About

Craft, then business, then clarity.

I'm Michael Edelnant, a designer who ships his own code, based in the Orlando area. I've spent twenty-some years making games and sports products: interfaces for Madden and Tiger Woods at EA, real-time data experiences at STATS, platforms for FanDuel, and a startup of my own along the way.

The through-line: I don't hand off. I design the system, then build it in React, TypeScript, or Unity, and I've led that work as a VP, a manager, and a co-founder. Most recently I spent two years teaching senior-level HCI at Full Sail University, which taught me to explain the why behind every design decision, to any audience, until it sticks.

I live in Casselberry, Florida, just north of Orlando, with roots in Chicago. Outside of work I build and fly FPV drones, print the parts I can't buy, and cook brisket low and slow.

Michael smiling with arms crossed, in a gray cap and a Chicago skyline T-shirt, under an open-air pavilion.

Winter Park, Florida

Now: Open to senior IC and design leadership roles
Base: Casselberry, FL. Remote friendly.
From: Chicago
Off the clock: FPV, 3D printing, BBQ, bowling, watches

How I work

Three habits

Show the decision, not just the screen

Every design here comes with the constraint it answered and what it traded away. That is the part a team can reuse.

Prototype in the real material

When a flow depends on timing or touch, I build it in code rather than argue about it in a mockup. It shortens the conversation with engineering.

Explain it so it sticks

Years of teaching HCI turned into a habit: if I can't make the reasoning clear to a new designer, it probably isn't done yet.

Now

Updated by hand · Sept 2026

What I am building, flying, and printing this month. The same list feeds the ticker on the home page.

Building: This site, in the open. The design system, and the CMS are part of the portfolio, not just the pages.
Open to: Senior IC and design leadership roles, remote or Orlando
Flying: Learning to fly FPV in my free time, on a pair of GEPRC DarkStar22 cinewhoops.
3D Printing: My Bambu X1C does most of the work of building out my bench, one part at a time.
Studying: Working toward FAA Part 107 certification so I can fly drones commercially.