Experience Architect
Monica Marziani · Philadelphia, PA
I started with a torch and a pair of pliers. I ended up building AI installations for corporate executives. I have never once followed the expected path — and the work is better for it.
Twenty-plus years across fine art, product design, brand systems, and physical environments. I operate at the collision of hand-craft and algorithm, digital product and physical room, strategic framework and raw creative instinct.
My first design class was 3D design — before screens, before software. I learned structure and perspective, in art and in life. Graphic design won over fashion. I picked up a computer. It was 1999. Computers were cool.
My early career was built in the company of great business leaders who taught me something art school never did: how to listen, how to earn trust, and how to deliver. I became a student of client service as much as craft.
Early career
Indiana University of Pennsylvania for studio arts: metals, fibers, the physical making of things. Transferred to Philadelphia University for graphic design. Spent several years as an interactive art director — deep in web, sites, tools, the architecture underneath the surface. Loved it. But missed print. Missed brand. Missed making things that lived in the physical world.
Independent
Left to go out on my own — and punched well above my weight class. Infographic campaigns for Pitney Bowes. Helped Comcast reimagine EveryBlock as a geo-local social community platform. Rearchitected the Janney Montgomery Scott intranet. Built brands for contractors, nonprofits, and startups. Volunteered as Creative Director for TEDxPhilly — Philadelphia's second TEDx event — because some things you do for the love of it.
Agency
Led UX and creative for AstraZeneca, GSK, Johnson & Johnson, Janssen. Highly regulated, deeply human work. Learned to design for real stakes — navigate legal and compliance without killing the idea. Was introduced to BJ Fogg's behavior design framework. It rewired how I think about every experience I build.
SaaS Product
Deep immersion into SaaS product. Reconnected with developer roots, but now there was a new character: the product manager. Learned sprints, story sizing, burn rates, roadmaps. Started as a contractor, worked to Senior Director, owned design strategy across a $350M product portfolio reporting to a Chief Product Officer. Earned the seat.
Deloitte
The work expanded into territory I didn't expect to love as much as I do: environmental graphics, spatial design, immersive brand experiences, AI-powered art installations for 350 executives in a hotel ballroom. The fine arts student resurfaced. She had been there the whole time — just waiting for a brief big enough to need her.
I care about how something feels to be inside it, not just how it looks from the outside. All of it — every channel, every surface, every room — has to work together. That's what I build.