I am a creative technologist driven to make great products.

One of the most important things I have learned in over 15 years of web development is the power of teamwork across disciplines, and that this is best achieved by fostering healthy, respectful relationships between people pursuing a shared vision.

As a self-taught creative who has worked tirelessly to become a full-stack engineer, I once believed that, to do something the right way, one had to do it alone and have complete control over the outcome from start to finish. What I have come to realize, however, is that this way of thinking can kill products and teams by stifling the very creative spirit that inspires them.

Just as a writer doesn’t know how the story will play out when she begins, or a painter the exact moment when things will fall into place the way they were meant to, we don’t know what a product can be until it starts to live in the hands of users. We have to be open to what they have to say and be willing (and able) to respond through the product. We find the Product Muse by listening to the user and telling the product’s story through their words.

I grew up in Santa Barbara, California, where the mountains meet the sea, before real estate offices and glitz spread like a wildfire through the oak and sycamore trees. I have lived in Los Angeles, Berlin, Manhattan, and Kathmandu, but Portland is where my life grew bigger and better than I ever dreamed possible. My wife and I, along with our two kids and husky named Dashiell “The Dude” Santiago, have called it home since 2004.