. Part of my role was to figure out what needed to be built and how it should look.

### 🎨 For Good Measure – c. 2018

1. Co-ran a web design firm

2. Serviced a range of clients, lots of branding and design projects

3. Learned graphic design basics

Traditional designers can sometimes overlook basic aspects of digital design. Turns out graphic design is super different than digital

**design as:**

* an art / craft

* a type of nonverbal expression

Around the time I was planning my next move I met some folks who starting an independent graphic design studio called For Good Measure. We decided to join forces and run a web design shop together - they specialized in branding and graphics, and I handled the code. During this time I got immersed in a new set of ideas, learned graphic design fundamentals and sharpened my front-end skills. But the team didn’t seem to understand how to approach digital products. I’ll never forget a client meeting in which my wireframes resonated with the client in a way that their branding didn’t. This experience encouraged me to pursue my own projects as a designer, even though I felt like an imposter.

### 🏢 Volley – c. 2019

1. Designed and built

2. Range of clients, lots of branding and design projects

3. Learned about graphic design

🏢 Volley – c. 2019 **design as:**

* a process of getting to a truth

My first project as an independent designer was building a portfolio site for a rendering studio called Volley. They wanted something unique that spoke to the personality of their employees. It was a lot of fun designing and prototyping unique interaction features and constructing a system from scratch.

## WHAT DO ENGINEERS AND DESIGNERS GET WRONG WHEN THEY PERCEIVE EACH OTHER’S ROLES?

**design as:**

* abstract and arbitrary

* not scientific

* “just” art

* purely visual

* a luxury

* an path from database to user

* secondary to function

* a wheel-and-spoke relation

* associated with pm + research

* something I could do

* an art / craft

* a type of nonverbal expression

* a process of getting to a truth

**development as:**

* absolute

* scientific

* mathematical

* a necessity

* data-centric

* primary to aesthetic

* need to got to school for it

## HOW CAN WE USE FUNDAMENTALS OF DESIGN TO EDUCATE OUR PEERS TO THINK MORE LIKE US?

### Gestalt Theory

### Typography

### Color Theory

### The Grid

### Drawing Skills

## HOW CAN DESIGNERS ADOPT TECHNICAL CONCEPTS IN THEIR DESIGN THINKING?

### Possible primitives for building common ground:

* State machines

* Data Models

* Thumbnail sketches

### The complexity stack

* Users

* Brand

* Stylesheets

* Frontend

* Application Backend

* Platform Backend

* Data High complexity Low complexity

### The complexity stack

* Users

* Brand

* Stylesheets

* Frontend

* Application Backend

* Platform Backend

* Data

* Designers

* Developers High complexity Low complexity

### Parallel Flow

* Design

* Dev

* User Needs

* Flow Charts

* Wireframes

* UI/UX

* Data Modeling

* Application Modeling

* Production

* QA

**Let’s discuss!**

[https://miro.com/app/board/o9J\\\_lMxo-Ts=/](https://miro.com/app/board/o9J%5C_lMxo-Ts=/)

The Complexity Stack

*Reposted from [Medium](https://medium.com/@colton_brown/the-game-that-almost-died-during-covid-and-how-i-made-it-an-app-fa485eed546e), where this post received 13.4k impressions*

Back before the pandemic, my friends and I used to love playing a nameless pen-and-paper game that was like a cross between telephone and pictionary. A common activity in parks or group dinners, it reliably made us laugh and could easily be taught to newcomers.

```cv
gallery
{"layout":"hscroll","images":[{"src":"https://firebasestorage.googleapis.com/v0/b/maitake-project.appspot.com/o/pages%2FWol4Ilh0wKYkCoT5x5NAQgdB6gL2%2FgsYMF8i8MkCYlb2eSubP%2F10a268df-1f46-49a9-a8af-cf677f19fc6c.jpg?alt=media&token=9a44a4bb-006b-4a5d-8673-46685506e670","id":"10a268df-1f46-49a9-a8af-cf677f19fc6c","width":1600,"height":1200,"filename":"0*6v95DjOw2KCoCSgB.jpg","type":"image/jpeg","caption":"","border":false}]}
```

The game works like this: everybody gets a small stack of paper and writes down a random sentence. They pass their stack to the person sitting to their right who makes a drawing to illustrate the phrase and gives their papers to the next player. That person comes up with a phrase to describe the drawing; the pattern continues — writing then drawing then writing — until a full loop is made and everyone gets back the stack with their original phrase on it.

The best part is at the end when everybody shares and we flip through the pages, watching a chain of misunderstandings and mistakes unfold. It’s rare when the cards at the end of the game resemble the ones at the beginning; the creative subconscious tends to take over and forms something completely new.

```cv
gallery
{"layout":"hscroll","images":[{"src":"https://firebasestorage.googleapis.com/v0/b/maitake-project.appspot.com/o/pages%2FWol4Ilh0wKYkCoT5x5NAQgdB6gL2%2FgsYMF8i8MkCYlb2eSubP%2Fce156bf2-bf42-4115-8205-1867350190cb.png?alt=media&token=b5b4a36d-ffec-4128-b058-35c1052b6c3b","id":"ce156bf2-bf42-4115-8205-1867350190cb","width":2400,"height":1031,"filename":"0*bebJ74fK16rD4mNG.png","type":"image/png","caption":"","border":false}]}
```

### Covid Days

In those first blurry weeks of lockdown, giddy confusion eventually gave way to melancholy. To stay connected, a group of friends and I set up weekly zoom meetings. With some people cooking or working, others leaving the screen on mute while they cooked or did chores, it was the beginning of a new era of screen-based socializing. “We should play the game” somebody said. “We can use our webcams to hold up our drawings”. But it didn’t work; we needed some way to pass information to each other in secret, like little stacks of paper.

At the time my job was in hyper-bureaucracy mode; our product team was slowed to a halt by the game of thrones happening in C-Suite. It was one of those situations where the amount of time we spent getting things “right” could have easily just gone into making forward progress.

I thought building a version of *the game* might be a good creative outlet. Unlike the situation at work, I could build quickly and on my own, and it would be fun to share with my friends and coworkers who were all stuck on screens. Not to mention covid lockdowns had removed most other forms of entertainment (and distraction).

After back-to-back weekends spent coding, I finished a basic version of the game and sent the link to my friends on our next zoom call. I played a round with my coworkers during our Friday standup. Somebody called it *Writey Drawey* and the name stuck. here’s what it looked like:

```cv
gallery
{"layout":"hscroll","images":[{"src":"https://firebasestorage.googleapis.com/v0/b/maitake-project.appspot.com/o/pages%2FWol4Ilh0wKYkCoT5x5NAQgdB6gL2%2FgsYMF8i8MkCYlb2eSubP%2F741f78c9-10ca-451c-9827-cbdbee0a022a.png?alt=media&token=6d8e39e8-03e5-4027-b748-6c658b2a6526","id":"741f78c9-10ca-451c-9827-cbdbee0a022a","width":1600,"height":1036,"filename":"0*jvVcIrSGQGLo9EOk.png","type":"image/png","caption":"","border":false}]}
```

It was rough around the edges, but proved good enough to spread organically through friends for the next few months. People started playing weekly with their families, across a handful of languages and countries, and even drafting t-shirt designs with the drawings they loved.

### Thesis: Everybody can draw

When people hear about the game, a common hesitation comes from a discomfort around drawing and art-making. “A drawing game? But I don’t know how to draw.” Yet nobody seemed to have that response when using pieces of scrap paper in a park.

Is there something intimidating about the internet? Are we conditioned to expect that our contribution will be scrutinized, measured, and compared if we post it?

Yet those same people often end up making some of the most interesting drawings filled with originality and character. It’s an example of how imperfection and vulnerability can be the most interesting parts of creative endeavors. Most children love drawing yet at some point grow up to fear it, spending their adult lives avoiding pen and paper. Yet when they do draw, the work is usually awesome and hilarious in its own right.

```cv
gallery
{"layout":"hscroll","images":[{"src":"https://firebasestorage.googleapis.com/v0/b/maitake-project.appspot.com/o/pages%2FWol4Ilh0wKYkCoT5x5NAQgdB6gL2%2FgsYMF8i8MkCYlb2eSubP%2F2c112b5a-1118-456c-aa61-97bbeab5929d.png?alt=media&token=8b4a0c43-9884-4623-82a6-1d3b1356a90d","id":"2c112b5a-1118-456c-aa61-97bbeab5929d","width":2400,"height":1374,"filename":"0*qV5_R1Xow5u5TpPF.png","type":"image/png","caption":"","border":false}]}
```

### Speaking through screens

Writey Drawey might not have existed without the digital shift we’ve made over the last year. I probably would have no reason to build such a thing given the abundance of pens, paper, and parks in most cities. And yet it hasn’t been easy adapting to digital space. Since most of our experiences online are built for efficiency, clarity, and predictability, there’s limited bandwidth left for human connection. It’s fascinating to me that I found a lot more connection through a game which deliberately obscures and distorts the meaning of what you put into it. What does that say about the nature of digital community? Is it possible that we’ve been trying too hard all this time?

```cv
gallery
{"layout":"hscroll","images":[{"src":"https://firebasestorage.googleapis.com/v0/b/maitake-project.appspot.com/o/pages%2FWol4Ilh0wKYkCoT5x5NAQgdB6gL2%2FgsYMF8i8MkCYlb2eSubP%2Fa2b2cb9b-0e51-4d66-8f2c-6b7969477afc.png?alt=media&token=5d771d39-a5ef-4e59-bd80-c55e821fd80b","id":"a2b2cb9b-0e51-4d66-8f2c-6b7969477afc","width":1051,"height":631,"filename":"0*ONXdHh020NiBmqV-.png","type":"image/png","caption":"","border":false}]}
```

### Writey Drawey 2.0

Today, I’m announcing an updated version of Writey Drawey that’s more polished and approachable than its predecessors. The homepage is illustrated with some of my favorite in-game drawings selected anonymously from the thousands created over the last year. I’ve also added a gallery showcasing every artwork made on the platform, and a public game mode which allows you to play with strangers.

I hope everyone continues to use and enjoy Writey Drawey to the same degree I have over the past year. I hope new audiences find this website and get some laughs out of it. So gather a crew of friends, family or colleagues for a game and see if what happens surprises you.

The game that almost died during COVID

In January of 2023, I participated in a 6-week architecture program hosted by the nice folks at [Index NYC](http://index-space.org/). We covered the basics of architectural thinking, analyzed floor plans, and learned to use Rino for rendering. I learned about the difference between studying the site, elements, programs, and activities. This post is a transcription of my final presentation.

### **The Project**

The client (my course mate) wanted to build a listening and hanging-out space in Asia. She requested the following features for her project:

```cv
gallery
{"layout":"hscroll","images":[{"src":"https://firebasestorage.googleapis.com/v0/b/maitake-project.appspot.com/o/pages%2FWol4Ilh0wKYkCoT5x5NAQgdB6gL2%2FkPhrF1apQ6f4Z6srCif7%2Feaf2bcc2-8658-4a87-b8fc-bba291b9c54e.png?alt=media&token=d9e10fe4-0181-4b7e-919a-8208f0a30202","id":"eaf2bcc2-8658-4a87-b8fc-bba291b9c54e","width":1930,"height":1000,"filename":"Screenshot 2024-12-09 at 5.20.27 PM.png","type":"image/png","caption":"","border":false}]}
```

### **Elements**

I first focused on the key elements of the project: openness, raw & minimal materials, good acoustics, bringing outdoors indoors, floor-to-ceiling windows/doors, modular furniture, and diffused light. While traveling in Asia I was surrounded by inspiration.

```cv
gallery
{"layout":"hscroll","images":[{"src":"https://firebasestorage.googleapis.com/v0/b/maitake-project.appspot.com/o/pages%2FWol4Ilh0wKYkCoT5x5NAQgdB6gL2%2FkPhrF1apQ6f4Z6srCif7%2F0b9be127-b8ea-490e-9cd1-581a9c782fb9.png?alt=media&token=d3302bed-bcbd-4f62-8b07-a155e2d3d0c3","id":"0b9be127-b8ea-490e-9cd1-581a9c782fb9","width":1728,"height":1342,"filename":"Screenshot 2024-12-09 at 5.32.09 PM.png","type":"image/png","caption":"","border":false},{"src":"https://firebasestorage.googleapis.com/v0/b/maitake-project.appspot.com/o/pages%2FWol4Ilh0wKYkCoT5x5NAQgdB6gL2%2FkPhrF1apQ6f4Z6srCif7%2Fae2136d8-d07d-4556-adbb-3941402507a9.png?alt=media&token=415c7c59-9e68-4161-9422-9342499409c5","id":"ae2136d8-d07d-4556-adbb-3941402507a9","width":1704,"height":1356,"filename":"Screenshot 2024-12-09 at 5.31.29 PM.png","type":"image/png","caption":"","border":false}]}
```

### **Site**

The client indicated Malaysia as a desired construction site. I did some research on the climate, geography, and existing architectural projects in the region. There were many inspiring examples of repurposed industrial projects with open-air plans.

```cv
gallery
{"layout":"hscroll","images":[{"src":"https://firebasestorage.googleapis.com/v0/b/maitake-project.appspot.com/o/pages%2FWol4Ilh0wKYkCoT5x5NAQgdB6gL2%2FkPhrF1apQ6f4Z6srCif7%2Fab08ce54-8392-4f34-b7a4-70c60b29d6e1.png?alt=media&token=6d85ef7f-3a75-4548-a16d-94e1add29e9e","id":"ab08ce54-8392-4f34-b7a4-70c60b29d6e1","width":1560,"height":1282,"filename":"Screenshot 2024-12-09 at 5.52.25 PM.png","type":"image/png","caption":"","border":false},{"src":"https://firebasestorage.googleapis.com/v0/b/maitake-project.appspot.com/o/pages%2FWol4Ilh0wKYkCoT5x5NAQgdB6gL2%2FkPhrF1apQ6f4Z6srCif7%2Ff908c783-1963-483b-a027-bca6a87885f7.png?alt=media&token=2ce0d6c9-d670-4028-bd64-08c6179db43e","id":"f908c783-1963-483b-a027-bca6a87885f7","width":1702,"height":1312,"filename":"Screenshot 2024-12-09 at 5.52.29 PM.png","type":"image/png","caption":"","border":false}]}
```

Using the typical architecture as inspiration, I then created a mock plan of a bare-bones industrial site which we could repurpose for our project

```cv
gallery
{"layout":"hscroll","images":[{"src":"https://firebasestorage.googleapis.com/v0/b/maitake-project.appspot.com/o/pages%2FWol4Ilh0wKYkCoT5x5NAQgdB6gL2%2FkPhrF1apQ6f4Z6srCif7%2F782c8b72-27d0-407d-a75a-28d1ea0b2db2.png?alt=media&token=82594256-d94c-4433-aec4-c358a7954ae4","id":"782c8b72-27d0-407d-a75a-28d1ea0b2db2","width":1988,"height":808,"filename":"Screenshot 2024-12-09 at 5.57.58 PM.png","type":"image/png","caption":"","border":false}]}
```

### **Program**

In architecture, a program describes the function of different architectural features in the designed space. The client defined the following program: 

* private outdoor space

* ﻿﻿good air circulation

* ﻿﻿modular furniture and furnishing

* ﻿﻿shelves for books or knick knacks

* ﻿﻿seating and dining area

* ﻿﻿a floating space or island for coffee and bar

* ﻿﻿open working space that would be forgiving of dust or dirt from pottery or woodwork and can easily be clean

* ﻿﻿whole space be equipped with hifi system and can be used as a listening room

* ﻿﻿fluidity in the usage and minimal designation in space so it would be flexible and transformable when needed

### **Adjacency Study**

Using the program, I started studying the relationship between the different use cases, which informed where the architectural features should be places relative to each other. 

```cv
gallery
{"layout":"hscroll","images":[{"src":"https://firebasestorage.googleapis.com/v0/b/maitake-project.appspot.com/o/pages%2FWol4Ilh0wKYkCoT5x5NAQgdB6gL2%2FkPhrF1apQ6f4Z6srCif7%2F57ef5c69-1441-48bb-9df1-9ce3bd348149.png?alt=media&token=d1bee55f-7100-44aa-84f7-923f2018aca0","id":"57ef5c69-1441-48bb-9df1-9ce3bd348149","width":2160,"height":956,"filename":"Screenshot 2024-12-09 at 6.07.41 PM.png","type":"image/png","caption":"","border":false},{"src":"https://firebasestorage.googleapis.com/v0/b/maitake-project.appspot.com/o/pages%2FWol4Ilh0wKYkCoT5x5NAQgdB6gL2%2FkPhrF1apQ6f4Z6srCif7%2Facf6db02-a589-4539-a4fb-4afbbdcc1f23.png?alt=media&token=fb8717f6-4e20-4d8c-9cf3-93906bec33ad","id":"acf6db02-a589-4539-a4fb-4afbbdcc1f23","width":2194,"height":972,"filename":"Screenshot 2024-12-09 at 6.07.57 PM.png","type":"image/png","caption":"","border":false}]}
```

### **Rendering**

To finish the project, I created a render of the finished speculative space. Here's the result of that process:

```cv
gallery
{"layout":"hscroll","images":[{"src":"https://firebasestorage.googleapis.com/v0/b/maitake-project.appspot.com/o/pages%2FWol4Ilh0wKYkCoT5x5NAQgdB6gL2%2FkPhrF1apQ6f4Z6srCif7%2F4b00021a-c04d-4f48-94f1-28cdf03051f7.png?alt=media&token=0e16d012-b839-4599-b527-a09191477244","id":"4b00021a-c04d-4f48-94f1-28cdf03051f7","width":2278,"height":986,"filename":"Screenshot 2024-12-09 at 6.08.49 PM.png","type":"image/png","caption":"","border":false}]}
```

```cv
gallery
{"layout":"hscroll","images":[{"src":"https://firebasestorage.googleapis.com/v0/b/maitake-project.appspot.com/o/pages%2FWol4Ilh0wKYkCoT5x5NAQgdB6gL2%2FkPhrF1apQ6f4Z6srCif7%2Fec594926-24bc-4fe5-ba99-75d6e32a3256.png?alt=media&token=612f8e43-fdda-4e58-a0a7-2ea7b7edf00c","id":"ec594926-24bc-4fe5-ba99-75d6e32a3256","width":1380,"height":998,"filename":"Screenshot 2024-12-09 at 6.08.56 PM.png","type":"image/png","caption":"","border":false}]}
```

```cv
gallery
{"layout":"hscroll","images":[{"src":"https://firebasestorage.googleapis.com/v0/b/maitake-project.appspot.com/o/pages%2FWol4Ilh0wKYkCoT5x5NAQgdB6gL2%2FkPhrF1apQ6f4Z6srCif7%2Fafa4da6c-c386-418f-acbd-07e63fd2346d.png?alt=media&token=cd52bd88-0a24-448a-8ce1-51475e8f18ad","id":"afa4da6c-c386-418f-acbd-07e63fd2346d","width":1348,"height":984,"filename":"Screenshot 2024-12-09 at 6.08.59 PM.png","type":"image/png","caption":"","border":false}]}
```

```cv
gallery
{"layout":"hscroll","images":[{"src":"https://firebasestorage.googleapis.com/v0/b/maitake-project.appspot.com/o/pages%2FWol4Ilh0wKYkCoT5x5NAQgdB6gL2%2FkPhrF1apQ6f4Z6srCif7%2Fc51ccaa8-d812-4e8b-961f-5dd311c3b6f1.png?alt=media&token=2944d519-62cc-49c5-8fb5-3cad06e5b390","id":"c51ccaa8-d812-4e8b-961f-5dd311c3b6f1","width":1242,"height":886,"filename":"Screenshot 2024-12-09 at 6.09.10 PM.png","type":"image/png","caption":"","border":false}]}
```

```cv
gallery
{"layout":"hscroll","images":[{"src":"https://firebasestorage.googleapis.com/v0/b/maitake-project.appspot.com/o/pages%2FWol4Ilh0wKYkCoT5x5NAQgdB6gL2%2FkPhrF1apQ6f4Z6srCif7%2F033007a3-6a81-46f6-8deb-30f9b445cc5a.png?alt=media&token=6b47e2d4-bef7-4f90-8f44-1a8c2b6cebae","id":"033007a3-6a81-46f6-8deb-30f9b445cc5a","width":1668,"height":990,"filename":"Screenshot 2024-12-09 at 6.09.02 PM.png","type":"image/png","caption":"","border":false}]}
```

```cv
gallery
{"layout":"hscroll","images":[{"src":"https://firebasestorage.googleapis.com/v0/b/maitake-project.appspot.com/o/pages%2FWol4Ilh0wKYkCoT5x5NAQgdB6gL2%2FkPhrF1apQ6f4Z6srCif7%2F9a0a2ac3-642c-4449-98a0-4f5e309bec66.png?alt=media&token=486fd74b-5534-45c1-ab01-c031a2f65cc0","id":"9a0a2ac3-642c-4449-98a0-4f5e309bec66","width":1728,"height":1046,"filename":"Screenshot 2024-12-09 at 6.09.04 PM.png","type":"image/png","caption":"","border":false}]}
```

Designing Spaces for Humans

Freelancer

Produced an immersive audio-visual concert featuring the algorithmic music of [Elliot Cole](https://elliotcolemusic.com). Managed budget, production design, ticketing, and tech.

"Bloom" Immersive Sonic Experience

Researching funding models for independent music on the internet

Composed and recorded an ambient sonic experience for 5 trumpets attended by a festival audience. Installed within the [Sonic Sphere](https://www.sonic-sphere.com) at [Feÿ Arts 2024](https://www.fey-arts.com)

"Cathedral" Sound Installation

Collaborative web game combatting lockdown loneliness

Writey Drawey

Learning to write, record, and produce pop, electronic, and experimental music.

Music

In January of 2023, I particpated in a 6-week architecture program hosted by Index Coop. We covered the basics of architectural thinking, analyzed floor plans, and learned to use Rino for rendering.

As a volunteer, I oversee board operations involving management changes, insurance claims, accounting, renovations, and resident happiness.

Board Member

Partnered with Sean and Kevin of [For Good Measure](http://forgoodmeasure.us/) building custom websites. Also helped with client acquisition and project management.

Developer & Partner

Design and development for individual clients. Subcontracted with design agencies to supplement in-house development teams.\
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Clients: [InCommonWith](http://incommonwith.com/), [Elephant](https://elephant.is), [The Couch](https://thecouch.nyc), [Braver Angels](https://braverangels.org)

Joined the team building Uber's food delivery product at their burgeoning NYC office

Developer

Worked as a designer and developer on mental health platform Octave

Design & Dev

First hire at LA-based coupon startup. I was part of early product development, engineering infrastructure, and hiring.

Colton Brown

Projects

Work Experience

Volunteering

Side Projects

Education

Contact