Jason Herring
AI + Design Technology / Creative Direction / Art × Machine Intelligence
I've been building things on screens for over twenty years — websites, apps, campaigns, tools, experiments, whatever needed making. It started in Flash, doing interactive work for Nike, MoMA, Stussy, Adidas. Over time the tools changed and the questions got more interesting, but the impulse stayed the same: I like making things, I like writing code, and I like pointing creative tools at problems to see what happens. Somewhere along the way the tools started thinking back, and that's where it gets good.
Right now I lead Design Technology on Foresight, Intuit's AI team, where I build conversational AI prototypes, voice interfaces, and agentic systems — things that talk, listen, and sometimes surprise you. I design real-time personality engines where language models, generative media, and emotional intelligence come together into something that feels less like software and more like a presence in the room. The work lives at the edge of what's shipping and what's possible, and I like it there.
Before Intuit, I led design and engineering teams at KQED and Aleph, directed interactive campaigns that reached millions, animated music videos for Aesop Rock, built interactive coloring books for Elektra Records, and ran OrdinaryKids — a studio that did work for Nike, Pepsi, Dockers, HUF, and the Exploratorium. I also started OKML, a workshop series teaching physical computing to designers, because I think you understand systems better when you build them with your hands.
The work I care about most has always come from treating constraints as material — building election dashboards for a million viewers, prototyping voice-first financial tools, training intentionally broken StyleGANs on family video. I write the code. I direct the creative. I build the demo that gets the room excited and then figure out how to make it real. I think the future belongs to people who can move between systems thinking and craft, who can ship and still care about what it feels like on the other side of the screen.
Experience
Intuit
Leading Design Technology on Intuit’s Foresight innovation team. Creating, managing, and composing agentic systems — multi-agent architectures that orchestrate voice, vision, and ambient intelligence into coherent product experiences.
- Key builder on Foresight, a 100+ person innovation team driving multi-modal prototyping and experience innovation across Intuit.
- Architecting and shipping agentic systems — composing autonomous AI agents that reason, act, and collaborate across voice, vision, and data pipelines.
- Leading rapid experimentation across design, engineering, and AI — building high-fidelity provocations for leadership with real data, natural language, and multi-device ecosystems.
- Delivering flagship demos across executive forums and summits, shifting organizational culture around AI as a creative medium.
- Member of senior leadership team reporting directly to Intuit’s Chief AI Officer.
Intuit
Built multi-modal prototypes and conversational AI systems exploring how voice, vision, and ambient intelligence reshape financial interactions.
- Designed and built a real-time AI personality engine from the ground up — a living framework where natural language, emotional intelligence, and embodied avatars converge.
- Pioneered ultra-low-latency conversational pipelines (Vapi, Hume AI, LiveKit, HeyGen) creating digital agents that are character-driven and emotionally present.
- Built hands-on workshops that seeded organization-wide momentum: Demystifying Python, Shipping Conversations, AI Avatars and Voice.
Intuit
Built functional prototypes exploring how voice, vision, and ambient intelligence could change financial interactions. Turned speculative ideas into tools leadership could use.
- Built multi-modal prototypes with real data, natural language, and multi-device flows across design, engineering, and AI.
- Designed and built real-time conversational pipelines from scratch — low-latency, character-driven, emotionally present.
- Delivered demos at executive forums and built workshops to help teams start building with AI.
Aleph
Creative and technical leadership for an enterprise development studio. Managed engineering, design, and client relationships across React, React Native, Node, WordPress, and UX engagements.
- Increased annual revenue by more than 85% over three years through new client acquisition and expanded scopes.
- Directed a mobile app for Helix clinical trials — notifications, dashboards, and protocol compliance tools that increased user acquisition success by 22%.
- Led complete studio rebrand: logo, typography, color, brand guidelines, and AI-assisted creative direction using Midjourney.
- Built and managed a team of 8 engineers and 3 designers across multiple concurrent client engagements.
- Introduced AI workflows (ChatGPT, Midjourney, Stable Diffusion) into the studio’s design and development process.
KQED
Managed product design and engineering teams for Northern California’s largest public media organization. Owned the roadmap for KQED.org, audio products, and emerging platforms.
- Developed segmented audio workflow delivering content to Google News — 600K+ audio downloads per month.
- Created Alexa skill and Google Home Action for KQED’s Pledge Free Stream, expanding reach to voice-first audiences.
- Successfully recruited and hired 2 UX designers, 1 product design lead, and 3 engineers to build out the team.
- Managed $1.2M annual product budget across web, mobile, and emerging platforms.
KQED
Built a design and engineering team from scratch to redesign and rebuild KQED.org on a React frontend with a Node/ElasticSearch backend managed by WordPress.
- Led the full redesign of KQED.org — exceeded listening KPI goal of 4% by more than 3x.
- Prototyped and built real-time election dashboard that received 1M+ views on election night 2016.
- Designed the KQED Arts iPad app and Our Turbulent Decade interactive experience.
- Established design system and component library used across all KQED digital products.
OrdinaryKids
Founded and led an award-winning digital studio producing interactive experiences, branded campaigns, and experimental work for global clients.
- Clients included MoMA, Nike, Adidas, Stussy, Pepsi, HUF, Dockers, Exploratorium, and Falling Whistles.
- Created an animated coloring book web experience for Tracy Chapman / Elektra Records — recognized by Communication Arts and FWA.
- Designed and developed ecommerce experience for Stussy using Flash and Magento — one of the last great Flash sites.
- Directed the music video for Aesop Rock’s "None Shall Pass" — hand-drawn illustration meets digital animation.
- Founded OKML, a 6-week Arduino workshop for creatives that culminated in gallery exhibitions.
- Designed and developed websites for Adidas Skateboarding, Exploratorium, and Mitch Ranger.
DUALFORCES
Co-founded a creative agency producing branded campaigns and content for Nike, Levi’s, and UNDFTD. Specialized in blending digital storytelling with real-world events.
- Creative directed the Nike Free visual center — the first public use of real Nike+ data in a marketing campaign. Produced a 56-page zine with editorials shot in London, NYC, and Tokyo.
- Coordinated influencer campaign for Nike FuelBand in NYC: 60+ events in 90 days with a large content team.
- Produced microsite and directed 6 short films for Nike NSW (Nike Sportswear).
- Produced branded skate campaign for Dockers SHK — photography, film, and editorial.
Education
Hillsborough Community College, Tampa
University of South Florida, Tampa
Studied English Literature. Fell in love with the library, discovered the internet and dropped out.