I like turning complex ideas into delightful products.

Comfortable navigating ambiguity, evolving strategy, and large-scale transformation. I design for how people actually work, and today that means working alongside AI.

I'm interested in solving UX problems where human-centered design, AI-native product thinking, and the real-world complexity of shipping at scale all overlap. That's where the most interesting and durable products get made, and it's where I do my best work.

I've led UX across complex product ecosystems where AI isn't simply a feature, it's the core interaction model. That means designing for ambiguity, probability, and outputs users can't fully predict, while keeping experiences coherent and trustworthy.

I align Product, Engineering, and Data teams around cohesive experiences, acting as a collaborative partner to product and executive leaders to shape AI product strategy, facilitate ambiguous decisions, and translate emerging capabilities into direction teams can actually execute, while helping organizations build the design culture and operating models needed to move with clarity.

This site reflects projects and initiatives that I've had the privilege to work on with very talented teams. I care deeply about attribution. Everything here was built alongside a thoughtful team of collaborators.

If you’d like to connect, feel free to email me: johnmanicke@gmail.com

I've had some pretty good clients.