Most design for the average user, but who’s average?

I’m Liam, a designer focused on the future and philosophy of the interface.

I’ve contributed to Material Design’s adaptive capabilities through new components and layout systems, and helped independent developers, startups, and civic organizations invent or improve great human-centered experiences. Previously, I was design lead at touchlab, where I helped partners build & launch projects like Quartz, Classpass, and LinkNYC.

I also host a podcast called Design Notes, exploring how creative work helps us relate to the world and each other.

Check out some of my selected projects below!

future + philosophy

Reshaping our expectations for generative design: toward an intersubjective practice

Published on Scratch ↗

The future of design is still personal: reaching toward true adaptation

Read

 

projects at google

Material Design Navigation Rail

I designed and documented a new component in M2 to bridge the gap between navigating small and large screens. The navigation rail is now recommended across Android.

See the spec ↗

 

Google.dev

I led the design of key features for the launch of Google’s new developer learning platform, enabling new ways of learning from all of Google’s developer offerings and documenting progress as you go.

Material Design for Large Screens

Along with the adaptive design team, I designed and documented an approach to creating adaptive layouts and updated specifications for components, layouts, and grids.

See the specs: Understanding Layout ↗ | Responsive Layout Grid ↗ | Component Behavior ↗

Illustration by Simone Noronha

 

type design

Girassol

Featured in the Updike Collection on the History of Printing and served 750,000 times per week by Google Fonts, Girassol is my first publically-available typeface, drawn from the hand-painted signage of Carcavelos, Portugal.

Learn More | Google Fonts

 

Cherrier

Featured in the Herb Lubalin Study Center Collection, Cherrier is a type family for performative documents, developed during my time in the Type@Cooper Extended Program.

(Preview only)

Wakehurst

Developed during my time in the Type@Cooper Extended Program, Wakehurst is a botanically-inspired text typeface revival.

(Preview only)

 

projects at touchlab

image: link.nyc

LinkNYC

I led the design of the first LinkNYC interface leading up to its initial launch in Fall 2016. I contributed to the device home screen, system navigation, essential apps, splash animations, and iconography in collaboration with New York City and Intersection.

 

Tim Hortons for Android

I led the design of Tim Hortons’ first Android app, defining modular, dynamic menus and an easy order/checkout flow.

Learn More

Classpass for Android

I led the design of Classpass’ first Android app, defining an Android-specific design system and iconography that could scale with the app.

Learn More