About Michael
An Ohio born Californian who grew up in Taipei City, Michael is a Sr. Visual Designer working at AppFolio. He graduated from the School of Visual Arts in New York with an MFA in Design. Before that, he worked as a Digital Designer at Hallmark Channel. He has earned two advanced design certificates from UCLA Extension and a BFA in Graphic Design from California State University, Fullerton.
In his free time, he enjoys traveling, listening to music, watching dramas, and making pizzas.
AREAS OF Expertise
Art Direction
Graphic Design
Brand Strategy
Digital Marketing
Product Design
Motion Graphics
Web Design
User Research
Photography
Video Direction
Contact info
Email: mckao91@gmail.com
Mobile: (909) 395-7782
LinkedIn: michaelkaodesign
Ask me anything
Why do you love doing graphic design?
The short answer is to help people and share ideas. Graphic design is not only important to send the right message to accomplish important goals, good designs can also make someone’s day a whole lot better, which makes design a powerful skill when done well and done for the good reasons. Besides that, graphic design is extremely needed as we communicate and interact with each other and the world every day. There is a sense of reward in creating impactful designs.
Which is your most memorable project?
It would be “A Thing I Have Learned in My Life” because it’s a from concept to execution project that ended up as an installation. Done for Stefan Sagmeister’s class, a very rewarding experience on its own, it felt like a point of breakthrough in my design practices. When I filmed the time-lapse video of the project at Grand Central Terminal, I ended up getting kicked out by the MTA police after getting some good footage. I was nervous filming but felt really accomplished after.
What is the craziest thing you’ve done?
For “Unfork the Earth” campaign, I wanted to turn a serious topic into more interesting conversations. So I decided to run around New York City in a red Speedo and a couple of harnesses I designed for carrying eating utensils. This was in March when people were still wearing coats outside. A scene from the movie “Birdman” actually inspired me to do this. With a lot of courage, I made it to Times Square and later Washington Square Park to share about ideas and messages.
