About
Danny Driscoll
Principal Product Designer · Ann Arbor, Michigan
I grew up in Ann Arbor surrounded by engineers. My father has taught aerospace engineering at the University of Michigan for over 40 years. My grandfathers were engineers. The technical world was never abstract to me. But I watched non-technical family members struggle with the same interfaces those engineers built. That gap is where I work.
I came to design through Human-Computer Interaction at Western Michigan University after witnessing a student have an epileptic seizure triggered by a flashing pop-up ad. That moment made clear that design has consequences. It is not decoration. From there: four years at Appily.com (formerly Cappex) building the college application platform that reached 47% completion against a 35% industry standard, then five years at TeleSign as Principal Product Designer protecting 21 billion annual transactions and cutting enterprise onboarding from 67 days to 35.
My philosophy is communication before aesthetics. I run A/B tests by statistical significance, not gut feel. I design for the user who is confused, not the user who already knows what to do. I have presented directly to C-suite at Fortune 500 companies and filed bugs on my own shipped work. I am looking for Senior, Principal, or Director roles in enterprise B2B SaaS: security products, developer tools, authentication platforms, or communication systems.
Spouse and two kids in Ann Arbor. Grew up on computers from age 4. Still plays guitar.
10+
Years in product design
TeleSign + Appily.com
21B+
Annual transactions protected
AT TeleSign
47%
Application completion rate
AT APPILY.COM
67→35
Days to onboard, enterprise
AT TeleSign
Beyond the work
The interests that inform how I think.
Basketball
Statistical analysisI follow basketball the way I follow user research: pattern recognition from large datasets, variance vs. signal, and knowing when a sample size is too small to act on.
Restoring old electronics
Root cause analysisA dead device has a specific failure. Finding it requires forming a hypothesis, isolating variables, and testing without destroying the patient. Better debugging practice than most formal training.
Woodworking
Constraints-first thinkingWood tells you what it will and won't do. You design around the material, not against it. My grandfathers were builders. Working with constraints produces better outcomes than ignoring them.
3D Printing
Prototyping mindsetThe fastest way to understand a technology is to make something with it. Ship a rough version, learn what breaks, fix it. Iteration over speculation.
Long-form writing
Structured argumentationMaking an argument hold together on the page is the same skill as making a design decision legible to a skeptical stakeholder. Both require anticipating objections before they are raised.
Photography
Empathic observationMy grandfather Carl photographed during WWII. I shot every campus in the Appily.com (formerly Cappex) network rather than use stock. The world looks different when you decide to actually see it.
Things you didn't ask about
The rest of the picture.
National Poetry Society Poet
In seventh grade I submitted a poem to the National Poetry Archive. It was accepted and published in one of their printed books. The first time I understood that making something and putting it into the world are two different acts.
Recorded with Grammy-Winning Producer
Miguel Millions is a longtime collaborator of Pharrell Williams and won multiple Grammys including for Happy. Getting in a room with people at that level permanently changes how you think about craft and standards.
Extra in Fortnite Commercial
A friend who acts in Hollywood brought me in for a brief extra role. Being on a professional set, watching how quickly decisions get made and unmade, felt familiar in all the right ways.
Hip-Hop and Pop Punk Junkie
Blink-182 and The Roots. Two genres that look nothing alike and share everything: precision, restraint, and the ability to say something true in under four minutes.
Trained at Second City Hollywood
Improv comedy training at the LA outpost of one of the most respected comedy institutions in North America. Learning to think fast, listen harder, and never block your scene partner.
Stand-Up Comedy Open Mics
I regularly attend open mics to support other comedians and to practice fighting through nerves and anxiety. Getting on stage in front of strangers with a microphone and no safety net is the same exposure exercise as presenting to a skeptical C-suite.
Live performance
Danny Driscoll — guitar, on stage
Performing to a live audience.
Commercial appearance
Fortnite
Extra role alongside a friend who acts in Hollywood.
Photography
Empathique
Photography connects me to the world, my family, and my ancestors. My grandfather Carl photographed during WWII. I shot every campus in the Appily.com (formerly Cappex) network rather than use stock imagery.
View photography