Extended Bio

Tim Stutts (he/him) here. I am a multifaceted product designer and leader with expertise in software user interface/ user experience for extended reality, neurotech, and emerging technologies. I’m an ethical technologist who values data privacy and accessibility. I have extensive professional experience in areas including interaction, prototyping and sound design, as well as more recent experience growing, managing and directing design teams to solve complex challenges. I have worked in full-time and contractor roles for fortune 500’s, research labs, design firms and startups. These days I am working at Stryker as Principal UI/UX Designer in their Acute Care medical division, where I’m designing the future of healthcare communications.

On the design leadership side, previously I was Director of Design at Cognixion, an Augmented Reality / Brain Computer Interface startup building first of its kind assistive communications technology for persons with Cerebral Palsy and ALS (Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis). I previously served as Principal Augmented Reality Product Designer at PTC Vuforia, where I led the design efforts for head-mounted display applications for the factory enterprise and also providing interim design team direction for the Work Instructions platform. Prior to that I was Director of Product Design at Faceware Technologies, a leading developer of facial motion capture software and hardware.

Endeavors as an individual contributor have included leading design of text entry, object recognition, LED / haptic patterns and other features for Magic Leap’s Lumin OS, developing award-winning interactive data visualizations at IBM Visual AI Lab, prototyping patented augmented reality head up display applications for Honda Research Institute, and creating a hand gesture controlled music sequencer for Oblong Industries. Additionally I worked on early Windows Phone Metro UI apps, the Xbox Support site leading up to the release of the original Kinect, and dozens of other interaction design projects.

While primarily active in product design, historically I've also designed and programmed motion graphics featured in commercial campaigns for IBM and Fiat, and interactive, site-specific installations for Google and Electronic Arts. At the start of my career I was a sound designer for interactive media, and worked on game titles including ‘Unreal Champion 2” and "Jade Empire" for Xbox. Over the years I’ve collaborated with contemporary artists on museum installations. Exposure to different ways of working with creative technology continues to influence my process today.

Outside of work I am a husband and father living just north of Miami, Florida. In my spare time I enjoy travel, tending to orchids, and making music.

Project History

Application UI/UX

• Cognixion One AR + BCI application design direction, 2022 - 2023
• Cognixion One SpeakProse AR application re-design direction, 2022
• Vuforia Capture and Vantage Magic Leap 1 and HoloLens 2 applications interaction design, 2021 - 2022
• Faceware Studio, design enhancements, 2020 - 2021
• Swerve Body AR Effects mobile application from Image Metrics, design enhancements, 2020
• Magic Leap various contributions to the design of Lumin OS, Core Applications and Input, 2016 - 2020
• IBM Watson News Explorer application design / development, 2015 - 2016
• TurnToTech Mobile Developer Education Platform interaction design, 2015
• IBM Watson X-Ray application design / development, featured at IBM Client Experience Center, NYC, 2013 - 2014
• Honda Research Institute heads up display concept design / prototype, 2013
• Oblong Industries “Airborne Beats" gestural application design / prototype, 2012
• Quadrigram data visualization platform user experience design and communications, 2012
• Sencha Animator Museum of Science experience for iPad, 2011
• Disney YouTube gadget concept interaction design, 2011
• Levy Restaurants inventory platform for sports venues interaction design, 2011
• Microsoft Xbox Xbox Windows Phone App interaction design, 2010
• Microsoft Xbox Xbox Support Site interaction design, 2010
• Nike mobile trivia game interaction design, 2010
• Sun Power solar energy case study microsite interaction design / development, 2010
• BetterOffline event networking application interaction design, 2009
• Intuit small business finance application interaction design, 2008 - 2009
• Phreesia patient check-in tablet application usability studies, 2007 - 2008

Sound and Haptics

• Cognixion One AR + BCI application sound and haptic design, 2022 - 2023
• Vuforia Capture and Vantage Magic Leap 1 and HoloLens 2 applications sound and haptic design, 2021 - 2022
• Magic Leap Lumin OS sound design direction and haptic design, 2017 - 2020
• Covidien (now Medtronic) medical pulse oximeter sound design, 2012
• Disney consumer products brand video sound design, 2011
• Etsy "Handmade Portraits: Kiva Ford, Glassblower” music composition for web documentary, 2011
• Wired Magazine 18.08 iPad feature illustration sound design for artwork by Robert Hodgin, 2010
• Marvel "Justice League Heroes" PS2 game dialogue editing, 2006
• Bioware Games "Jade Empire" Xbox game dialog editing, 2005
• Midway Games "Unreal Championship 2" PS2 game dialog processing, 2005

Visual Effects

• Electronic Arts “Data Ribbon” visual effects design / programming, E3 Conference, Los Angeles, US, 2013
• Google "Touch Wall" interfactive screen design for Electroland, Mobile World Congress , Barcelona, Spain, 2012
• Google Nexus Q audio viz concept design / programming, 2012
• Fiat "Fiat 500 - Get Ready" branded music video visual effects design / programming, 2011
• IBM "Smarter Planet" commercial visual effects programming, 2010
• Fisura generative grass home product print design, 2009

Art Projects

• "Primate Cinema" video installation sound design for Rachel Mayeri, Ars Electronica, Linz, Austria, 2011
• "Malleable Electronic Lawn" interface to control 3D graphics with Zach Layton, Sony Wonderlab showcase, NYC, 2007
• "Push Pop Music" installation visualizing music in 3D with Rui Pereira, ITP Spring Show, New York City, US, 2007
• "Lumen" sound design for interactive installation for Electroland, Cooper-Hewitt Design Triennial, New York City, US, 2006
• "The Sounds and Visions of Dreamtime" live spatial sound design for John Villa, California tour, 2005
• "The Lottery of the Sea" documentary sound mixing for Alan Sekula, premiered at REDCAT, Los Angeles, US, 2005
• "Sense Absence" installation programming for Daniel Rothman and Paul Tzanetopoulos, Neues Museum, Bremen, Germany, 2004

Speaking

• Guest lecturer for design team at USCIS (U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services), US, 2024
• “Tech to Enhance the Metaverse for your Business” co-panelist with Blake Fox, at Enterprise Metaverse Expo, Fort Lauderdale, FL, 2024
• “Directing Design Teams for Accessible Neurotech, Augmented Reality & AI” guest lecture at New York University, 2023
• Guest lecturer at Tufts University Online, “Applied Software User Interface Design” course, US, 2023
• Guest lecturer at University School of Design, Innovation and Technology (ESNE), Madrid, ES, 2023
• “Community Discussion on Audio Cues in Virtual Environments” hosted by XRAccess and XR Association, 2022
• “XR Immersive Training, Learning, and Inspection” deep dive with Mark Steelman for XRAccess Symposium, 2022
• “Accessible Multimodal Input in Augmented Reality Training Applications” with Ashley Coffey for A11yVR Meetup, 2022
• “How to Bake Accessibility into XR-based Training Apps” break-out session with Bill Curtis-Davidson, XRA Limitless Future Conference, 2021
• “East Meets West - Shubhajit Chaterjee (Question What’s Real) & Tim Stutts (ex-Magicleap)” on XROM Podcast, 2021
• “Former Magic Leap Employees Give Retrospective” featured on Voices of VR Podcast, 2021
• “Face Motion Capture: Virtual Production Session” for Miami SciFi Festival, 2021
• "Accessible XR Controller Haptics Design" talk with Eric Vezzoli for A11yVR Meetup, 2020
• “User Data Privacy and the Metaverse“ talk with Feras Ahmed for Florida Game Developers Association Meetup, 2020
• “A Bit of a Data Unicorn: From Data Sprinkles to Augmented Reality” podcast interview for Great Data Minds, 2019
• “A Journey in Mixed Reality HCI” talk with Savannah Niles (with special guest James Powderly) for IxDA Miami, University of Miami, FL, 2018
• "Interaction Design and Prototyping within Uncharted Domains" talk for IxDA Miami, University of Miami, FL, 2017
• Guest lecturer at Emergent Digital Practices Program, Denver University, CO, 2015
• "Interlinked D3 Data Visualizations, featuring News Explorer" talk at Austin d3.js meetup, Austin, TX, 2015
• “Creative Coding in Interaction Design" talk at FITC Toronto, 2014
• Guest lecturer at Interactive Telecommunications Program, New York University, NYC, 2014
• “Airborne Beats Live!” lecture and demo at Bar Mitte for Catalyst event in Barcelona, Spain, 2012
• “Creative Coding for Commercials” at ZzzInc, Barcelona, Spain, 2010

Teaching

• "Introduction to Processing" assistant instructor for workshop at GAFFTA, San Francisco, CA, 2009
• "Digital Audio Editing" course instructor at The Art Institute, Los Angeles, CA, 2006

Press

• "On Designing Input and Perception for an XR Platform : a Discussion with Tim Stutts" interview by Sadao Tokuyama, 2020
• "Four Key Challenges Facing UX Design for XR" interview by AIXR Blog, 2019
• "Exciting updates for News Explorer" for Watson Developer Blog, 2016
• "Presenting News Explorer" co-authored with Mauro Martino for Watson Developer Blog, 2015
• "Minority Report Meets GarageBand: Airborne Beats is Hand-Controlled Music Making" article by Create Digital Music, 2012
• "Sinan Ascioglu: OpenProcessing Architect" an interview for Rhizome.org, 2010

Awards

• FDA Breakthrough Device Designation for Cognixion One Augmented Reality + Brain Computer Interface Headset, 2022
• Honoree Recipient of the Fast Company Innovation By Design Award, Product Category for Magic Leap 1, 2020
• Kantar Information Is Beautiful Award, Silver in the Commercial Projects category for Watson News Explorer, 2016
• Finalist in the Fast Company Innovation by Design Awards for Watson News Explorer, 2016
• Outstanding Technical Achievement Award for Watson Connected Services demo, featured at IBM Impact, 2014
• Adobe Design Achievement Award with Che-wei Wang for "Grass Type" Installation at NYU ITP, NYC, 2007

Patents

• Mobile computing support system having an illumination region, Magic Leap, Plantation, FL, 2018
• Keyboards for virtual, augmented, and mixed reality display systems, Magic Leap, Plantation, FL, 2018
• Totem controller having an illustration, Magic Leap, Plantation, FL, 2018
• Display panel or portion thereof with graphical user interface, Magic Leap, Plantation, FL, 2018
• System for warning a driver of a potential rear end collision, Honda Research Institute, Mountain View, CA, 2016

Education

• Masters of Professional Studies from the Interactive Telecommunications Program (ITP) at New York University, NYC, 2008
• Bachelor of Fine Arts in Music Technology from California Institute of the Arts (CalArts), Valencia, CA, 2003