Andrew McHugh

Turned video into immersive, replayable memories across iOS, Quest, and Vision Pro. Processed 8,800+ memories for 1,700+ users, with 18,600+ waitlist sign ups. Worldwide press including Vice/Motherboard. Spatial design & prototyping. Crafted platform (capture, processing, playback). Must be as easy as video, while delivering a sci-fi immersive UX across screens and headsets, while being interpretable. Wide & deep technical lead. Led engineering across codebases (iOS, Quest, Vision Pro, Firebase, reconstruction pipeline). Led deep CV/ML work on the volumetric reconstruction pipeline including pipeline architecture and rectification layers. Led 0-1 product development. Raised ~$1M from angels and VC. Hired and lead a team of four. Set vision and priorities, adjusted with changing market and new insights. Told the story to press, investors, the public, and users. From first prototypes to shipping product.

A precursor to Galaxy XR. Explored the opportunities and constraints of headsets across OS, apps, and interactions. Led an AR/VR design and development group. Demonstrated vision to executives, partners, and visiting dignitaries. Created and managed the process that let us quickly explore the possibility space going from ideas, rapid prototypes, high production prototypes, and video documentation. Led and supported hiring process. Spatial design & prototyping. Led investigations across operating system, apps, and interactions. Collaborated on prototypes and user studies, de-risking explorations. Bridge design and engineering in a context where device capabilities were often changing. Submitted 10+ patents with 9 granted. Team Lead for the XR Design Group (Nov 2019 – May 2021) Senior Designer for AR/VR (Feb 2019 – May 2021)

Created a transparent, consumer banking product that utilizes learning and prediction for a Portuguese client. Four months of user and market research, four more of design and user testing.

Researched UX design for VR with week-long design and prototyping sprints, utilizing A-Frame. Findings at http://medium.com/humane-virtuality.

Led the UX for startups. Worked the process from problems to interactive mock ups. Focused on usability and rapid prototypes.

Evangelized and led the UX at a full-service marketing agency under the Creative Director. Designed four apps, two in production (local class finder and class management system, a marketplace for maker-based distributed manufacturing, a political campaign management system, and a trade-based service industry management system). Work is under NDAs, but is allowed to be privately shown.

The What If...? is a place to ask questions that matter and do something about them. We bring together a crowd of entrepreneurs, educators, technophiles, innovators, and status quo challengers. Together we ask the questions and find the action steps to create better worlds. My role was largely focused on design and production. I worked on printed material (photo books, business cards, question cards, posters), video creative direction and transcoding, website design and management (including iTunes Podcast and the beginnings of a CMS for independent organizers), social media management, and I wrote the company blog. I also worked closely with speakers to prepare them for the stage and worked closely with the venues. My cofounder and I worked together on overall company strategy.

Learning more about user experience design. I focus my interests on virtual reality.

Located in Portugal, this is the second part of my dual degree program.