# Nathan Cheng

Nathan Cheng is a [film-trained designer](https://nathancheng.fyi/02-Evergreen/Film+and+Design+have+many+overlaps) and software builder.

I'm interested in how people make sense of technology: what makes something feel natural, where it doesn't, and how to [close the gap](https://nathancheng.fyi/02-Evergreen/Terms/Narratives+are+a+meaning-making+layer). Most of my work is some version of that.

I design visual systems and interfaces, build [reusable tools](https://github.com/nweii), and improve internal software. At small companies and early-stage startups, I've expanded my role to cover design and engineering.

I'm [looking for my next role](https://nathancheng.fyi/looking) with thoughtful peers. Off the clock, I'm an internet hoarder, tools tinkerer, and moviegoer.

## Links

- [Email](mailto:nthn.wei@gmail.com)
- [LinkedIn](https://linkedin.com/in/nathancheng57)
- [Resume](https://res.nathancheng.cv/resume.md)
- [GitHub](https://github.com/nweii)
- [Software](https://thirdwind.fyi/index.md)
- [Notes](https://nathancheng.fyi)
- [Letterboxd](https://letterboxd.com/nathancheng)

---

## Projects

> Selected work across disciplines.

### Trickpad — macOS gesture utility

**Year:** 2026
**Tags:** medium: Code, User interface; role: Design engineer, Developer, Product designer; tool: Objective-C, TOML, Astro, Svelte; type: Side project
**Link:** [Product page](https://thirdwind.fyi/trickpad)
**Link:** [Docs](https://thirdwind.fyi/trickpad/docs)
**Link:** [Source](https://github.com/nweii/trickpad)

I built Trickpad so I could control dictation and other writing actions without needing to touch my keyboard. It maps Magic Mouse and Magic Trackpad gestures to keyboard shortcuts, system actions, URLs, and scripts, including different bindings for individual apps.

I already used dedicated apps for window management and automation, so I didn’t want another large utility. Trickpad acts as a lighter connection to those tools through their existing hotkeys and deep links. Its complete configuration lives in a readable, plain-text TOML file, which makes the setup easy to inspect, back up, and maintain with a coding agent.

I soon decided to flesh it out as a public product. That pushed me to account for workflows beyond mine, including trackpad edge and corner clicks, macOS gesture conflicts, system controls, and apps that interpret synthesized shortcuts differently. I also built the documentation, agent-guided setup, packaging, updates, icon, storefront, and product site needed for it to stand on its own.

**Attachments:**
- https://mda.nthn.fyi/trickpad-macos-gesture-utility-de5f7cde.png
- https://mda.nthn.fyi/trickpad-macos-gesture-utility-4cbd580d.webp
- https://mda.nthn.fyi/trickpad-macos-gesture-utility-71d1251e.mp4
- https://mda.nthn.fyi/trickpad-macos-gesture-utility-42bfc533.mp4

### Wedding invitations and site

**Year:** 2026
**Client:** Julia & Thelxinoe
**Tags:** medium: Collateral, Branding, Web, User interface; role: Designer, Developer; tool: Figma, Pixelmator Pro, Astro, Tailwind, React, Motion; type: Side project
**Collaborators:** Julia Frances (RSVP backend)

Invitation suite and website for a friend's wedding, built out from a shared moodboard of illuminated manuscripts, medieval tapestry, and tattoo flash. The save-the-date artwork became the site's hero, rebuilt in CSS so the J and X tiles fade into an arc under two layered radial-gradient masks, with soft parallax over it. The invitations came last and are their own drawing, taking only the deep purple and gold of the site's later sections.

Julia is a backend developer and had already wired an RSVP flow to a Google Sheet through Apps Script, where guests looked up their party across several pages. I rebuilt it as a single surface that prefetches the whole guest list on open, so searching is instant and one person can answer for everyone in their party. Filling it out went from about 18 seconds to 9 in my own testing.

**Attachments:**
- https://mda.nthn.fyi/wedding-invitations-and-site-261e54c9.webp
- https://mda.nthn.fyi/wedding-invitations-and-site-df9bdb56.webp
- https://mda.nthn.fyi/wedding-invitations-and-site-effa850e.webp
- https://mda.nthn.fyi/wedding-invitations-and-site-384544b3.webp
- https://mda.nthn.fyi/wedding-invitations-and-site-06f67201.webp

### This website — Content system & frontend

**Year:** 2025
**Tags:** medium: Code, Web, User interface; role: Design engineer; tool: Tailwind CSS, Next.js, Cloudflare R2, Cursor, Figma; type: Side project

I built this site after growing tired of fitting my portfolio into static site builders and general-purpose CMSs. I wanted direct control over how the work is organized, presented, and connected, without treating every unconventional interaction as a workaround.

The site began as a Next.js frontend with content in Sanity and media in Cloudinary. In 2026, I consolidated it into one codebase so written content now lives as MDX files alongside the application, while images and videos live in a single Cloudflare R2 bucket. Content changes travel through the same review and deployment process as code, and the files remain readable in Obsidian and by coding agents.

The homepage supports three views of the same work: a visual grid, a project list, and an overview of past roles. Filters and active views persist in the URL for shareability, while direction-aware transitions preserve a sense of spatial continuity between them.

I built the surrounding content system to support custom article layouts, shared media metadata, automatic video derivatives, and [Markdown versions of the public pages for AI agents](https://nathancheng.work/llms.txt).

Building the portfolio in code also made polishing it more enjoyable. Instead of moving between Figma and an approximation of the final interface, I created a `/lab` section where I can experiment directly with the real components. While working with Claude and Codex, I can turn an idea such as animation timing, shader behavior, spacing, or visual treatment into a set of controls, compare variations in context, and carry the values I choose back into the site.

### Design and systems improvements at a small software company

**Year:** 2024
**Client:** TALtech (part-time)
**Tags:** medium: Code, Web, User interface; role: Designer, Developer, Video Editor, Product support; tool: Next.js, Supabase, Cloudflare (Workers, R2), Mintlify, Claude Code, Cursor, Figma, WordPress, Final Cut Pro; type: Part-time
**Collaborators:** VP of Sales, Wordpress agency and contractors
**Case study:** [Support-led design decisions](/taltech-improvements.md)

A range of design work across our product, website, and supporting systems.

My initial sales and support role gave visibility into where users were experiencing confusion. That shaped what I built next: walkthrough videos and tutorials, new product and support pages, and a reimagining of our flagship product. The redesign proposes replacing its menu-driven interface with a guided workflow built from interface primitives, grounded in Microsoft’s WinUI guidelines.

I also shaped the design on a website refresh, working with an external agency on the wireframes and content restructuring. After their handoff I kept iterating on the visual side, polishing colors, diagrams, and layouts.

Most recently, the role has grown to include some of the underlying systems engineering myself.

**Attachments:**
- https://mda.nthn.fyi/design-and-systems-improvements-for-a-software-company-f400c3e8.jpg
- https://mda.nthn.fyi/taltech-clearer-layout-and-text-348233a9.jpg
- https://mda.nthn.fyi/taltech-progressive-disclosure-ae6b1c75.jpg
- https://mda.nthn.fyi/taltech-linear-block-flow-70ef229f.jpg
- https://mda.nthn.fyi/design-and-systems-improvements-for-a-software-company-c9c30a16.jpg
- https://mda.nthn.fyi/design-and-systems-improvements-for-a-software-company-205eb92a.jpg

### Pitch decks for early stage startups

**Year:** 2024
**Client:** Various, Wscripted, Ranked Media, Callo
**Tags:** medium: Slide deck; role: Consultant, Designer; tool: Figma, Keynote; type: Freelance
**Collaborators:** Foundation Studio (agency)
**Case study:** [Design notes](/pitch-decks-for-early-stage-startups.md)

Collaborated with early-stage startups to make their pitch decks more digestible and compelling, clarifying narratives and helping founders distinguish their companies from competitors.

**Attachments:**
- https://mda.nthn.fyi/pitch-decks-for-early-stage-startups-4457b237.jpg
- https://mda.nthn.fyi/pitch-decks-for-early-stage-startups-9fc5d2f3.webp
- https://mda.nthn.fyi/pitch-decks-for-early-stage-startups-ead3e30b.webp
- https://mda.nthn.fyi/pitch-decks-for-early-stage-startups-6109f24a.webp
- https://mda.nthn.fyi/pitch-decks-for-early-stage-startups-9a6e01c4.webp
- https://mda.nthn.fyi/pitch-decks-for-early-stage-startups-af0cad3b.webp
- https://mda.nthn.fyi/pitch-decks-for-early-stage-startups-979f8882.jpg

### Event graphics

**Year:** 2023
**Client:** Various
**Tags:** medium: Collateral; role: Designer; tool: Photoshop, Pixelmator Pro, Figma; type: Side project, Freelance

Various posters and collateral for social events

**Attachments:**
- https://mda.nthn.fyi/event-graphics-91a3f00d.jpg
- https://mda.nthn.fyi/event-graphics-f9ad00a4.jpg
- https://mda.nthn.fyi/event-graphics-8e793f45.jpg
- https://mda.nthn.fyi/event-graphics-45a2411a.png

### South Philadelphia Chess Club Logo

**Year:** 2023
**Client:** South Philadelphia Chess Club
**Tags:** medium: Branding, Illustration, Collateral; role: Designer; tool: Pixelmator Pro, Illustrator, Figma; type: Freelance

Identity work for a neighborhood chess club, inspired by the jagged rhythm of South Philly’s mosaic tiles. The mark resolves into a board and a knight built from the initials, and opens up animation possibilities that represent calculated, mathematical thinking (a la the animations of @beesandbombs on Twitter).

**Attachments:**
- https://mda.nthn.fyi/south-philadelphia-chess-club-logo-c4289908.jpg
- https://mda.nthn.fyi/south-philadelphia-chess-club-logo-1fff72d5.jpg
- https://mda.nthn.fyi/south-philadelphia-chess-club-logo-3.mp4
- https://mda.nthn.fyi/south-philadelphia-chess-club-logo-d8fd23e4.jpg
- https://mda.nthn.fyi/south-philadelphia-chess-club-logo-8db10f56.jpg
- https://mda.nthn.fyi/south-philadelphia-chess-club-logo-990bb57a.jpg

### Mini site and visual language

**Year:** 2022
**Client:** Rices Mill Booksellers
**Tags:** medium: Web, User interface, Branding, Collateral, Slide deck; role: Designer, Developer; tool: Figma, Webflow, Airtable; type: Freelance
**Collaborators:** Siobhan Reily (Monomark design)

Family business providing supplies to Philadelphia schools that aren't otherwise obtainable through standard processes. The owner wanted a simple website with just essential info, contact details, and featured items. To make it admin-friendly, I used Airtable instead of a complex CMS, allowing her to easily update content through a familiar spreadsheet format.

**Attachments:**
- https://mda.nthn.fyi/mini-site-and-visual-language-f7150f96.jpg
- https://mda.nthn.fyi/mini-site-and-visual-language-095d31c1.jpg
- https://mda.nthn.fyi/mini-site-and-visual-language-678a5e4e.jpg
- https://mda.nthn.fyi/mini-site-and-visual-language-dff4a00f.jpg
- https://mda.nthn.fyi/mini-site-and-visual-language-c09da5d3.jpg
- https://mda.nthn.fyi/mini-site-and-visual-language-053d6037.jpg
- https://mda.nthn.fyi/mini-site-and-visual-language-fed7aec1.jpg
- https://mda.nthn.fyi/mini-site-and-visual-language-20896f04.jpg
- https://mda.nthn.fyi/mini-site-and-visual-language-9568f55e.jpg
- https://mda.nthn.fyi/mini-site-and-visual-language-d6ed90d6.jpg
- https://mda.nthn.fyi/mini-site-and-visual-language-af0b1ac1.jpg
- https://mda.nthn.fyi/mini-site-and-visual-language-203e24f0.jpg
- https://mda.nthn.fyi/mini-site-and-visual-language-f057fd59.jpg

### Photo Painter Tool Prototype

**Year:** 2020
**Tags:** medium: Mixed media, Photography, Code; role: Developer; tool: Processing; type: Side project, Coursework
**Collaborators:** Christopher Chenier (advisor)

A prototype for a drawing tool allowing users to "paint" with color-filtered selections of a pre-defined image. The original image remains hidden to encourage an improvisational approach to painting and remixing. Featured on the front page of CV in December 2021.

How might shaders and 3D layering allow users to reimagine the original images in more expressive ways? What opportunities are there to intersect this kind of image remixing with video frames and motion blending?

**Attachments:**
- https://mda.nthn.fyi/photo-painter-tool-prototype-796d1c70.gif
- https://mda.nthn.fyi/photo-painter-tool-prototype-2fb7828e.jpg
- https://mda.nthn.fyi/photo-painter-tool-prototype-9e33f9fe.jpg
- https://mda.nthn.fyi/photo-painter-tool-prototype-5.mp4
- https://mda.nthn.fyi/photo-painter-tool-prototype-3.mp4
- https://mda.nthn.fyi/photo-painter-tool-prototype-55ba2cb7.jpg
- https://mda.nthn.fyi/photo-painter-tool-prototype-dd735b78.jpg

### Slumber Game Development

**Year:** 2019
**Client:** ”Videogame Design and Development” course led by Christopher Weaver
**Tags:** medium: 3D, Video game, Slide deck; role: Producer, Project Manager, Art Director, 3D Artist, Video Editor, Director, Presenter, Designer; tool: Unity, Keynote, Notion, Final Cut Pro, Xcode, Blender; type: Competition, Coursework, Collaborative
**Collaborators:** Aili Niimura, Cobey Arenal, Emma Freeman, Lee Kravchenko

An iOS game prototype that turns sleep science into a playable 3D world for kids. I pitched the concept and was elected to lead a team of four to build it in a double-credit software development intensive at Wesleyan, run by the founder of Bethesda Softworks.

The game maps the brain's sleep stages to an adventure (keeping neurons firing, clearing toxins, repairing systems, and synthesizing memory), so kids learn the science by playing. I led production and set the art direction, designed level structure, cleaned and UV-mapped meshes, and built motion graphics for the teaser and keynote.

We took the concept from pitch to alpha, user-tested it with kids at a local elementary school, and delivered the final pitch to industry judges from AFI, Harmonix, Warner Bros. Games, and Demiurge Studios. They awarded us first place for "most original concept and execution" and "highest quality business presentation."

**Attachments:**
- https://mda.nthn.fyi/slumber-game-development-e2c195b7.png
- https://mda.nthn.fyi/slumber-game-development-bed7e9ba.jpg
- https://mda.nthn.fyi/slumber-game-development-0281926d.jpg
- https://mda.nthn.fyi/slumber-game-development-255ec5fa.png
- https://mda.nthn.fyi/slumber-game-development-d164f518.jpg
- https://mda.nthn.fyi/slumber-game-development-e74296d4.jpg
- https://mda.nthn.fyi/slumber-game-development-fa62ec2f.jpg
- https://mda.nthn.fyi/slumber-game-development-4c17add4.jpg
- https://mda.nthn.fyi/slumber-game-development-379e4880.jpg
- https://mda.nthn.fyi/slumber-game-development-49d16f52.jpg

### Duane Michaels gallery web UI

**Year:** 2017
**Client:** Wesleyan University
**Tags:** medium: Web, User interface, Branding; role: Designer; tool: Figma, Keynote; type: Coursework, Speculative

Interface & motion design for a bespoke web gallery that brings visitors into the sparse, "zen" feeling of coffee table photography books & museum exhibits, along with the humanistic touch of Duane Michals' work & outlook.

**Attachments:**
- https://mda.nthn.fyi/duane-michaels-gallery-web-ui-4.mp4
- https://mda.nthn.fyi/duane-michaels-gallery-web-ui-970075a4.png
- https://mda.nthn.fyi/duane-michaels-gallery-web-ui-9.mp4
- https://mda.nthn.fyi/duane-michaels-gallery-web-ui-c8ce531d.jpg
- https://mda.nthn.fyi/duane-michaels-gallery-web-ui-10.mp4
- https://mda.nthn.fyi/duane-michaels-gallery-web-ui-cd86fbcd.jpg
- https://mda.nthn.fyi/duane-michaels-gallery-web-ui-98b8bb4f.jpg
- https://mda.nthn.fyi/duane-michaels-gallery-web-ui-476a3841.jpg
- https://mda.nthn.fyi/duane-michaels-gallery-web-ui-c307ee67.png
- https://mda.nthn.fyi/duane-michaels-gallery-web-ui-62f39b06.png

### Client app concept iOS screens

**Year:** 2020
**Client:** Vavila
**Tags:** medium: User interface, Illustration, Branding; role: Designer; tool: Figma; type: Freelance, Speculative, Side project

Mockups, visual language, and UI design for a founder's exploratory phase emphasizing luxury aesthetics and high-end materials. The hexagonal motifs represent a gift box, gemstone, and message bubble, while contrasting the typical dainty, ornate designs often seen in jewelry marketing.

I'm curious how the platform could have carved out a more distinctive niche beyond visual differentiation.

**Attachments:**
- https://mda.nthn.fyi/client-app-concept-ios-screens-d503c332.png
- https://mda.nthn.fyi/client-app-concept-ios-screens-add29894.png
- https://mda.nthn.fyi/client-app-concept-ios-screens-0e48c1b8.png
- https://mda.nthn.fyi/client-app-concept-ios-screens-ec13fbac.png
- https://mda.nthn.fyi/client-app-concept-ios-screens-5d3df52a.png
- https://mda.nthn.fyi/client-app-concept-ios-screens-096409ee.png
- https://mda.nthn.fyi/client-app-concept-ios-screens-2c343556.png

### Revised macOS App Icons

**Year:** 2020
**Tags:** medium: Illustration; tool: Figma; type: Side project

Big Sur changed Mac app icon styles in 2020 (rounded squircles to match iOS and iPadOS). I wanted a cohesive look in my dock without waiting for developers to update their apps, so I redesigned the outliers in the new style and shared them on macosicons.com, where they’ve been downloaded over 3,000 times.

**Attachments:**
- https://mda.nthn.fyi/revised-macos-app-icons-0e712b7d.png
- https://mda.nthn.fyi/revised-macos-app-icons-96b42280.png
- https://mda.nthn.fyi/revised-macos-app-icons-2b80eb9c.png
- https://mda.nthn.fyi/revised-macos-app-icons-98bbd13b.png
- https://mda.nthn.fyi/revised-macos-app-icons-6c17c1b3.png
- https://mda.nthn.fyi/revised-macos-app-icons-62dc82d5.png

### Robin Goes Outside Short Film

**Year:** 2020
**Client:** Wesleyan College of Film and the Moving Image
**Tags:** medium: Video; role: Director, Screenwriter, Video Editor, Producer, Sound Designer, VFX Editor, Color Grader; tool: Final Cut Pro, Notion, StudioBinder; type: Coursework, Collaborative

Wesleyan’s film studies program is centered on theory and form analysis, but for my thesis I opted to make a short film (one of 21 made that year). I wrote, directed, and edited an 11-minute production with a 16-person crew across 40 hours of shooting and a $2,800 crowdfunded budget.

I took cues from *Krisha* and *Punch-Drunk Love,* letting energetic camerawork and sound design carry much of the opening without dialogue.

A jury of 5 film professors (including AFI board emeritus Jeanine Basinger) and 3 anonymous Hollywood professionals awarded my film with honors and the Frank Capra Prize “for creating a senior film that is fully cinematic and uses the tools of filmmaking at the highest level,” and for “exemplifying Capra’s skill in telling a human story that contains both humor and pathos.”

**Attachments:**
- https://mda.nthn.fyi/robin-goes-outside-short-film-338883e6.jpg
- https://mda.nthn.fyi/robin-goes-outside-short-film-f621e453.jpg
- https://mda.nthn.fyi/robin-goes-outside-short-film-b0544c08.jpg
- https://mda.nthn.fyi/robin-goes-outside-short-film-d32a4f65.jpg
- https://mda.nthn.fyi/robin-goes-outside-short-film-8f9e373c.jpg

### 16mm Atmospheric shorts

**Year:** 2019
**Client:** Wesleyan's College of Film and the Moving Image
**Tags:** medium: Video, Film stock; role: Director, Sound Designer, Video Editor; tool: Steenbeck 16mm Flatbed Editor, Bolex 16mm camera; type: Coursework

Student films for "Sight & Sound" led by Steve Collinsy; ~1 week per film. Tools—16mm Bolex film camera, Steinbeck flatbed film editor

**Attachments:**
- https://mda.nthn.fyi/16mm-atmospheric-shorts-1.mp4
- https://mda.nthn.fyi/16mm-atmospheric-shorts-2.mp4

### Motion & depth experiments

**Year:** 2018
**Tags:** medium: Mixed media, Photography, Video, Projection mapping; tool: Photoshop, Illustrator, Chaotica, Processing; type: Coursework, Side project
**Case study:** [Tools & techniques](/motion-and-depth-experiments.md)

Short studies in projection mapping, fractals, and layered motion—mostly explorations of depth and timing.

**Attachments:**
- https://mda.nthn.fyi/motion-and-depth-experiments-2.mp4
- https://mda.nthn.fyi/motion-and-depth-experiments-5529cdec.mp4
- https://mda.nthn.fyi/motion-and-depth-experiments-14.mp4
- https://mda.nthn.fyi/motion-and-depth-experiments-12.mp4

### Organic Machines

**Year:** 2018
**Tags:** medium: 3D; role: 3D Artist; tool: Processing; type: Side project
**Collaborators:** Christopher Chenier (advisor)

Experimentations with umbrella forms.

**Attachments:**
- https://mda.nthn.fyi/organic-machines-44987068.jpg
- https://mda.nthn.fyi/organic-machines-08abcf7b.jpg
- https://mda.nthn.fyi/organic-machines-711e86de.jpg
- https://mda.nthn.fyi/organic-machines-562f2b95.jpg
- https://mda.nthn.fyi/organic-machines-73a5d586.jpg
- https://mda.nthn.fyi/organic-machines-76f5fdc7.jpg

### Photo studies

**Year:** 2018
**Tags:** medium: Photography; tool: DSLR camera, Photoshop, Lightroom; type: Side project

**Attachments:**
- https://mda.nthn.fyi/photo-studies-8731e268.jpg
- https://mda.nthn.fyi/photo-studies-3e7927de.jpg
- https://mda.nthn.fyi/photo-studies-0ec5ded7.jpg
- https://mda.nthn.fyi/photo-studies-d5d33b0d.jpg
- https://mda.nthn.fyi/photo-studies-708453f4.jpg
- https://mda.nthn.fyi/photo-studies-33f738f8.jpg
- https://mda.nthn.fyi/photo-studies-1318aa5d.jpg

---

## Roles

> See also: [Resume](https://res.nathancheng.cv/resume.md), [LinkedIn](https://linkedin.com/in/nathancheng57).

### Design and Systems Manager — TAL Technologies, Inc.

**Years:** 2021–Now
**Location:** Philadelphia, PA

Small, family-run B2B software company. Users include Eli Lilly, 3M, EPA, and hundreds of labs, plants, and businesses around the world. I've been here since 2021 in a part-time but wide-ranging role that started in sales and customer support, then gradually grew to cover design, documentation, and lately engineering work I've taken on myself.

Early on, being the primary person hearing what confused our users meant I knew where the product was hard to understand. That shaped what I built afterwards: videos and guides that cut recurring setup questions by about 30%, new product and support pages, and a concept redesign of the interface aimed at what users found most confusing.

I migrated our internal customer database off a 25-year-old Access setup that vendors had quoted us $25–60k to rebuild for years. I built it on Next.js + Supabase with a phased migration plan so the legacy system remains editable while a properly relational model grows underneath. I also rebuilt our customer-facing support docs on an AI-legible, file-first platform (Mintlify), with a pipeline that migrated hundreds of articles off WordPress. The new platform lets AI agents easily receive context about our products and makes our docs easier to update and extend.

### Business & Product Fellowship — Venture for America / Ember

**Years:** 2023–2025
**Location:** Detroit, MI / Remote

Two-year national fellowship for recent grads building careers at growing companies (~10% acceptance rate).

Their two-week business development intensive featured workshops from McKinsey, IDEO, and Frog Design, ending with a 3-day design sprint where I led a team to both Judge's Pick and Crowd Favorite for the design and presentation of my product idea.

I also co-organized Philly Phormal — VFA's flagship 500-person community event, run by fellows during the program's wind-down.

### Designer — Foundation Studio

**Years:** 2023–2024
**Location:** Remote

Contract role with a small studio that worked with Techstars startups and other early-stage founders on their pitches. I spent about a year designing decks for three of them, sharpening positioning and competitive differentiation and finding ways to make their ideas land clearly with investors.

A lot of the work was putting words and visual narratives to compelling ideas founders hadn't quite expressed in their existing materials about what their product really was, or where they wanted to take it. I also built a small React/Next.js form tool for another client's internal workflow.

### Brand and Web Designer (Webflow) — Rices Mill Booksellers

**Years:** 2022–2022

Built and designed a Webflow website and brand refresh for a small business serving school district administrators.

### ACT Tutor — Summit Educational Group

**Years:** 2022–2022
**Location:** Remote

Provided personalized 1:1 virtual ACT tutoring to high school students, creating customized study plans to help improve their test scores.

### Producer's Assistant / Video Editor — Dreamatorium Productions

**Years:** 2021–2021
**Location:** Remote

Enhanced virtual event accessibility for new Sign Language play through custom video graphics and multiple interpreter feed integration. Collaborated with sign language consultants to optimize digital solutions for Deaf attendees.

### Video Editor — "And We're Live" web series

**Years:** 2021–2021
**Location:** Philadelphia, PA

Salvaged scrappy footage and audio into a coherent narrative, 40-min pilot episode for web series "And We're Live," making savvy changes to the tone, pacing, and dialogue of scenes as needed to solve production-related errors and technical issues.

### Brand / Web Designer and Video Editor — Berkshire Playwrights Lab

**Years:** 2020–2021
**Location:** Remote

Started in administrative support for a small theatre and arts nonprofit and grew the role with design and digital work as the org pivoted to virtual programming during COVID. Redesigned their website (doubled traffic), refreshed their visual identity for better scaling across digital surfaces, and designed assets and helped run seven virtual events.

### Writer / Director / Editor — "Robin Goes Outside" Short Film

**Years:** 2019–2020
**Location:** Middletown, CT

Wrote, directed, and edited an 11-minute thesis film at Wesleyan, managing a 16-person crew and $2,800 crowdfunded budget across 40 hours of shooting. Collaborated with student artists on the score, titles, and promotional materials; edited 400+ assets in Final Cut Pro, creating an eccentric and intense atmosphere drawn from Krisha and Punch-Drunk Love.

The film won the Frank Capra Prize, awarded for blending humor with pathos and "using the tools of filmmaking at the highest level."

### Project Manager / Producer / Pitch Speaker — Slumber Development Team

**Years:** 2019–2019
**Location:** Middletown, CT

Pitched an original concept for an educational iOS game teaching sleep cycles and brain science to elementary schoolers, and was elected to lead one of four teams in a double-credit software development intensive run by the founder of Bethesda Softworks.

Over the semester I served as project manager, art director, and pitch lead. I wrote design documentation, coordinated artists and programmers using Agile methods, and delivered a final pitch to industry judges from AFI, Harmonix, Warner Bros. Games, and Demiurge Studios. They awarded us first place for "most original concept and execution" and "highest quality business presentation."

### Graphic Design Intern — Amazi Food Company

**Years:** 2016–2017
**Location:** Remote

Proposed a new brand and graphic identity to better express the startup's health and ethics approach in the snack industry. Created signs, sell sheets and merchandising designs.

### Bachelor of Arts — Wesleyan University

**Years:** 2016–2020
**Location:** Middletown, CT

Film Studies major and Digital Design minor.

Film and media: Narrative Complexity in Television, Television Aesthetics, World Cinema History, Hollywood Film History, Film Production, Screenwriting, Television Writing, Videogames as Moving Image, American Film Comedy, Film Business.

Design and computation: Video Game Design and Development, Functional Programming (Pyret), Creative Coding (Processing), Graphic Design for the Web, Data Visualization (R), Participatory Design, Digital Art, Digital Photography.

Humanities: Modern Aesthetic Theory, Creative Writing for New Media, American Studies, Linguistics, Cultural Anthropology, Social Psychology.

Co-designed and led a semester-long student forum on the aesthetics and history of teen television.

---

## Articles

### Motion and Depth Experiments

**Slug:** motion-and-depth-experiments
**Related projects:** [[Motion & depth experiments]]

Playtests with various tools and software.

#### Sunset

![](https://mda.nthn.fyi/motion-and-depth-experiments-0d6d275c.jpg)

*Hilma af Klint's "The Swan No.12"*
[Video](https://mda.nthn.fyi/motion-and-depth-experiments-2.mp4)

*Reimagined as an interactive sunset. A prototype/experiment in Processing.*

#### Image-to-object remix

![](https://mda.nthn.fyi/motion-and-depth-experiments-69899314.jpg)

*Original poster by Yusaku Kamekura…*
![](https://mda.nthn.fyi/motion-and-depth-experiments-14e8d3ae.png)

*Digital recreation in Adobe Illustrator…*
[Video](https://mda.nthn.fyi/motion-and-depth-experiments-5.mp4)

*→ Laser-cut layers of paper and acrylic*

#### 2D image to 3D installation experiments

![](https://mda.nthn.fyi/motion-and-depth-experiments-14d38fdb.jpg)

*Stairwell photo*
![](https://mda.nthn.fyi/motion-and-depth-experiments-040130f2.jpg)

*Depth mask from image metadata*
![](https://mda.nthn.fyi/motion-and-depth-experiments-fcb3b0fa.gif)

*Scanning animation*

![](https://mda.nthn.fyi/motion-and-depth-experiments-078e1c39.jpg)
![](https://mda.nthn.fyi/motion-and-depth-experiments-0a384415.jpg)
![](https://mda.nthn.fyi/motion-and-depth-experiments-52d55087.gif)

[Video](https://mda.nthn.fyi/motion-and-depth-experiments-12.mp4)

*Video scanning animation from above, projection-mapped onto congruent layers of laser-cut cardstock.*

#### Other experiments

[Video](https://mda.nthn.fyi/motion-and-depth-experiments-5529cdec.mp4)

*Video of a nighttime drive wrapped in a pulsating and color-matched environment, meant as a room-scale projection meant for viewers to experience in close proximity. An installation exercise in Prof. Christopher Chenier's Digital Art Intensive, created with Blender 3D.*

[Video](https://mda.nthn.fyi/motion-and-depth-experiments-14.mp4)

*A playtest with Chaotica VFX software*

### Pitch decks for early-stage startups

**Slug:** pitch-decks-for-early-stage-startups
**Related projects:** [[Pitch decks for early stage startups]]

In 2024, I designed pitch decks for Wscripted and Ranked through Foundation Studio’s work with Techstars Atlanta. Wscripted’s founder later referred me to Callo, which I worked with independently.

#### Wscripted

Wscripted helps entertainment companies review and discover scripts. I split the opening across two slides so the audience could recognize the frustration of managing submissions before taking in the numbers behind it. Across the deck, I used serif typography, deep teal, and warm cream backgrounds for a more editorial feel.

##### Selected slides

**After:**

![](https://mda.nthn.fyi/pitch-decks-for-early-stage-startups-4457b237.jpg)

*Messages and attachments piled over scripts to introduce the submission backlog.*
![](https://mda.nthn.fyi/pitch-decks-for-early-stage-startups-d2c060b2.jpg)

*Supporting figures follow on a separate slide.*
![](https://mda.nthn.fyi/pitch-decks-for-early-stage-startups-979f8882.jpg)

*Copyright, security, and data usage grouped within the technical approach.*
![](https://mda.nthn.fyi/pitch-decks-for-early-stage-startups-159d366a.jpg)

*A photograph of the founder speaking at an industry event accompanies partnership figures.*
![](https://mda.nthn.fyi/pitch-decks-for-early-stage-startups-eee8f54f.jpg)

*Expanding shapes show successive stages of growth.*
![](https://mda.nthn.fyi/pitch-decks-for-early-stage-startups-f2c717ba.jpg)

*Individual tool categories sit within the broader Wscripted offering.*
![](https://mda.nthn.fyi/pitch-decks-for-early-stage-startups-22e7249f.jpg)

*Founders, advisors, and supporting organizations arranged in distinct groups.*

**Before:**

![](https://mda.nthn.fyi/pitch-decks-for-early-stage-startups-e0aa7b05.jpg)

*The original problem slide combined script imagery and industry statistics.*
![](https://mda.nthn.fyi/pitch-decks-for-early-stage-startups-6d79bcd7.jpg)

*The original team and advisors slide.*

#### Ranked

Ranked connects brands with nano-influencers. The founder had settled the copy and narrative, so I focused on visual structure and a bolder look inspired by platforms like Spotify. I separated statistics from product screenshots and used large type, diagrams, and color to establish emphasis.

An existing infographic about their *Black Panther: Wakanda Forever* campaign was too dense to read on a slide. With limited time to rework it, I kept the campaign imagery and pulled three key figures into the deck’s own typography.

##### Selected slides

**After:**

![](https://mda.nthn.fyi/pitch-decks-for-early-stage-startups-d19fc9e4.jpg)

*Three market figures, each paired with a simple graphic.*
![](https://mda.nthn.fyi/pitch-decks-for-early-stage-startups-bb7c741e.jpg)

*An oversized field of obstacles puts the emphasis on getting paid.*
![](https://mda.nthn.fyi/pitch-decks-for-early-stage-startups-9471f760.jpg)

*Campaign imagery retained, with three figures pulled out below.*
![](https://mda.nthn.fyi/pitch-decks-for-early-stage-startups-db7c6ba0.jpg)

*A single product screen accompanies the campaign pricing point.*
![](https://mda.nthn.fyi/pitch-decks-for-early-stage-startups-fe96ea3d.jpg)

*Nested shapes organize the market estimates.*

**Before:**

![](https://mda.nthn.fyi/pitch-decks-for-early-stage-startups-eeea2f5c.jpg)

*The original market slide combined statistics and product screenshots.*
![](https://mda.nthn.fyi/pitch-decks-for-early-stage-startups-35184650.jpg)

*The original slide on challenges facing creators.*
![](https://mda.nthn.fyi/pitch-decks-for-early-stage-startups-9fc07227.jpg)

*The supplied campaign infographic within the original deck.*

#### Callo

Callo helps film and other media professionals find collaborators through shared creative interests and projects. The founder already had strong ideas about its positioning. We worked together on the deck’s pacing, sequence, and presentation of the company’s future growth. It also needed to make sense as a pre-read, without the founder there to explain it.

I helped articulate and visualize a progression from a project network to creative development tools and a broader media intelligence platform. The roadmap uses expanding frames and film imagery to give each stage a sense of increasing possibility. The growth slide takes a similar approach, opening up the initial market’s acquisition plan while showing later markets as tabs extending to the right.

Film stills and interface-like panels gave the deck a visual connection to both the creative work and the product.

##### Selected slides

![](https://mda.nthn.fyi/pitch-decks-for-early-stage-startups-530859e7.webp)
![](https://mda.nthn.fyi/pitch-decks-for-early-stage-startups-ead3e30b.webp)
![](https://mda.nthn.fyi/pitch-decks-for-early-stage-startups-6109f24a.webp)
![](https://mda.nthn.fyi/pitch-decks-for-early-stage-startups-9a6e01c4.webp)
![](https://mda.nthn.fyi/pitch-decks-for-early-stage-startups-af0cad3b.webp)
![](https://mda.nthn.fyi/pitch-decks-for-early-stage-startups-9fc5d2f3.webp)
![](https://mda.nthn.fyi/pitch-decks-for-early-stage-startups-89482254.webp)

### Product & Web Improvements at TALtech

*Using insights from customer support to guide design decisions*

**Slug:** taltech-improvements
**Related projects:** [[Design and systems improvements at a small software company]]

![](https://mda.nthn.fyi/taltech-improvements-627816e4.jpg)

*Assorted design improvements ranging from visual polish to layout & interface overhauls*
![](https://mda.nthn.fyi/taltech-improvements-8128673a.jpg)

*Unified, single-window UI for their instrument data collection software*
![](https://mda.nthn.fyi/design-and-systems-improvements-for-a-software-company-f400c3e8.jpg)

*New workflow approaches for a more intuitive setup experience*

TALtech is a long-standing B2B software company with a mature software product line and a stable, multi-decade customer base from small labs to Fortune 500 companies. As many of its customers have depended on its software for decades, most of its systems—from the product interfaces to its internal tools—are legacy with minimal updates.

I was initially hired for a support and administrative role, which gave me direct insight into customer needs and operational gaps. In between daily tasks like customer emails and order processing, I started taking on design and product work to address the issues I was seeing.

Working with the VP of Sales, I helped modernize the website, produced new tutorials to replace outdated ones, streamlined internal documentation, and designed a clearer, more guided interface for the flagship software. My role was to identify and execute improvements within the existing technical and organizational constraints.

#### Outcomes

1. **Designed a guided, single-window interface for the flagship software** that unified scattered setup functions and addressed recurring customer confusion—informed by firsthand support insights
2. **Led the website modernization effort with the VP of Sales**—streamlined 500+ pages into focused content, created wireframes to guide our agency partner, and refined the design for our B2B audience
3. **Produced new tutorial videos and support documentation** to replace outdated materials and improve the customer onboarding experience

#### 1. Unifying WinWedge’s scattered setup into a single window

I was tasked with designing an exploratory concept for WinWedge, our flagship data collection software. WinWedge collects data from serial devices—scales, sensors, lab equipment—and routes it to PC applications like Excel or custom databases. You’d expect this functionality to be plug-and-play, but serial communication is an old, widely-used standard where devices communicate in wildly different formats. WinWedge needs to know how each device structures its data stream, how to parse that into usable fields, and where to send the results. This means users configure the connection settings, define parsing rules, and specify output destinations for each device they work with.

Our software’s flexibility lets users customize dozens of settings for different industrial uses, but our support calls showed this flexibility often confused new users. I had previously made support guides and tutorial videos to aid the learning curve, but saw that the interface itself could _visually_ guide users through setup, so they wouldn’t need separate guides.

Usability issues:

1. Navigation relied entirely on menu bars, with an unclear sense of progress through setup.
2. Setup steps were split across disconnected, single-view windows, making users lose context during configuration.
3. Technical terms and unclear labels made it difficult for non-technical users to understand basic functions.

These issues frequently surfaced in our support conversations with non-technical users.

![](https://mda.nthn.fyi/taltech-improvements-734e5830.jpg)
![](https://mda.nthn.fyi/taltech-improvements-25b33952.jpg)

*There is essentially no UI; only a menu bar and many popup windows. A menu bar can provide clear feature accessibility and consistency, but an exclusive reliance on it for all operations made it easy to get lost.*
![](https://mda.nthn.fyi/taltech-improvements-3e37f09c.jpg)

*The first of a multi-sequence series of popups to configure the data stream.*
![](https://mda.nthn.fyi/taltech-improvements-a5f29f9d.jpg)
![](https://mda.nthn.fyi/taltech-improvements-aaa25a26.jpg)

*Defining what happens to a segmented portion of the data stream.*
![](https://mda.nthn.fyi/taltech-improvements-42824782.png)

*Popup for defining what happens to the data before it gets sent to a destination application, and what keys to simulate pressing*
![](https://mda.nthn.fyi/taltech-improvements-9697fda3.jpg)

*Settings popup for correctly processing device data*

##### Grounding the concept in Windows design patterns

I focused on:

- Studying patterns from other software with configuration-centric interfaces
- Aligning with modern Windows UI patterns, as WinWedge already used native system components to feel integrated with Windows. Updating to current design patterns would maintain that trust while making the interface feel more familiar to users on newer Windows versions.
- Making extensive customization options more discoverable, especially for occasional users reconfiguring hardware setups (many users only interact with WinWedge when hardware changes necessitate reconfiguration)

![](https://mda.nthn.fyi/taltech-improvements-fc65a856.jpg)

*I grounded the concept in Microsoft's WinUI design guidelines and component library to ensure it would feel like a natural extension of Windows and simplify development handoff.*

##### Inspiration from similar utility apps

I studied how modern utility apps handle complex workflows, initially exploring user-friendly, node-based editors like Audio Hijack and Retrobatch. But WinWedge’s linear data flow didn’t suit a freeform canvas, so I shifted to Apple Shortcuts’ single-column design.

Shortcuts’ semantic fill-in-the-blank approach for its blocks better matched how our users expressed their needs: “_I need to split the data using spaces into columns for the time, weight, and unit.”_

![](https://mda.nthn.fyi/taltech-improvements-1782bad7.jpg)

*My initial exploration of blocks relevant to WinWedge*
![](https://mda.nthn.fyi/taltech-improvements-416e3320.jpg)

*Wireframe explorations for new interface layouts*
![](https://mda.nthn.fyi/taltech-improvements-6dd4b7ad.jpg)

*Reference: Node editors in Audio Hijack*
![](https://mda.nthn.fyi/taltech-improvements-50a12813.jpg)

*Reference: Node editors in Retrobatch*
![](https://mda.nthn.fyi/taltech-improvements-a71a450f.png)

*Reference: Promo image for Apple Shortcuts, showing semantics-oriented blocks*

##### The unified interface design

The resulting design unified scattered functions into a single window:

- A primary, persistent canvas showing the data workflow
- A sidebar organizing setup steps logically in tabs and collapsible cards
- Clear visual guidance through configuration

This approach allows users to plan data workflows _while_ testing device commands, so they wouldn’t lose track of what they’d configured and why.

![](https://mda.nthn.fyi/taltech-improvements-f3ac161b.jpg)

*Contrast between the old and new interfaces for building a serial device-to-PC data pipeline.*
![](https://mda.nthn.fyi/taltech-improvements-f30a020e.jpg)
![](https://mda.nthn.fyi/design-and-systems-improvements-for-a-software-company-41a4aedd.jpg)

*Smaller adjustment settings are atomized and localized to appear on demand within their specific contexts.*
![](https://mda.nthn.fyi/taltech-improvements-7dc0ccba.jpg)

*Examples of other ad hoc control flyouts.*
![](https://mda.nthn.fyi/taltech-improvements-48e7e253.jpg)

*Overview of essential functions, now organized into clear procedural sidebars listed in the app's navigation. New informational text explains obscure concepts. Seldom-needed controls are tucked away and labeled as such.*

This approach offers:

- **Visual clarity** through connected actions, which make complex processes and relationships easier to grasp and debug.
- **Intuitive editing** of data workflows by adding and arranging workflow blocks
- **Progressive disclosure** of advanced options through input flyouts
- **Modular foundations** for adding or upgrading features later [^2]

Some self-skepticism to explore if I were to continue iterating on this:

- How might we refine the block-based workflow? While fully rearrangeable blocks offer flexibility, many operations need to follow a specific sequence. What would it look like if we introduced more guardrails to this approach
- How can we balance new and familiar patterns? While I removed the traditional menu bar to maintain focus on the guided navigation, we’d need to validate how this affects longtime users through testing. [^3]

![](https://mda.nthn.fyi/taltech-improvements-e3d7e44b.jpg)

*Scrapped UI which retained the menu bar from the legacy version as an alternate way to interact with app functions*

##### Clearer visual aids and setup experience

![](https://mda.nthn.fyi/taltech-improvements-14466590.jpg)
![](https://mda.nthn.fyi/taltech-improvements-2c62f350.jpg)
![](https://mda.nthn.fyi/design-and-systems-improvements-for-a-software-company-e8df6190.jpg)

*Additional contextual info is available for less technically experienced users.*

I also refined the interface language to better guide users:

- Clarified technical terms with action-oriented labels
- Added contextual help and common command suggestions
- Reorganized features based on usage frequency
- Integrated visual cues for easier navigation

#### 2. Streamlining the website from 500+ pages to focused content

I also worked on redesigning the website. The existing site had several problems:

- Inconsistent layouts that didn’t work well on mobile
- Navigation that changed unpredictably between pages
- Technical content that wasn’t meeting customer needs
- A deprecated CMS that made content and code updates difficult

Working with a WordPress agency, the VP of Sales and I first streamlined the site structure from 500+ pages to a focused core set—both to reduce costs and clarify exactly what needed redesigning.

Together, the VP and I streamlined the site structure. We…

- Reduced over 500 pages to a focused core set
- Reorganized information around common customer questions
- Created clearer product descriptions to address typical points of confusion

I created wireframes to communicate our requirements to the agency. These involved:

- Clarifying our desired structure with bespoke headings, groupings, and section priorities based on our customer knowledge
- Distinguishing product use cases on the home page, as our tech-based software names had often sent customers calling to ask
- Defining hero illustrations that would clarify each product’s compatible hardware and potential integration setups

![](https://mda.nthn.fyi/taltech-improvements-171406ea.jpg)

*These rough sketches are internal communication tools. These were essential to getting everyone on the same page*

The agency’s initial designs didn’t quite fit our B2B audience. So, within WordPress and Elementor’s capabilities, I:

- Darkened and subdued the color palette to convey more maturity, working from Tailwind’s accessible colors
- Enhanced layout consistency and responsiveness across the site
- Refined product illustrations for a more polished, trustworthy appearance
- Reframed technical descriptions to emphasize benefits over specifications
- Overhauled support sections, creating a step-by-step Quick Start Guide and pruning outdated articles

![](https://mda.nthn.fyi/taltech-improvements-70abd3ef.jpg)
![](https://mda.nthn.fyi/design-and-systems-improvements-for-a-software-company-c9c30a16.jpg)
![](https://mda.nthn.fyi/taltech-improvements-1cfbb0fa.jpg)

The WordPress plugin environment limited how much I could refine these features, but we saw real improvements like reduced support call volume, increased engagement with key pages, and smoother customer conversations thanks to better reference materials. The site became easier to navigate and looked more professional.

#### 3. Improving documentation and tutorial videos

Another project was consolidating our scattered documentation and support resources. Product specifications, customer histories, and internal procedures were spread across various formats and locations, slowing down support response times.

I digitized the employee guide into a searchable Notion wiki, creating a central hub for procedures, templates, and troubleshooting guides, which made it easier to find information quickly.

![](https://mda.nthn.fyi/taltech-improvements-85ffd751.png)

Their software tutorial videos from the 90s showed their age, with old Windows interfaces and unnecessarily lengthiness in explaining setup steps. So I proposed and handled the complete production of new, focused tutorials—from writing support-informed scripts to recording voiceovers and creating animations.

![](https://mda.nthn.fyi/taltech-improvements-a64eb446.jpg)

*Refreshed videos and thumbnails*
![](https://mda.nthn.fyi/taltech-improvements-631a2d8c.jpg)

*A few stills from the new WinWedge Walkthrough video*

The new videos:

- Broke down complex setup processes into clear steps
- Used clearer, professional voiceovers and modern screen recordings
- Served as both setup guides and product demonstrations

#### Reflections

Working in customer support gave me direct insight into what confused users, which informed both the interface redesign and documentation work. More recently I’ve been scoping backend modernization—outlining data migration strategies, coordinating with external developers, and designing a self-serve license manager.

I’ve gotten good at shipping improvements as a solo designer in a constraint-heavy environment. I’m looking for my next role to be more collaborative—working with design peers and learning from people solving similar problems at larger scale.

#### Footnotes

1. I considered migration implications for WinWedge’s use of Windows Dynamic Data Exchange (DDE), which WinUI 3 may not support natively. I started exploring whether DDE could work in a WinUI wrapper, but caught myself overengineering prematurely—this project was meant to be a guiding vision, not a full technical specification.
2. WinWedge could evolve to include additional add-ons in the form of advanced blocks that users drag into their workflows. These could be monetized as add-ons, letting the product grow based on what users actually need
3. Specific areas to test: Are object-oriented functions like “Get field” and “Save as variable” truly valuable for serial device data collection? How do users respond to losing menu-based navigation? These insights would help refine the balance between power and simplicity.