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John Maeda

VP, Design & AI (CoreAI Computational Design) at Microsoft; author of The Laws of Simplicity and How to Speak Machine

ExecutiveLeads from the middleHybrid schoolAISystemsEducationEnterpriseContentResearch
He is design's foremost translator of the AI transition, leading an org through it while consistently framing AI as a force that should reskill and elevate designers rather than replace them.

Signature win. Built the bridge between design, code, and capital — from founding MIT's Aesthetics + Computation Group and leading RISD's STEAM movement to authoring the field's reference Design in Tech reports.

The case

editorial · CCBEI · with sources
Craft"The Laws of Simplicity" and his MIT computational-art practice set a durable craft bar for design-meets-code; judgment over pixels is his whole register.6
CommunicationThe annual Design in Tech report (since 2015) and two seminal books made design legible to investors, engineers, and executives — arguably the field's clearest translator.10
BusinessConnected design to capital as Kleiner Perkins design partner, served as CXO/CTO at Publicis Sapient and Everbridge, and sits on MillerKnoll's board — design tied to outcomes and durable orgs.9
Education[Education recalibrated toward editorial baseline] 12 years teaching at MIT Media Lab, founded Aesthetics + Computation Group, accelerated Scratch, led the national STEAM movement as RISD president — a career built on reskilling people.8
InnovationPushes the practice forward by reframing AI as a partner that lifts designers ("speak machine," UX-to-AX), urging collaboration and new literacy over replacement — elevate, not hollow.9

Endorsed by peers

illustrative · opens with verified accounts
OverallI'd work for them81
CraftRaised my craft bar60
CommunicationMade the case for design100
BusinessMade design matter to the business90
EducationTaught me something I still use80
InnovationShowed me a new way to work90

Verified peers only — one tap with LinkedIn. Names stay private; we show role and industry. Bars are illustrative until the participation backend is live.

Stories

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