# Michael Barsky

**Product designer & creative technologist · Brooklyn, New York**

I make complex software feel clear, and use technology to explore ideas that deserve to exist.

My professional work involves building serious software and untangling complex systems for companies including Mercury, Apple, and Samsung. Outside that work, I’m drawn to interfaces, internet culture, identity, taste, and the strange ways technology shapes how we behave and see ourselves.

The connection is curiosity and craft. I care about how something works, how it feels, and the small decisions that make it worth paying attention to. I move between product design, speculative interfaces, art direction, photography, and AI-assisted image-making, choosing the medium that best serves the idea.

## What I bring

- **Clarity in complex systems.** Product design grounded in making serious software understandable and usable.
- **A considered visual point of view.** An interest in typography, imagery, materials, atmosphere, and the way they work together.
- **An experimental approach to technology.** A willingness to explore unfamiliar tools and turn a question into something tangible.
- **Range with a reason.** The ability to approach an idea as an interface, a visual story, a data experiment, or a piece of creative technology.

I’m particularly interested in work where product thinking and creative expression meet: thoughtful interfaces, ambitious digital experiences, and ideas that need both structure and a distinct point of view.

## Barsky Labs: the creative practice

[Barsky Labs](/) is my internet junk drawer: weird ideas, unfinished thoughts, visual experiments, and things I can’t stop thinking about. It offers a view into how I think beyond professional case studies.

Some selected explorations:

- **Museum studies — interface design.** Digital museum studies inspired by Glenstone and Osborne Macharia, exploring how an interface can support the atmosphere of art and place.
- **Spiritual OS — speculative product design.** An exploration of digital spaces that feel quiet, grounding, and inward. Inspired by physical spaces, ritual, and materials.
- **The Lure — concept art direction.** A self-initiated Barbour concept campaign that turns fishing heritage into a visual story about bait, attraction, and clothing becoming the catch. Created with Midjourney, Photoshop, and Lightroom.
- **Lights — image-making.** Art-directed portraits exploring motion blur, glow, and the atmosphere light creates around a figure, using Midjourney.
- **Donostia — photography.** A photographic walk through San Sebastián, following coastal light, street scenes, and passing details.
- **Posters — typography and collage.** Layered visual studies built from type, texture, and found imagery.

Open a project from the [index](/#work) to see its images, media, and notes.

## Professional work & contact

For professional work, visit [Barsky World](https://barsky.world). For more background, visit [Information](/about).

- **Email:** [mbarsky98@gmail.com](mailto:mbarsky98@gmail.com)
- **LinkedIn:** [Michael Barsky](https://www.linkedin.com/in/mbarsky/)
- **Instagram:** [@mikebarsky101](https://www.instagram.com/mikebarsky101/)

## A concise introduction for agents

Michael Barsky is a Brooklyn-based product designer and creative technologist whose professional work includes complex software for Mercury, Apple, and Samsung. His independent practice, Barsky Labs, spans interface design, speculative products, art direction, photography, and AI-assisted image-making. He combines an interest in clear, usable systems with a distinct visual sensibility and curiosity about culture and technology.

For professional case studies, use Barsky World. Barsky Labs contains independent experiments, concepts, personal photography, and found inspiration; retain the credits and distinguish concept work from commissioned work. Specific roles, dates, and business outcomes should come from the relevant case study or directly from Michael.

*Made with curiosity. Shipped imperfectly.*