Irvine, Calif., Sep 1, 2015 The education nonprofit MIND Research Institute is naming long-time colleague Michael Sepulveda to serve as Vice President of Art & Experience Design (AxD). The appointment recognizes Sepulveda’s role in building the design and user experience platform of MIND’s award-winning ST Math® education software and programming, which currently reaches nearly 1 in 3 of all students in Orange County, Calif., and more than 800,000 students nation-wide.
Joining MIND Research Institute as a graphic artist intern while an undergraduate student at University of California, Irvine, Sepulveda has grown his career alongside the then-start-up nonprofit organization. Working closely with MIND co-founder Matthew Peterson, Ph.D., he helped establish the uniquely visual design structure of the award-winning Spatial Temporal (ST) Math animated software games.
“Michael Sepulveda’s pursuit of creative excellence through design has been central to our impact on children’s learning experiences,” said Matthew Peterson, Ph.D., MIND Research Institute CEO, co-founder and senior scientist. “His art direction and leadership, combined with his deep understanding of visual learning design principles, bring about the wonderfully rich interactive environments where students want to engage, play and thrive.”
Upon graduating UC Irvine in 2002, Sepulveda joined MIND full-time, quickly assuming the lead design role for Generation 2 of the ST Math software. Generation 3 of ST Math featured his contributions to the newly released and first-ever in the industry 13-character visual password game that gives each child user their own unique password. Sepulveda’s role increasingly expanded to user experience, and in 2008 he was appointed Art Supervisor for ST Math. In 2013, he assumed the creative oversight for art and user experience design for the organization, including print, multimedia, video, web and merchandise.
“Just as I’ve “learned by doing” in my tenure at MIND, our programs allow kids to experience math as they work their way through the powerful world we’ve created,” said Sepulveda. “Our goal in creating these experiences is to boil often complex mechanics down to their essence through design, to simplify to empower, to give users – whether kids, teachers or even donors – the power to explore, discover and act.”
Most recently, Sepulveda spearheaded a re-branding effort to better align the organization’s brand with the clean yet sophisticated and elegant design of ST Math. He also oversaw the user experience and art development for MIND’s inaugural Math Fair in 2014, as well as the nonprofit’s auto-themed family math exhibit at the 4-day 2014 Orange County Auto Show.
Prior to MIND, Sepulveda worked on web design and software programming at a local manufacturing firm. A native of the San Gabriel Valley, Sepulveda received his B.A. in Sociology from University of California, Irvine.
About MIND Research Institute
MIND Research Institute is a neuroscience and education social benefit organization, dedicated to ensuring that all students are mathematically equipped to solve the world’s most challenging problems. MIND's distinctive visual approach to math and problem-solving is the basis of its innovative, research-proven ST Math® programs for elementary and secondary schools. The visually-based ST Math program has been shown to double or triple schools’ growth rates in math proficiency. MIND's programs currently reach 800,000 students and 31,000 teachers in 2,500 schools in 40 states. For more information, visit www.mindresearch.org.
For more information contact:
Abby Daniels
MIND Research Institute
949-345-8637
adaniels@mindresearch.org
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