Mickey McManus

When Mickey McManus discovered that the University of Illinois in Chicago didn’t offer a bachelor’s degree in mad science, he settled for graduating from the School of Art and Architecture with a BFA in industrial design and extended studies in communication design and mathematics instead. It was there that he learned the techniques, methods and history of design from designers / educators who were early students of Laszlo Moholy-Nagy of Bauhaus fame.

Today Mickey is president, CEO and principal of MAYA Design, Inc., a technology design and innovation lab focused on meeting the design challenges of a trillion-node world and the needs of tech-tired people in an information-driven culture.

Through human-centered design, Mickey and his team of cognitive psychologists, ethnographers, computer scientists, mathematicians, visual and industrial designers, architects and filmmakers tame the complexity of technology products and information-rich environments, working with a range of clients from Fortune 500 companies to foundations, government organizations and startups. To address the tough design challenges of our unprecedented access to information, he spearheaded the launch of MAYA’s Pervasive Computing practice, which helps clients develop smart products, services and environments.