About
I make complicated things feel simple.
I started out studying media arts and animation, which taught me how people follow a story, and where they get lost. That instinct shaped everything after: front-end development, design systems, and years designing products at Microsoft used by millions.
Today I focus on the hardest part of UX: workflows with many steps, many roles, and real consequences when something goes wrong. I bring research, data, and a builder's understanding of how products actually ship. Because I can prototype in code and with AI, ideas get tested sooner and teams spend less time debating what might work.
Core strengths
Where I add the most value
Simplifying complex workflows
Onboarding, multi-step processes, data-heavy views, and operational tools, redesigned into clear paths so people always know what to do next.
Research-led decisions
Interviews, usability testing, analytics, and experiments that turn disagreements into evidence, with success defined before we build.
Design systems & accessibility
Shared patterns that keep products consistent as they grow, and usable for everyone, including people with disabilities.
Skills
What I bring to the work
Core skills
AI skills
Tools
What I work with
Design & build
Figma
Figma Make
Google Analytics
VS Code
GitHub
Adobe Creative SuiteAI
Claude / Claude Code
ChatGPTOpenAI API
Higgsfield API
Midjourney
VS Code Copilot
CursorExperience
Now
Since leaving Microsoft, I've been deepening my AI-native practice: prototyping with Figma Make, Claude, and Cursor, and building tools that speed up design QA. I also lead product design as a volunteer for the Tacoma City Association of Colored Women's Clubs, where I built a design system that lets non-technical members publish on-brand pages on their own.
Education
Design Thinking & Gen AI Certificate
Harvard Business School
BFA, Media Arts & Animation
Art Institute of Seattle
Past work
Senior UX Designer
Microsoft (Azure)
Led end-to-end UX for complex cloud workflows. Cut onboarding time by 25%, designed AI-assisted experiences that keep users in control, and built an AI design QA agent that reduced design defects 30% and release time 20%. Mentored designers through critique and product storytelling.
Senior UX Designer (Contract)
Microsoft (Visual Studio)
Redesigned Visual Studio's Git tooling, used by millions, with accessibility built in from the start. Grew usage of the redesigned tools from 8.5M to 14M and delivered 100% WCAG-compliant designs, with final designs delivered a month ahead of schedule through weekly usability testing.
Senior Front-End Developer (Design System Lead / Team Manager)
IQVIA
Set the vision for an accessible, token-driven design system for enterprise healthcare products. Grew adoption from 15% to 63% of internal teams, extended it to Salesforce, and contributed to two major contract wins.
UX/UI Designer (Contract)
Microsoft (Cloud Engineering)
Unified four internal tools into one consistent experience for engineers and business stakeholders alike. Weekly active use grew 60% after the redesign.
Earlier: Disney · Google · Amazon · IMDb · Outerwall · HTC
Testimonials
What colleagues say
Vince Kodikal
Product Design Specialist, Boeing Space Intelligence and Weapons (formerly Microsoft & IQVIA)
Terance is a hybrid, a true living unicorn that is very very rare to find. I have known him since my time at Microsoft. He not only worked on creating the experiences for Service Tree and Geneva Analytics, he was also responsible for a lot of Azure's internal branding. He worked on influencing the details of the new Fluent library we see today. At IQVIA, he and his team designed a Framer X library from code and completed about 70 components in two weeks. This saved the UX and product teams a lot of time and escalated the completion of 3 prioritized products. He also created a winning methodology to build a Salesforce lightning web component library and delivered it to 3 product teams that won us 2 major contracts. He is a great manager and rather than humiliating them, he goes out of his way to make sure they get the right training and help. He is really fun to work with and has an amazing sense of humor.
Adam Isley
Director of Patient Interface and Experience, IQVIA
I had the pleasure of working with Terance while I was building out a new company wide design system. The leadership he demonstrated in helping organize the multiple workstreams and then leading one of those teams to drive progression towards the comprehensive design system was incredible. His background in design and development made him a dual threat in this space and directly contributed to the fidelity of the design system and the multiple downstream products. Highly recommend Terance as an addition to any company in a senior design capacity.
Marcus Pape
User Experience Director, Amazon
Terance is a talented interactive designer/developer with a solid grasp of new technologies and passion for user experience. I value the time we worked together, not only for his creative abilities but also for the positive influence he provided to the daily work environment. His ability to stay upbeat and produce within short timelines and under hectic conditions make him a valuable asset to any creative team. I had the privilege to work with Terance as part of the ADX creative group at Amazon and would consider myself lucky for an opportunity to work with him again.
Dheeraj Bandaru
Product Manager II, Microsoft
Terance was an amazing collaborator and dedicated to growing Azure Static Web Apps. His ability to provide quick and effective user experiences that could be tested with customers was very helpful. I have appreciated working with Terance !
Ton Tran
Senior Software Engineer, Microsoft
Terance's leadership at IQVIA provided such a positive impact on our team. With his broad experience of UI/UX development, his team delivers exceptional code. I have the pleasure to work with Terance at IQVIA and get to learn from him daily. His work ethic is outstanding and I enjoy having the chance to work with someone who has as much pride in their work as me.