Former Senior Consumer Application Designer at Apple to lead the firm’s Digital Experience Practice
SAN FRANCISCO (May 23, 2017) – Gensler, the global design firm, announced today that Michael Neuman has joined its Digital Experience Design team as a Design Director. Neuman brings 20 years of experience in designing user-centric experiences for branding, applications, and environments. He previously held positions with AKQA, Stamen Design, Obscura Digital, and Apple. At Gensler, he will help clients integrate seamless, digital components to deepen the connection between people and their surroundings.
“We are thrilled to have Michael directing our creative for Gensler’s digital experience design team,” said Jill Nickels, Principal and Studio Director. “This is a unique cross-experiential opportunity to bring digital solutions and engagement to the marketplace. As noted in our 2017 Design Forecast, the impact that technology and connectivity has on place is evident. Making the interaction between digital and physical seamless and coherent is the starting point, enhanced by other elements that elevate the human experience of place – resonant, engaging, supportive, even life-changing.”
An entrepreneur at heart, Neuman has invented several patented technologies. His proprietary, patented Music Video platform, MomentM, synchronizes any video to any audio, live and in real-time. The technology can be used for generating content for events, environments, and applications, and is featured in works in the permanent collections of Philbrook Museum of Art and the Milwaukee Art Museum. It’s in this same user-focused spirt that Neuman will bring transformational design and innovative technologies to Gensler. His project work will have a broad reach, including retail integration, smart buildings, workspaces, mixed-use, aviation, and more.
“There are a lot of opportunities to improve built environments by incorporating digital elements. Joining Gensler is an exciting opportunity to help augment experiences beyond conventional architectural design.” said Michael Neuman. “My primary interest is people, not technology, and my strength is in working with our team to discover new ways to solve everyday problems.
Prior to joining Gensler, Neuman was a creative director at AKQA where he led multidisciplinary teams in the creation of online applications, products, and interactive environments. While at Apple, he worked as a Human Factors Engineer and Design Director on a twenty-person team responsible for all of Apple’s consumer application design. He provided direction for the creation of new features and products for iMovie, iPhoto, iTunes and AppleTV.
About Gensler
Gensler is a global architecture, design, and planning firm with 45 locations and more than 5,000 professionals networked across Asia, Europe, Australia, the Middle East and the Americas. Founded in 1965, the firm serves more than 3,500 active clients in virtually every industry. Gensler designers strive to make the places people live, work and play more inspiring, more resilient and more impactful.
