About me

I've spent 15+ years at the intersection of creative leadership and product design.

My career is in shipping products to audiences of millions (across games, consumer tech, enterprise software, and edtech) but my purpose is in building and leading cross-discipline teams that do their best work together.

Here's the story.

I chose a song for every job I've had.

Monte Michaelis

Creative & Design Executive

Resume

Resume PDF

Contact

info@thisismonte.com

+1 425 501-74216

Leadership History

Creative Director & Principal Consultant

Self-employed / Remote
Jun 2025 - Present

Creative Director

Hypixel Studios - Riot Games / Remote
Mar 2023 - Jun 2025

Interactive Creative Director

Amazon / Remote
May 2022 - Jan 2023

Director of Experience Design

Slalom / New York, NY
May 2020 - May 2022

Head of Creative

Collibra / New York, NY
Oct 2019 - Apr 2020

VP of Creative Innovation

Arkadium / New York, NY
Sept 2018 - Oct 2019

Mixed Reality Creative Director

Microsoft / Redmond, WA
Jul 2016 - Aug 2018

Creative Director / UX Manager

Geocaching / Seattle, WA
May 2014 - Jun 2016

Art Director

Electronic Arts / Seattle, WA
Sept 2009 - Feb 2013

Expertise

Creative direction & strategy

Art direction

Experience design (UX/CX)

Product design & strategy

Executive presentation

People management

Operational effectiveness

People interviews
User tests

Workshop facilitation

Vision setting

Competitive research

Customer journey maps

Service blueprints

Visual design

Content strategy

Consulting

Mentoring

Coaching

Education

Bachelor of Science

Graphic Design

The Art Institute of Pittsburgh

Associate of Applied Arts

Computer Animation

The Art Institute of Seattle

Early Career

Designer

Smashing Ideas / 2006 - 2009

I helped net a Parent's Choice Award at this Emmy-nominated agency. Our client list included Nickelodeon, PBS Kids, Cartoon Network, and Disney Channel.

Teacher

DigiPen / 2002 - 2018

I was a full-time art director, and later, an adjunct instructor. I taught animation, character design, storyboarding, job search skills, and portfolio.