Magic Leap

Platform Design

Over more than three years at argodesign, I was part of a focused design group driving deep user experience development for Magic Leap’s native platform leading up to the launch of ML2.

As the team’s Motion Director, I spearheaded the exploration and refinement of novel spatial interactions, established global motion principles that shaped everything from the launch menu to hardware LED behaviors, and helped define what a true spatial-first operating system could be.

Significant portions of this work were implemented in the ML2, and the thinking developed through these explorations can be seen echoed across today’s mixed-reality ecosystems, including products from Meta and Apple.

Role: Motion Director

A quick-access guide for developers and motion designers

Across dozens of projects, explorations, and user flows, I developed a motion system that expressed well across the full spectrum of spatial computing—yet remained impactful and legible when translated into 2D and applied to core system behaviors.

⇢ Theory
↳ Timing Guides
↳ Bezier References
↳ Millisecond Values
⇢ "When to Apply"

I distilled the underlying theory into a concise, platform-wide motion framework, including principles, timing guides, Bézier curves, and millisecond-precise specifications. This foundation served as a baseline for consistent expression across both software and hardware, and a scalable guide for ongoing platform development.

Prism Systems

UI Explorations

I led the motion development and visual exploration for a complete redesign of Prisms, Magic Leap’s spatial “windows.” Through this work, I created the Anima system, a refined set of behaviors and forms that reduced friction and introduced a far more immersive, intuitive interaction model.

Departing from the ML1’s maximalist prism approach—where practically every action required invoking a contextual menu—I reimagined the prism as a minimal, directly manipulated container, largely invisible until needed and invoked.

Using a custom, somewhat unconventional After Effects rig built for rapid iteration, I explored hundreds of variations and user flows. This process surfaced a subtler, more sophisticated model for the device’s most ubiquitous tools—one that preserved, and often enhanced, both utility and usability.

Controls explainer loop for quick 1n-headset reference

Anima prism rotation

Anima prism direct-manipulate movement

Anima prism resize

Anima bi-manual scaling

Removing the old design's box outlines and thick, purple corners, I created a translucent volume and contextual outlines invoked only under a user's focus. The lines themselves now subtly guide the user through their interaction options and disappear when their job is done.

Anima scale select

Anima cursor + bound indicator

Anima cursor + bounds interaction

Anima cursor + bound indicator

Lumin

System Level Assistant

Lumin Assistant was conceived as a placeful, persistent MR companion—an intuitive, system-level guide that could follow the user, anticipate needs, and provide both traditional voice assistance and orientation within the emerging paradigms of spatial computing.

Its spatial form balanced brand expression, technical constraints, and a deliberate move away from anthropomorphic cues, resulting in an entity that felt present and helpful without implying personality or intent.

The spatial prototype I developed later evolved into a more conventional, voice-first OS feature with a supporting visual overlay—an adaptation I then helped shape and style for the final product experience.

Look development (After Effects + Element 3D)

Proof of concept animation (After Effects + Element 3D)

Voice-only stylization reference (After Effects)

Destinations: Office (After Effects + Element 3D)

Destinations

Persistent Placefulness

A global, persistently placeful layer over the real world can be difficult to grasp, and early in my work with Magic Leap there was a clear need to help investors and onboarding teams visualize how a spatial metaverse might function.

Through my work on Destinations—the persistent world component of the Lumin platform—I created a series of videos that clearly demonstrated how location-based experiences could operate and how businesses across offices, retail, hospitality, and warehousing could meaningfully use them.

Destinations: Retail (After Effects + Element 3D)

Destinations: Brewery (After Effects + Element 3D)

Gestures

Conrollerless Interaction

Exploring the potential of a controller-free mixed-reality experience, I helped shape, test, and ship a gesture-based interaction model built within the constraints of the ML2 hardware—a system that went on to influence newer platforms and contribute to today’s industry standards.

I also shot, composited, and animated the instructional assets embedded throughout the operating system, guiding users through the nuances of the gesture toolkit and ensuring the interactions felt intuitive from day one.

A design story I shot & produced about our gesture system

System assets illustrating use (After Effects)

Hand-tracking explorations (After Effects)

Applying the Unified Motion Language System

LEDs

Hardware LED Animations

More than a collection of blinking dots, the ML2’s LED system was the product of months of research and the applied principles of my Unified Motion Language. Working within tight constraints—five LEDs on the compute pack and one each on the headset and controller—I developed a cohesive, brand-aligned visual language for hardware feedback and status communication.

Despite the absolute minimum fidelity, the system conveyed personality, clarity, and utility, giving the device a subtle but meaningful sense of responsiveness and presence.

Prism Movement

Friction Free

A Frictionless Interaction Model

Over more than two years—and countless iterations—I partnered closely with a small team of engineers and creative technologists to translate a complex paradigm of object and user interactions into a clear, intuitive rule set. The result was a series of short, digestible, and easily shareable animated clips that communicated the system with precision and simplicity.

Designed in After Effects with Element 3D for fast iteration.