Hi! I'm Nic.

Design Leader based in San Diego, CA

I've scaled design organizations, founded a revenue-generating startup, and still ship production code. Currently building Summimarket; previously led design at AppFolio and Santa Clara University.

Experience

For over 20 years, I've led small and large teams building things people love with a simple approach: understand the people, master the problem, and deliver a simple solution.

AppFolio Sr. Director → Interim VP of UX 2019–2024
Summimarket Founder & Design Technologist 2024–Present
Santa Clara University Director of Digital Strategy 2010–2019

Projects

I still ship code for open-source projects, with a focus on UI and experience—often neglected in the FOSS space.

Pantry 2026

Open source food distribution finder. Temporal-first design shows what's open now, not just nearby.

Beetbridge 2025

Open source music metadata management. Designed and built a desktop app for tagging and organizing large music libraries.

Writing

My writing focuses on practical design & design leadership topics, ranging from tools to principles of good design.