I'm Michael Harnisch. I am a Creative Director at Microsoft and I believe in a culture that is fearlessly creative, open and inclusive, enabled by kind people who employ a thoughtful and research driven process.
Instead of categorizing my portfolio by project, I have chosen to organize my work by the skill set I leverage during any creative endeavor: problem solving, collaborating, storytelling, and creating. Each section is represented by a record album, most of which are metaphorically worn and well-loved.
If you'd like a project-organized breakdown, see Projects.
George Lois famously stated that "Creativity can solve almost any problem. The Creative Act, the defeat of habit by originality, overcomes everything." I see all creativity as problem solving, and no experience better encapsulates that philosophy for me than developing mixed-reality software for the Microsoft HoloLens.
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The encouragement and celebration of all ideas is integral to the success of any creative process. It is the alchemy of thought, the juxtaposition of varying perspectives, that powers innovation and differentiated thinking. My current team, Source, is a central team within Windows NEXT which helps align our app teams with the rest of Microsoft. During our rebranding, we chose to represent ourselves as a bridge with the motto "Build Together," an approach that has effectively helped foster several cross-Microsoft initiatives, including the Fluent Design System.
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Emotionally resonant design starts and ends with great storytelling. Everything I create tells a story, whether it's a logo, an album cover, or a visual treatment for a video game. Color theory, shape, and composition permeate throughout my work and are all intended to service the larger story and goal of each piece. Design choices are motivated by relatable concepts that uniquely and simply connect with each viewer or user on the appropriate emotional level.
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The desire to make and create is in all of us. We are all creative. How we express our creativity and where it saturates our lives is unique to each of us and constantly evolves. My creative journey started with cartooning and illustration, shifted to 3D video game environment building, and most recently evolved into graphic design.
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