Senior Visual & Interaction Designer
San Francisco Bay Area
- Current
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- Contract User Interface Designer at Google
- Past
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- Senior UE / Visual Designer at Momentum Design Lab (Self-employed)
- Visual / UI Designer at Ingenuity Systems (Self-employed)
- Visual & UI Designer at Google & Successfactors
- Web Developer at NASA Ames Research Center
- Designer / Information Architect at Organic
- Noted Experience at Multiple Companies
- Education
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- The School of the Art Institute of Chicago
- Portland Community College
- Moorpark College
- Recommended
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1 person has recommended Michael - Connections
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77
connections
- Industry
- Internet
- Websites
Michael Kosmatka’s Summary
Michael has been designing since 1997. Educated at The School of the Art Institute of Chicago with a focus in Art & Technology, he's worked with small independent teams, start-ups, large corporate and government projects.
Michael, as an independent contractor, has been working with Google and Momentum Design Lab on web 2.0 applications. Prior to that he was involved with designing next-generation biological data visualization systems with Ingenuity Systems, helping design and implement an automated hardware logistics management application for Google, and collaborate with NASA engineers and scientists on conceptual projects for tomorrow's space program.
Michael's specific focus is Visual and Interaction Design, appreciating simple yet efficient design while lovingly guarding the rights of the user.
Effective Team Player - Known for creativity, flexibility, and timeliness. A former creative director noted: "Michael brings a sense of urgency to his tasks. He's warm, communicative, and has a wonderful sense of humor."
Michael Kosmatka’s Specialties:
Intimately familiar with the conceptual development process. User interface and user interaction focus. Detailed design ability. Composition, color and balance. Typography.
Intimate understanding of temporal based experiences. The arc of a user's experience.
Quickly absorbing new technologies and techniques. Able to immediately integrate into a development pipeline. Expert at researching and purchasing hardware / software. Excellent at verbal collaboration and communication.
Michael Kosmatka’s Experience
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Contract User Interface Designer
Google
(Public Company; 10,001 or more employees; GOOG; Internet industry)
August 2007 — Present (1 year 2 months)
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Senior UE / Visual Designer
Momentum Design Lab (Self-employed)
(Self-Employed; 1-10 employees; Internet industry)
February 2007 — July 2007 (6 months)
Momentum Design Lab specializes in user-interaction and visual design. Our clients range from the small web 2.0 start-up to large enterprise teams.
As a Senior User Experience / Visual Designer my responsibilities include direct interaction with the client, managing projects with a team of designers and engineers, ensuring adherence to project requirements, research, develop designs from concept to implementation, and lead design reviews. -
Visual / UI Designer
Ingenuity Systems (Self-employed)
(Self-Employed; 51-200 employees; Biotechnology industry)
December 2004 — February 2007 (2 years 3 months)
At Ingenuity Systems I worked with a small design team to develop next-generation data visualization applications for academic and pharmaceutical clients in the biotechnology space. Our team were primary architects in developing the user experience for Ingenuity's flagship application, Ingenuity Pathways Analysis.
From rough conceptual sketches to final design mock-ups, I visualized and presented abstract user interface and interaction concepts to teams of management, marketing, and engineering personnel. -
Visual & UI Designer
Google & Successfactors
(Public Company; 51-200 employees; Internet industry)
March 2004 — December 2004 (10 months)
As an independent contractor I worked on short-term projects entailing visual design, user experience and collaboration with implementation engineers.
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Web Developer
NASA Ames Research Center
(Internet industry)
2000 — 2002 (2 years)
I was part of a small team who developed a concept video featuring the PSA robot winning Best of Category from I.D. Magazine in 2000. The same video aired on Discovery Channel's "Inside the Space Station". Graphic stills were published in Newsweek and Popular Science. This exposure allowed the team's work to excite the public imagination and enable continued technological development.
As a sole developer, I managed the entire creative development process for Ames Research Center's Computational Sciences Division and Engineering Division websites.
I designed a commemorative poster for the IVHM program which earned praise and was distributed throughout the NASA agency. -
Designer / Information Architect
Organic
(Public Company; Internet industry)
1998 — 2000 (2 years)
I conceived and designed the graphical user interface for law.com which served as their primary design for over 4 years. Working with a small group of designers and engineers we continued to develop many top-tiered e-commerce experiences for clients such as Target, DaimlerChrysler, Payless, MC Sports and Haystack Toys.
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Noted Experience
Multiple Companies
(Design industry)
1995 — 1999 (4 years)
The following companies are where I worked during my college years in Chicago, Illinois. The industry experience spans Fine Art, Internet, 3D, and Design.
ArtN Labratory, Ambrosi Associates, Avid Softimage Inc. - Montreal,Canada, Post Effects, Information Resources Inc., Swell Pictures.
Michael Kosmatka’s Education
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The School of the Art Institute of Chicago
Art & Technology 1995 — 2000
Student Merit Scholarship Awards (1995-2000)
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Portland Community College
General 1995 — 1996
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Moorpark College
General 1991 — 1994
Additional Information
Michael Kosmatka’s Websites:
Michael Kosmatka’s Interests:
Software Interests related to my experience: Fireworks*, Photoshop*, Illustrator*, Dreamweaver*, Painter, Sketchbook Pro, Streamline*, Suitcase*, Softimage 3D / XSI, Maya, Terragen, Poser, 3D Exploration, Deep Paint 3D, Nuendo*, Live!, Soundforge*, Reaktor*, FM7*, Absynth*, MaxMSP, Waves*, Secure FTP*, Secure CRT, Unix Command-line, After Effects, Combustion, Cleaner XL. * Common Use
Michael Kosmatka’s Honors:
NAAP GO Platinum Contest - Best Design 2004
I.D. Magazine - Best of Category, 2000
The School of the Art Institute of Chicago - Merit Scholarship 1995-2000
Simi Valley Cultural Arts Center - Best of Show 1993
Simi Valley Cultural Arts Center - Best in Category 1993
Arts Council of Conejo Valley - Scholarship 1993
Michael Kosmatka’s Contact Settings
Interested In:
- job inquiries
- reference requests
- getting back in touch
