About

About me.

My name is Paul Cooper; I’m an experienced Executive Creative Director in digital products and brands. Currently, I am running a studio at Microsoft within Cloud + AI. The main focus of our group is customer success for a variety of applications within Cloud + AI, including Azure, Dynamics 365, Power BI, and other business applications. The studio includes product designers, web designers, producers, researchers, writers, illustrators, motion designers, and content strategists. My team has an emphasis on leveraging AI both for internal efficiency and to improve our customer experience. We have been leaders in evangelizing and using Copilot + AI throughout Microsoft. Our process focuses on Human-Centered Design, and our deliverables include visual and UX design systems.

A bit about my experience.

I graduated from Parsons School of Design with an MFA in Design + Technology in 2005. I’ve spent my entire career working in digital design on both the product and marketing sides of the business. Most of my work has been web/app-based, but I have also led environmental-based assignments, including interactive billboards and in-store interactive displays. Through my 15+ years of experience, I can say that product design and marketing is my true passion.

Before joining Microsoft 5 years ago I spent my entire career in the agency world. Most recently I built and led the design team for Razorfish Seattle, primarily working on T-Mobile’s digital app, digital marketing, e-commerce, and flagship store design.

Some personal highlights of my career include designing award-winning projects for Finlandia, Maybelline, Carnival, Audi, and T-Mobile. My most passionate project was designing the final Seattle Supersonics website the year before they left our city (the site was awesome, way ahead of its time. I can’t wait for the team to return!) Some personal lowlights include banner ads… lots of banner ads… especially for Disney. Fun fact, any banner ad with Mickey Mouse will dramatically outperform all other designs and messages for Disney, regardless of placement. At least that’s what I learned in one of my first experiences with A/B testing back in 2007ish.  

 My design philosophy.

• Lean into AI, it is one of the most powerful tools we have ever had in design.

• Keep things simple and delightful.

• Have a diverse and open-minded perspective.

• Know what you’re doing. You can never go wrong with a good Creative Brief.

• Create focus. Make sure your team is aware of the vision and goals of the assignment.

• Collaborate with the right partners; Brand, Strategy, Content, Copy, UX, Marketing, Engineers…

• Always design and build for your customer. Test the hell out of it. Whatever it is, put it in people’s hands.

• Build for scalability and longevity, but have a short memory when it comes to making a pivot.

• Design with passion, not emotion (it took me more than a decade to learn this, and it’s something I’m still working on).

Why I love what I do.

Beyond design, my passion is people. The best part of my career has been making connections with amazing talent, and when able, bridging those connections from one to another. I was able to build a team from scratch when I took over at Razorfish in 2014, and again when I took my current role at Microsoft. Nothing gets me more excited than seeing a team come together and design fantastic work while having a great time doing it. I was lucky enough to have strong mentors early in my career and I do my best to reciprocate those lessons to the next crop of designers. I am a firm believer in hiring talent beyond my own capabilities, and simply guiding them with my own experiences.

Besides that, I love my family, shit from the 80's, and I have a dog named Linus who is rad.