Michael Suen

Instructor

Michael is an independent designer and creative director. For over a decade, he has run the design studio Weirdo, helping early-stage startups and enterprise companies alike clarify their unique value proposition and meaningfully engage their customers. Drawing on his experience as a certified Design Sprint facilitator and former startup co-founder, Michael has worked side-by-side with leaders at LinkedIn, Bose, KonMari, Lovevery, IntelyCare, Hazel Health, and more to launch new brands, products, and services. His projects have been featured in the likes of TechCrunch,  The Wall Street Journal, and NPR, and won awards at South by Southwest and Games for Change. Prior to his position at Noble Desktop, Michael served as an adjunct professor at the City University of New York, where he co-created the user experience curriculum for their workforce training program. He has also taught user experience design at General Assembly and lectured on playful design at MIT and Haverford College. In his former lives, Michael covered arts and culture as a journalist, shipped award-winning educational games as a digital producer, and participated in two successful startup exits as a founding designer (SwitchUp acquired by Optimal in 2018, VocaliD acquired by Veritone in 2022). Raised in Hong Kong and educated in Vermont, he now lives in Queens, NY.