Hello!
I’m Taís Mauk, a user experience designer with 8+ years designing considerate interfaces.

I specialize in transforming complex problems into clever intuitive solutions. 🤍

Exploring Creativity with LLMs and Parrots

Generative AI • Exploratory Prototyping • Mental Model Framing

In 2023, I teamed up with three data scientists to explore large language models by training AI agents to generate creative warm-up exercises. We styled them as parrots symbolizing LLM’s ability to mimic human speech but not human intelligence. Each "parrot" had its own personality, and could generate a different type of warm up. You can read more about the project in the article below.

🔗 Warming up to AI

Creating Accessible Products at Facebook

New Products • Design For Accessibility • Computer Vision

I joined Facebook’s AI Design team to explore real-world applications of AI technology. I contributed to the launch of Facebook Portal, a video calling product, by helping support voice recognition for diverse dialect pronunciations. I lead work on accessibility projects including a effort using computer vision and text to speech to dynamically narrate photos to visually impaired users. While much of the work is confidential here are some publicly available links:

🔗 Accessibility Work Demo🔗 Gaming AI Research

Samsung Ambient : A Television That Blends Into Your Home

Consumer Electronics • Calm Technology

At Samsung I was tasked to explore the passive role televisions could play in the home environment. Our work developed into Samsung Ambient - a feature that blended the television display into the wall using light sensors and trick photography. Users could then choose what other minimal visuals they wanted, anywhere from rain simulations to beautiful art that made use of the “invisible” wall. I developed visual language explorations and crafted early design principles to guide this new subtle experience - careful to strike a balance between drawing attention and receding to the periphery. An article on the launch can be found below.

🔗 Launch Article

SimpliSafe: Designing for Peace of Mind

Consumer Electronics • IOT Product • User Experience

While at IDEO, I worked with SimpliSafe to redesign their innovative DIY home security system. The system featured a suite of customizable connected sensors and cameras; all designed to be set up by the users themselves. My role was focused on developing the Out of Box experience including the interactive installation guide. I diagrammed out the installation journey and developed the audio and light feedback queues for connecting each device. I also designed the final key moment where users could stress test the security system and feel reassured that they had done it properly. A further deep dive into the project can be found below.

🔗 Case Study

Design For Play • Hardware Prototyping • Educational Product

For my Master’s thesis in Interaction Design, I created Code Roads, a modular children's toy that teaches the basics of coding logic. This hands-on platform allows kids to build Rube Goldberg-like systems with components that represent coding concepts. By making abstract ideas more tangible, kids can visualize how code works before ever writing it. Code Roads won the Core 77 Design Award’s Open Design Award in 2014 for its innovative approach to learning coding fundamentals.

🔗 Write Up

Code Roads Education Toy