Hello! Thanks for coming to my little corner on the internet. I am Mustafa Ali Akbar, a developer-turned-designer currently pursuing my Masters in Information Studies at UT Austin.

I have over 6 years of experience and love building products from 0 to 1. At Motive ($2.4B), I worked alongside hardware, brand, visual, and leadership teams to design end-to-end solutions for remote vehicle immobilization, RFID-based driver identification, and vehicle maintenance. Before that, I built and grew the design team at Educative from just me to 10 UX Designers. Design leadership and mentoring others became such a passion that it led me to pursue graduate education at UT Austin. I believe empathy isn't just for your users - it's for your team too, which is why I've always fostered an environment of Radical Candor.

I've worked on everything from complex product development and feature launches to design systems, type-scales, and color systems. In my early career days, I worked with a creative agency solving problems for clients like trivago, Gridapp, and Herb.co. I consider myself a forever learner and thrive among ambitious people on a mission.

When I'm not working, I'm usually attempting to learn French 🇫🇷 or guitar 🎸 (though I'm not very good at either).

If you feel like I'll be a good fit for your team, come say hi!