Jarel Mitchell, a product designer building AI-embedded systems people trusta product designer building AI-embedded systems people trust
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I'm a Phoenix-raised designer and US Army Veteran building AI people can trust.
Function gets people to use a product. Beauty gets them to love it. Growing up obsessed with aesthetics, whether it's fashion, architecture, or how my coffee mug feels in my hand, I've always been fascinated by the intersection of beauty and functionality, and how design can blur the boundaries between digital and physical experiences.
- 01Veteran
US Army
2010 – 2019
My path to product design wasn't traditional. I served ten years in the US Army, initially as a Military Police Soldier, before becoming a Supply & Logistics Sergeant. Design found me between the two assignments, when I was hired as the Visual Designer for the Arizona Army National Guard Recruiting and Retention Battalion. The positions I held in the Army all taught me the same thing: people only rely on systems they trust.
In 2018, while serving on a deployment to Afghanistan, I was researching design careers that balanced meaningful work with genuine purpose. Product design checked every box: the perfect blend of art, psychology, computer science, and systems thinking.
- 02Scholar
University of Washington, UC Irvine
BS HCDE 2023 · MHCID 2026
After moving to Seattle in 2019, I started my journey to become a product designer. In 2023, I graduated from the University of Washington with my Bachelor of Science in Human Centered Design & Engineering. In September 2026, I graduated from the University of California, Irvine with my Master of Human-Computer Interaction & Design, where I went deep on designing with AI and building further technical depth within my craft.
- 03Designer
Product Designer
Now
I'm now consulting under my independent design practice, Esthesis.
Ten years in the Army taught me how to manage complexity, think in systems, and understand how each component occupies its unique role within a larger ecosystem. That experience now shapes my approach to product design: I design experiences that immerse users across all touchpoints and seamlessly integrate digital and physical interactions.
Design principles
The best products feel inevitable, like users can't imagine them working any other way. I get there by starting with the person and always asking, "where can we add moments of unexpected joy?"
My work is guided by four core beliefs:
- 01
Find the niche only you can fill.
Like organisms in nature, great products find and fill their own space in people's lives. They adapt to context and solve problems people didn't know they had.
- 02
Design beyond the screen.
I design for people moving through space and time. Touching a product and tapping a screen should feel like one continuous conversation.
- 03
Show your work.
AI earns trust the way people do: by showing what it did and why. It should suggest, explain, and step aside, so the person always makes the final call.
- 04
Plan for the wrong answer.
Every AI system will get something wrong. I design what happens next: a clear way to see why, fix it, and keep going without losing faith in the rest.
Beyond the pixels
When I'm not designing, you'll usually find me deep in an artist's discography, hunting for streetwear grails, curating art for my home, getting lost in anime, or planning my next international adventure.
In 2023 I collaborated with Avenged Sevenfold (my favorite metal band) on official merch for their fan club, and we've been working together ever since. I keep pinching myself because it still feels like a dream. Then in 2024, I launched A Happy Cactus, my own streetwear brand exploring how UX principles extend beyond the screen.
At my core, I'm just a kid from the desert who wants to make things that bring unexpected magic to the world.