Our Design Principles
  • 1. Don’t make users think
  • 2. Don’t squander users’ patience
  • 3. Manage users’ attention and focus
  • 4. Use effective writing
  • 5. Strive for simplicity
  • 6. Don’t be afraid of the white space
  • 7. Establish visual conventions
  • 8. Test early, test often
Thanks for the inspiration, Whitney Hess!

Mike Kelly

I love making things and making things work better. I am a designer, entrepreneur and digital delivery expert. My clients include Intel, United, American Express Publishing, Capitol Records, The Council of Fashion Designers of America (CFDA), Columbia University, Condé Nast, Hearst Corporation, A Diamond is Forever, Microsoft, NYC & Co, Pitney Bowes, Reuters, Sferra Linens, Time Inc., The Travel Channel, and 1800Flowers.

My current work for hedge fund Bridgewater is confidential. Previously, I served as the Director of User Experience for McGarryBowen (ad agency), Creative Director for Hudson Union (interactive design studio) and Director of Experience Design at ZEFER (UX-focused web consulting). I worked with the Advanced Reading Technologies Group at Microsoft helping devise interactive advertising prototypes for tablet-based periodicals.

In another life, I co-founded Undergroundfilm, a broadband film syndication company, and served as General Manager of Pop.com, an online entertainment platform that was a joint venture of DreamWorks SKG, Imagine Entertainment and Vulcan Ventures. “Exciting” was when we sent our first packet of blatantly weird indie shorts to British Telecom to post on their movie site (for money!); “Beyond Exciting” was when “Steven Spielberg” wanted to buy our video CMS.

I’ve taught courses on digital publishing and mobile UX at Columbia University’s Graduate School of Journalism and the Pratt Institute. I hold a BFA from Tulane University, graduated from Boston Latin and live in New York City with 2 terrific kids.