Hi. I'm a UX design leader who guides teams in building human centered products + services. Outside of work I've mentored students, spoken publicly, published code + words, and exhibited my artworks internationally.
My Jr. high class gave me the yearbook name "Into Internet" the same year I ran up an $850 phone bill in a single month dialing into BBSs in the mid-90s. While not as cool as "Class Clown," today I look back on that title with pride. I would later take my love of the internet to art school and get a BFA in Motion Pictures & New Media while joining a startup my sophomore year. That mix of creative + tech defines me to this day.
Currently I'm at Salesforce as the Cross-Cloud Design Lead for Data Cloud, our unified customer data platform powering harmonized experiences across Salesforce Apps, Einstein AI, EinsteinGPT / ChatGPT, Generative AI, and 3rd party services. Prior to this, I spent about five years at IDEO as a UX Team Lead focusing on new ventures, media, and technology.
As a full stack designer I level up to think strategically with stakeholders and storytelling, and then zoom in to craft pixel-perfect deliverables with my teams. I have both management and hands-on experience with multimodal experience design, prototyping, front-end development, and user research using a variety of digital and physical methods.
Prior to IDEO, my background includes three startups (including one of my own) and three agencies. In startup land I joined and helped launch an IoT product via a hugely successful crowdfunding campaign and helped build one of the first (legal) means of marketing software via peer-to-peer networks in the early 2000s. On the agency side I've launched new brands, relaunched classic brands, and helped design a movement for a national non-profit that captured international attention.
LinkedIn – sean.digital.nospam@gmail.com
// Work+Clients
Salesforce, YouTube, Microsoft, Ford Motor Company, Hulu, MillerCoors, Amazon, NFL Digital, Sony Electronics, Verizon, General Motors, Boeing, Polaroid, Mint.com / Intuit, BB&T Bank, BitTorrent, Goji Smart Lock, The ACLU, The Trust for Public Land / Hollywood Sign, and Partners in School Innovation.
// Workshops + Talks
Design Thinking 101, Southern Oregon University (Remote), 2020
TechCamp Jericho, West Bank, Palestine (Remote), 2020
Collective Loss and Mobilization in a Pandemic, ReImagine, Remote, 2020
Art+Tech Days Keynote, Kasárne Kulturpark, Košice, Slovakia, 2019
Language Without Words (Design Workshop), Košice, Slovakia, 2019
Beyond the Body, SwissNex @ The Consulate General of Switzerland, SF, 2019
Panel: Memorialization in the 21st Century, ReImagine SF, 2019
Nightlife + Death, California Academy of Science, 2019
The Identity of Self, IDEO // ReImagine SF, 2018
A Face to a Name, Brava Theater, Ignite SF, 2017
TechCamp Ramallah (U.S. State Department), West Bank, Palestine, 2017
Qeyno UbuntuHack Youth Hackathon – WINNER, Oakland, 2017
Headless Creativity, Marine’s Memorial Theater, Ignite SF, 2016
Beautiful Malfunctions, Brava Theater, Ignite SF, 2015
// Publications
Trump and the Truth // The New Yorker
What Siri and Alexa might look like, according to artists // Quartz
Sean Mulholland Design Interview by Red Bull // Red Bull (SK)
On Bruce Lee, AI and Ethics of Modern Tech // Creative Industry Košice
Dying Tomorrow: 5 Questions for the Future of Death & Mourning // nextrends
The Identity of Self: Data Preservation over Time // End of Life Times
No Beards Allowed: Exploring Bias in Facial Recognition AI // IDEO
The Digital Selves We Leave Behind // IDEO
When Identity is a Design Choice // IDEO Labs
Designing the Siris and Alexas of the World // IDEO
How to Experiment with 360˚ Video // IDEO
A Story in Every Direction // IDEO Labs
// Exhibitions
ERNEST, IDEO San Francisco Offices, 2018-2020
ERNEST, Tabačka Kulturfabrik, Košice, Slovakia, 2019
ERNEST, Kasárne Kulturpark, Košice, Slovakia, 2019
ERNEST, The Exploratorium, San Francisco, 2019
ERNEST, San Francisco Art Institute, 2018
SONDER @ The Laundry, SF, 2017
Creative Code Showcase @ Gray Area Foundation for the Arts, SF, CA 2016
Real Future Fair @ Innovation Hangar, SF, CA 2015
Pancakes & Booze @ 111 Minna Gallery, SF, CA 2015
Surreal Salon 7 @ BRG CCA, Baton Rouge, LA 2015
Loud Tate: Code @ Tate Britain, London, 2014
// Honors
Engadget+gdgt “Live in New York” Startup Winner (Goji Smart Lock), June 2013
Best Use of Social Media In Real Life, Shorty Awards (Sony Electronics), 2012
Finalist, Product Brand Development Campaign of the Year (Polaroid), PR Week 2011
2011 Non-profit Campaign of the Year Finalist (Trust for Public Land / City of Los Angeles), PR Week 2011