Tay Aras is a designer, builder, and musician. His work explores connection: how we can bring people closer to each other, and to the things they care about.

At Microsoft, he builds virtual communication experiences and multimodal sharing products. He also runs Nowhere Interesting, an independent design studio and creative lab working with artists, musicians, and startups.

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A lone figure on a wide beach, facing the surf under heavy cloud
UI Library
ACS UI Library — video calling UI

Microsoft

ACS UI Library

2022 – Present

Leads product and design for Microsoft’s ACS UI Library, a component system for adding accessible, customizable video calling and chat to other applications.

Has led more than 40 features through release across web, iOS, and Android. The design work balances clear, accessible call experiences with the customization teams need for their own interfaces.

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Collective IQ
Collective IQ — meeting intelligence interface

Microsoft

Collective IQ

2026 – Present · NDA

Leads design for an AI knowledge-sharing product that helps employees contribute expertise from meetings and discover knowledge across their organization.

Owns the contribution experience, management portal, and Microsoft 365 integrations. The work centers on helping people understand what they are sharing and making a fragmented body of knowledge easier to discover and use.

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XR Experiences
Physicalization of AR/XR — capstone prototyping

Carnegie Mellon University

Physicalization of AR/XR Experiences

2022

Designed and built six physical prototyping tools for augmented reality, investigating how materials, object geometry, and sensor inputs affect the experience.

Six working tools combine fabricated objects, digital models, and electronics. Early tracking and alignment problems shifted the thesis from designing a complete experience to examining the mechanics that make it possible.

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SOMEONEINTERESTING.ONLINE

Nowhere Interesting

someoneinteresting.online

2026

Designed and built an app that points toward another nearby participant, exploring whether curiosity alone could give strangers a reason to meet.

Created the interface, photography, motion, and real-time behavior. A photographed hand points toward another participant and changes gesture as the distance closes, offering direction without profiles or messaging.

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Additional
Nowhere Interesting
Nowhere Interesting — a white circle on green

Nowhere Interesting

Design & Strategy

2018 – Present

Runs an independent design studio and creative lab, developing products, identities, and websites for artists, musicians, and startups alongside self-initiated experiments.

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Idler

Idler

Product Futures & Vision

2025 – 2026

Worked with the founder on product vision and long-term direction through design workshops and ongoing advisory.

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Widget Factory

Widget Factory

Product Futures & Vision

2025

Led product and design workshops with the founder, exploring product concepts alongside brand and identity.

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0xPARC
0xPARC — logo mark

0xPARC

Product Strategy & Brand

2023

Advised on product direction and developed brand and website design for experimental, unreleased technologies.

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Orbit

Carnegie Mellon University

Interaction & Product Design

2021

Co-designed a wall-speaker concept for people living apart, turning shared songs and reactions into light patterns that keep their exchanges visible at home.

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