Prior to joining Syracuse University, Michel worked as an industrial designer in the United States and Canada for a wide range of industries and design studios, such as Safety 1st, Reebok, Essential Design, Adidas, CCM Hockey, BRP (Bombardier Recreational Products), Lime Design and MO Workshop. After nearly two decades of experience, he founded Studio Yami Creative as an outlet to apply his diverse design experience beyond industrial design. The studio’s first product, the PEKO outdoor ping-pong table was awarded Gold in the prestigious 2021 Grands Prix du Design.

Michel’s master’s degree thesis, “Biomimicry and Innovation in Sustainable Design,” explained how biomimicry is a design approach that leads to innovation, researching the type of innovations this approach generates, and the specific aspects of biomimicry that lead to innovative design solutions. His current area of interest is in the emerging transdisciplinary field of biodesign, which is at the intersection of design, biology and technology, with Symbiosis Project, the research/lab branch of Studio Yami Creative. The investigation of biodesign through speculative design as a research method is an opportunity to explore ideas and create novel biodesign solutions through a combination of 1) conceptual design projects to develop practical solutions to design problems and 2) design fiction projects to explore hypothetical futures.

Education

• M.A.Sc., Université de Montréal
• B.S., Art Institute of Fort Lauderdale
• B.A., University of Findlay