# Asa Pefferman — Product Designer

> Asa Pefferman is a Seattle-based product designer and design leader at Microsoft, working on AI-powered experiences, design systems, and enterprise products such as Power Apps, Dynamics 365, and Copilot Studio.

I design products and experiences that are easy to use. Simple as that.

## Case studies

- [AI-powered forms](https://asapefferman.com/projects/ai-powered-forms.md) — Microsoft / Power Apps. Bringing contextual AI into the everyday work of capturing data. Less friction, more control, and a person always in the loop.
- [A more Fluent CRM](https://asapefferman.com/projects/fluent-crm.md) — Microsoft / Dynamics 365. Modernizing a mature enterprise platform, from individual design tokens to the experience of millions of people.
- [From ambiguity to alignment](https://asapefferman.com/projects/design-sprint.md) — Microsoft / Product team. A focused design sprint to explore AI, align a cross-functional team, and turn ideas into tangible experiences.

## Gallery

Experiments, shipped details, and pieces of the process, filterable by UX/UI, Motion, Graphic design.

- **Key and Fill — showcase** (UX/UI, Motion). A ten-second tour of Key and Fill, a portrait lighting studio in the browser: presets, realistic materials, camera controls, light and color, and the 3D stage. Head scan by Lee Perry-Smith, CC BY 3.0.
- **Key and Fill — preset carousel** (UX/UI, Motion). Stepping through classic portrait setups such as Rembrandt, butterfly, and split lighting, with the portrait relighting as each one loads. Head scan by Lee Perry-Smith, CC BY 3.0.
- **Key and Fill — moving the key light** (UX/UI, Motion). Dragging the key light across the 3D stage and changing its height while the portrait responds alongside. Head scan by Lee Perry-Smith, CC BY 3.0.
- **Key and Fill — sculpture to skin** (UX/UI, Motion). Switching the model from a matte sculpture to a realistic skin material to judge how light reads on a face. Head scan by Lee Perry-Smith, CC BY 3.0.
- **Cohesion motion study 01** (Motion, UX/UI). A motion fragment exploring how a shared design language moves between states and surfaces.
- **Microsoft Flow — detail view** (UX/UI, Motion). An animated look at the details view for an automated workflow.
- **Cohesion motion study 02** (Motion, UX/UI). A short motion test focused on continuity, hierarchy, and spatial relationships.
- **Loading-state prototype** (UX/UI, Motion). An animated skeleton state designed to make a dense product view feel responsive.
- **Cohesion motion study 03** (Motion, UX/UI). A motion-system exploration showing how interface elements can enter, shift, and resolve.
- **Cohesion motion study 04** (Motion, UX/UI). A final motion fragment exploring rhythm and consistency across a shared system.
- **UX/UI reel — interaction study 03** (UX/UI, Motion). Interface behavior and transitions drawn from product work completed between 2013 and 2018.
- **Vans controller concept** (Graphic design). A branded Xbox controller treatment exploring how a familiar visual identity could live on hardware.
- **DC Comics — connected TV hub** (UX/UI). A connected-TV content hub organizing movies, television, games, and video in one experience.
- **Universal Orlando — connected TV** (UX/UI). A living-room experience for exploring the resort map, media, and trip-planning content.
- **The Division — connected TV experience** (UX/UI). A connected-TV promotional experience built around trailers, factions, and a direct purchase path.
- **UX/UI reel — interaction study 01** (UX/UI, Motion). Selected interface and interaction work from the 2013–2018 archive.
- **DOOM — connected TV promotion** (UX/UI). A high-impact television experience combining trailers, pre-order information, and campaign art.
- **Nike Basketball — connected TV hub** (UX/UI). A television campaign experience joining film, product, downloads, and interactive content.
- **Now You See Me 2 — connected TV** (UX/UI). A theatrical promotion that paired a trailer with an interactive card-reveal concept.
- **Deus Ex — connected TV system** (UX/UI). A set of connected-TV screens for video, character exploration, and pre-order content.
- **UX/UI reel — interaction study 02** (UX/UI, Motion). A compact prototype from an earlier collection of product design work.
- **Nike Basketball — banner system** (UX/UI). A sponsored-content system designed to extend campaign language into a television interface.
- **Purina One — connected TV** (UX/UI). A living-room adoption experience combining video, image galleries, and product storytelling.
- **NBA 2K16 — promotion** (UX/UI). A television promotion pairing an NBA game release with a Kevin Durant campaign.
- **Pointer interaction study** (UX/UI, Motion). A small animated experiment in cursor feedback and repeated spatial behavior.
- **UX/UI reel — interaction study 04** (UX/UI, Motion). A quick product-motion study from the 2013–2018 design archive.
- **Fuel TV ident** (Motion). An early Cinema 4D experiment with assets created in Photoshop and Illustrator, then composited in After Effects.
- **Motion / Art Direction Reel** (Motion). A motion and art direction reel featuring work created primarily at Straightface Studios.
- **Parasitology conference identity** (Graphic design). A conference cover system combining scientific forms, illustration, and an energetic multicolor palette.
- **Research organization mark** (Graphic design). The primary identity developed for the Center for Infectious Disease Research.
- **Research brand card — back** (Graphic design). Contact information and the organizational mark carried through a restrained black stationery system.
- **Research brand card — front** (Graphic design). A dark, tactile business-card concept built around the People. Science. Hope. message.
- **People. Science. Hope.** (Graphic design). A brochure system using monochrome photography and a restrained, color-coded brand line.
- **Research editorial spread** (Graphic design). An editorial layout balancing an intimate documentary photograph with concise organizational messaging.
- **Research identity system** (Graphic design). A coordinated set of print and digital brand applications for the Center for Infectious Disease Research.
- **Disease research icon set** (Graphic design). A compact line-icon family depicting vectors, organisms, and affected systems.
- **Seattle BioMed Application** (UX/UI, Motion). A rapid application concept completed in two and a half days for Seattle BioMed.
- **Fishr — catch detail** (UX/UI). A tablet concept for exploring catches, species information, and fishing conditions.
- **Fishr — catch gallery** (UX/UI). A dense tablet gallery for browsing catches by location, recency, and personal collections.
- **Fishr — location search** (UX/UI). A tablet search concept for discovering lakes and fishing spots across the United States.
- **Fishr — lake map** (UX/UI). A map interface connecting fishing spots, conditions, and catch activity.
- **Fishr app icon** (Graphic design). An early app-icon direction built around a minimal hook symbol and water gradient.
- **Fishr identity** (Graphic design). A simple identity direction combining a typographic wordmark with a rope-like frame.
- **Umbro mobile schedule** (UX/UI). A mobile schedule concept for following match dates and football content.
- **Quiz builder** (UX/UI). A colorful authoring interface for composing questions, answers, and quiz structure.
- **Digital art app — speed control** (UX/UI). A tablet art-tool experiment centered on a tactile visual effect and a single speed control.
- **Digital marketing presentation** (Graphic design). A presentation system using bold color, angled devices, and compact information graphics.
- **Digital art app — drawing workspace** (UX/UI). A tablet painting interface combining reference material, brush controls, and a large canvas.
- **Umbro 1350 concept** (UX/UI). A mobile football concept combining match countdowns, news, highlights, and branded storytelling.
- **Umbro mobile news** (UX/UI). A mobile news feed concept for football stories, reactions, and match reports.
- **Geometric hummingbird** (Graphic design). A layered geometric illustration exploring transparency, movement, and warm color.
- **Body Talk — book cover** (Graphic design). A book-cover concept using silhouette, typography, and gesture to frame nonverbal communication.
- **Fight Ugly** (Graphic design). A bold typographic composition built from saturated color, vertical rhythm, and unapologetic scale.
- **Abstract red study** (Graphic design). An abstract composition using translucent geometry, black fields, and a strong central divide.
- **Empire of Sleep — show poster** (Graphic design). A concert-poster exploration combining architectural photography, distressed type, and asymmetrical space.
- **Five Ultimate campaign** (Graphic design). A high-energy sports composition using light trails, action photography, and custom lettering.
- **Dawg Daze apparel** (Graphic design). A collegiate apparel graphic built around layered letterforms, halftones, and school color.
- **Seattle owl marks** (Graphic design). A set of illustrated owl and city marks exploring symmetry and regional identity.
- **Casa Que Pasa identity studies** (Graphic design). Early restaurant identity directions pairing hand-drawn lettering with compact illustrative marks.
- **Armada identity studies** (Graphic design). A collection of logo directions ranging from illustrative to geometric and typographic.
- **Bamboo ink study** (Graphic design). A minimal brush-and-ink composition focused on gesture, negative space, and a restrained color accent.

## Latest

- [stats-recon: making AI agents prove their numbers](https://asapefferman.com/notes/stats-recon.md) (2026-10-26). Five small Python scripts that make an AI agent show its work: check the data, correct for chance findings, and match every number in its write-up to a real result.
- [Learning light by moving it.](https://asapefferman.com/notes/learning-light-by-moving-it.md) (2026-09-26). I built Key and Fill, a portrait lighting studio that runs in the browser, so the cause and effect of studio lighting is something you can see and adjust directly.

## About

I’m Asa, a Seattle-based product designer and design leader who finds clarity in complex problems.

My work spans enterprise experiences, design systems, and AI-powered interactions. At Microsoft, I’ve led design work across Power Apps and the CRM platform behind Dynamics 365.

I care about the whole experience: the small interaction, the system around it, and the team that brings it to life.

Outside the screen, you’ll usually find me somewhere in the Pacific Northwest—climbing, fishing, hiking, camping, or snowboarding.

## Career

- **Principal Product Designer**, Microsoft · Copilot Studio (2025 — present). Design IC integrating AI into both product and designer workflows, building experiences that help customers put AI agents to work.
- **Principal Design Manager**, Microsoft · Power Apps (2023 — 2025). Head of the Interface design team, leading the UCI platform and the common control set for model-driven and canvas apps, with a focus on integrating AI.
- **Senior Design Manager**, Microsoft · Dynamics 365 & Power Apps (2020 — 2023). Led a team of designers delivering experiences across Dynamics 365 and Power Apps, expanding the platform with scalable solutions.
- **UX Designer II**, Microsoft · Power Apps & Dynamics 365 (2018 — 2020). Designed across the Dynamics product family, with a focus on enterprise-level customization and close work with multiple product teams.
- **Visual / Motion Designer**, Microsoft · via Kforce (2017 — 2018). Visual and motion design for Microsoft's cloud and enterprise design language: components, documentation, and motion prototypes.
- **Visual Designer**, AOL (2015 — 2017). Continued the Xbox One and 360 brand-experience work after AOL acquired the division.
- **Visual Designer**, Microsoft · via Yoh (2015 — 2015). Designed interactive brand experiences for Xbox One and Xbox 360, from mini-game concepts to user flows.
- **Visual Designer**, Center for Infectious Disease Research (2014 — 2015). Sole visual designer for the largest nonprofit dedicated to combating infectious diseases. Led the multimillion-dollar rebrand.
- **Graphic / Motion / UI Designer**, Straightface Studios (2012 — 2014). Art direction, concepts, storyboards, and motion graphics for films, corporate videos, commercials, and events. Took multiple iPad apps from concept to completion.
- **B.A., Graphic Design**, Western Washington University (2007 — 2012). Studied graphic design and graduated with a Bachelor of Arts.
- **Motion Design Intern**, Straightface Studios (2011 — 2011). Assisted with motion graphics and VFX workflows on commercial projects, building a foundation in visual effects production.
- **Graphic Designer**, FiveUltimate (2010 — 2011). Led branding and visual development for ultimate frisbee tournaments: merchandise, banners, apparel, discs, and the online store. Supported the design team with Creative Suite training and creative direction.
- **Design Intern**, FiveUltimate (2009 — 2010). Joined FiveUltimate's design team as an intern, working on graphics for ultimate frisbee tournaments and merchandise.

## Links

- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/asapefferman/
- GitHub: https://github.com/AsaPefferman-UI
- Résumé: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1RdzZkezCRcuFUVK_4PamaS2083fMZPWk/edit?usp=sharing
- Contact: the form at https://asapefferman.com/#contact