Michael O’Riordan




Hi, I’m Mikey. 

I’m a designer, researcher, and storyteller who turns complex ideas into simple, meaningful experiences. I love working with curious people who challenge norms and use design to make things smarter, kinder, and more human, with a growing focus on teaching, creative education, and game development.

hello@michaeloriordan.net



Brand Design & Strategy
Everything Else
CV

Download PDF


Education
Maynooth University
MSc. Design Innovation
2023–2025

Technological University of the Shannon
BA (Hons) Graphic & Digital Design
First Class Honours
2017–2018
Student of the Year

Technological University of the Shannon
BA Graphic Design
First Class Honours
2014–2017
Student of the Year

Art & Design Portfolio
Moate Business College
2013–2014


ExperienceMinerva University
Interim Design Director & Senior Manager, Brand Experience & Strategy
2023 - 2025

Maynooth University
Lecturing
2025

Entrepreneur First
Brand & Creative Consultant
2022 - 2023

Minerva Project
Designer
2019 - 2022

Freelance Consulting
2014 - Present




Skillset
Adobe Creative Cloud
Figma
Webflow
FigJam
HTML & CSS familiarity

Brand Identity & Strategy
Marketing & Communications Strategy
Digital Marketing
Enrollment Strategy & Marketing
Digital Content Creation
Video Direction & Editing
Motion Graphics 
Editorial Design
Print & Packaging Design
Web Design
Logo Design
Product Design
Service Design
UI & Visual Design
UX Research
Experience Design
Art & Creative Direction
Storytelling & Narrative Design
Visual Communication
Design System Building & Management
Typography

Design Thinking
Global Team Management
Workshop Facilitation
Mentorship & Teaching




AchievementsMinerva University ranked #1 Most Innovative University in the World for four consecutive years (2022-2025) by WURI.

Minerva University placed in WURI’s Top 20 globally for University Brand & Reputation in 2025.

Featured in 100 Archive: 
“In With the New”

Student of the Year in 2017 & 2018

Featured twice in Design Research Society’s “Best of Emerging Irish Design” (2018) for the project Rec’d and Ryan Hoey’s ZINEGIRLZ









Minerva University Application
Higher Ed & EdTech
2025

Improving the conversion efficacy of Minerva University’s unique and challenging application system.

Background Minerva University is a private, non-profit, U.S.-accredited institution headquartered in San Francisco that re-imagines higher education through a globally mobile, interdisciplinary and project-based model. Students engage in seminar-style learning via a proprietary virtual platform, live and study in multiple world-cities over their undergraduate years, and focus on developing critical thinking, communication and intercultural leadership skills rather than rote content.


ChallengeIn the shifting landscape of US Higher Education, attracting students from all around the globe to attend university in America is a difficult task. Thate and the added complexity of Minerva University’s robust application process and highly selective standards means that it can feel like a massive mountain lies ahead of students trying to attend MU.

My task was to understand the context, the experience, the goals, the challenges, and the outcomes of the MU undergraduate application process. Then recommend, design, and deliver a wide suite of innovations aimed at increasing the conversion rate from application start to application complete without compromising on the academic bar set by MU leadership.


Solution So far, the results have been tremendously successful. In a year where top of funnel app starts are down by 25%, the conversion rate of the application is up 76%. 

It’s difficult to explain all of the changes made to the application without giving away much of the application itself. Broadly, I can say that I recommended a series of changes and recommendations for future changes including, but not limited to, the following:

  • Condensing Part 1 into one simple form
  • Completely refreshing the look and feel of the application
  • Seriously overhauling hierarchy and language to be more informative and supportive
  • Gamification of the application
  • Make design accessible
  • Making the Challenges section more transparent in terms of expectations and time required
  • Increased reporting of applicant progress into MU database
  • Change the description of ‘Final Details’ to ‘Official Documents & Information’
  • Normalized structure of many sections to reduce cognitive load
  • Recommended application from more browsers and from more places globally
  • Overhauled the post-submission landing page to keep applicant engagement high
  • Better signposting of important dates and information
  • Improved wayfinding
  • Card sorting & re-organisation of many mandatory requirements in the application
  • Implemented a ‘more info’ hover structure that reduced the amount of text on screen
  • Recommended robust surveys for people who just completed the application



Results +76% Increase in application completion rates in the first application cycle. 
(November 1 2025) TBD application completion rates in the second application cycle. (January 13 2026) TBD application completion rates in the third application cycle. (February 24 2026)


Problem Statement Users are sharply dropping off during Minerva University‘s application process, which limits MU’s ability to build cohorts and sustain a robust student population. With MU’s strategic goal being to grow student population, it’s imperative that the application user experience feels seamless, engaging, and above all, valuable to the potential new student.


Research

 Process The process started with me holding semi-structured interviews with members of the Admissions team, the Enrollment team, and the Financial Aid team. They all gave me a grounding in the problems they have to help potential students solve every day. I also informally spoke with students who had recently completed the application. I asked people to speak candidly, and share their own vision for how the process might be better. 

After going through a thematic analysis process, this work gave me an excellent lens to view the application through before I went through the application process myself.


Personal Experience I undertook the application process, taking notes on everything that annoyed me, or felt wrong, confused me, or were less than impactful. I recorded myself undertaking many of the parts of the application using a ‘thinking out loud approach’ that let me fully engage with the application without needing to break the flow to take notes.

There were so many deeply frustrating parts of the experience I began to understand the steep drop-off.


Insights & FindingsApart from the UI and accesibility problems, the flow felt stressful. I had no idea how I was performing in the Challenges portion, nor how long was left in the application. It took me a few hours to complete the whole thing, with 30 minutes spent working out why the proctoring software was stopping me from using my webcam (some parts of the app are recorded). It was frustrating being able to start the application on my mobile phone but having to continue it on desktop.

In short, many aspects of the application made me feel like quitting and despite it being my job to continue the application. It must have felt ten times more stressful for a young student who may be worried that poor performance on the application would have a material effect on their own academic future.



Design

User Interface Refresh
 What follows are examples of the UI before and after the refresh process. One would need to take the application itself to get a full sense of the user experience.



Live User Testing & FeedbackThe results speak for themselves. The application conversion efficacy has boomed. I’ll reach out to members of the team to hear feedback from the surveys in late November 2025.


Innovation FundingMU has recently secured funding to further innovate and develop the application process. I’ll follow the innovation intently as it progress and hope that it further improves the experience of the application.