Howdy! I'm Tay Aras, a designer and product lead with 8+ years of experience, focused on emergent technologies, hybrid environments, and interaction design. My work explores connection: how we can connect people to each other, and to the things they care about.

Currently at Microsoft, building virtual communication platforms and multimodal interfaces. Also Nowhere Interesting, a design studio & lab. I studied (and taught) Hybrid Environments Design at Carnegie Mellon University. Outside of work, I play in bands and organize DIY shows across New York, Seattle, Chicago, and Pittsburgh. If you have any interesting ideas or want to chat about music, please reach out!

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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

Product lead and designer for the ACS UI Library, the component system behind Azure Communication Services' video calling, chat, and real-time collaboration. Own the roadmap and the design work that lets product teams ship accessible, production-ready communication features without building them from scratch.

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Collective IQ
Collective IQ — meeting intelligence interface

Microsoft

Collective IQ

2026 – Present · NDA

Design lead for a 0-to-1 AI knowledge product built on the Microsoft 365 stack. Designed the contributor experience that lets people share what they know without exposing what was said, the web management platform behind it, and the integrations that bring it into Teams, Outlook, and web. In progress, under NDA.

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XR Experiences
Physicalization of AR/XR — capstone prototyping

Carnegie Mellon University

Physicalization of AR/XR Experiences

2022

Researched how to move augmented reality off the screen, from a digital layer on top of the world to experiences embedded in physical materials, spaces, and objects. Framed the design space and prototyped what it means for an experience to span both worlds at once.

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SOMEONEINTERESTING.ONLINE

Nowhere Interesting

someoneinteresting.online

2026

Designed and built a proximity app that points you toward a nearby stranger and tells you nothing else about them. An experiment in chance connection and how little you need to know about someone to get curious enough to meet them. About noticing the people around you, and what information can do to bring people together instead of keeping them apart.

Case study coming soon
Additional
Nowhere Interesting
Nowhere Interesting — a white circle on green

Nowhere Interesting

Design & Strategy

2018 – Present

Conducted in-house studio work and client engagements — design and product strategy, branding, product conceptualization, and futures thinking.

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Idler

Idler

Product Futures & Vision

2025 – 2026

Ran product and design workshops with founder alongside ongoing advisory, helping the team think through their product in the context of a brand vision and sustainable futures.

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Widget Factory

Widget Factory

Product Futures & Vision

2025

Worked with founder to conduct product and design futures workshops and advisory, working through product vision alongside brand and identity.

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0xPARC
0xPARC — logo mark

0xPARC

Product Strategy & Brand

2023

Product and strategy advisory alongside brand and site design, for a set of speculative and unreleased technologies.

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Orbit

Carnegie Mellon University

Interaction & Product Design

2021

Designed a tangible object for staying connected with someone you live apart from, built around sharing music.

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Exhibitions & Performances

Featured Exhibitions

  • PDT Charity Art AuctionApril 2022 · Basement, Pittsburgh PA
  • Consciously CompetentFebruary 2022 · Miller Institute for Contemporary Art, Pittsburgh PA
  • Extraordinary Ordinary ThingsApril 2021 · Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh PA
  • PDT Charity Art AuctionFebruary 2020 · Mech House, Pittsburgh PA
  • Labor IntensiveMay 2019 · Margaret Morrison Carnegie Hall, Pittsburgh PA
  • Into the ArtistsphereMay 2018 · Art & Innovation, Duvall WA

Performances

  • ZAF Summer BlastAugust 2025 · The Workshop, Redmond WAGuitar, bass, keyboard, vocals
  • ZAF All OutOctober 2024 · The Workshop, Redmond WAGuitar, bass, keyboard, vocals
  • ZAF Punk OutDecember 2023 · The Workshop, Redmond WAGuitar, bass, keyboard, vocals
  • ZAF 2.0October 2023 · The Workshop, Redmond WAGuitar, bass, keyboard, vocals
  • The SlacksMay 2022 · Rat Beach, Pittsburgh PAGuitar, vocals
  • The SlacksMarch 2022 · Rat Beach, Pittsburgh PAGuitar, vocals
  • Middle of the Street2015 · KTUBGuitar
  • The Audience2014 · Ground ZeroGuitar, melodica
  • The Audience2014 · Redmond FirehouseGuitar

Acting / Modeling

  • Extra / Background Actor — Preacher (Official Music Video)Telescreens, 2025
  • Extra / Background Actor — Cutter (Short Film)Daniel Short and Peter Curry, 2025 · unreleased
  • Hand Model — Feral Hearts SS222022