# Tynan Purdy (@tynanpurdy.com)

Profile: https://sifa.id/p/tynanpurdy.com
Headline: Experience Designer and Techologist | Social Protocols

## About

Howdy, I’m Tynan, a recent Industrial Design graduate from Georgia Tech and lifelong ATLien. I think about systems and build experiences at the intersection of tech and people. People over platforms. My current obsession is the open social web, specifically the AT Protocol.

## Career

- **CX Designer at Cognizant Technology Solutions** (Jun 2023 - Present)
  Full-time · Remote
  $95,000 / year Established digital native ethnographic research methods, powering quick research with deep insights. Crafted worldwide growth strategy for a leading global snacking brand. Conducted UI audit for a major dining chain, highlighting UX opportunities and actionable recommendations.
- **Intern at Cognizant Technology Solutions** (Jan 2023 - May 2023)
  Remote
  $25 / hour, 10 hours / week Developed thought leadership on AI and sustainable business trends, informing client advisory strategy. Designed and developed concept UI for future contact centers using Figma to imagine future experiences. Conducted comprehensive market landscape competitive analysis informing sales strategy.
- **Student Chapter President at Industrial Designers Society of America (Idsa)** (Aug 2022 - May 2023)
  Atlanta, Georgia, US
- **Lab Mentor - Interactive Product Design Lab at Georgia Institute of Technology** (Aug 2021 - May 2023)
  Atlanta, Georgia, US
  Guide multidisciplinary students to use the resources in the lab in their interactive projects. Facilitate interactive product skills workshops for undergraduate and graduate students. Lead open-lab lecture events on tech and design to enrich the campus design community.
- **Fellow at University Innovation Fellows** (Oct 2020 - May 2023)
  University Innovation Fellows is a global program that empowers student leaders to increase campus engagement with innovation, entrepreneurship, creativity and design thinking.
- **Industrial Designer - Design Bloc at Georgia Tech** (Aug 2020 - May 2023)
  Atlanta, Georgia, US · On-site
  $12 / hour, 10 hours / week Teach students and faculty design thinking to implement design in their professions. Assist teaching service design in community co-design course. Co-designed community brand for the Historic Hunter Hills neighborhood.
- **Associate Intern - Enterprise Engineering at Cognizant** (Jun 2022 - Jul 2022)
  Plano, Texas, US
  $25 / hour, full time Collaborated with full stack software engineers to create working software prototypes Used Figma and other design tools to create and present high-fidelity designs Conducted user research and usability testing to inform design decisions
- **Research Assistant - CoDeCraft Group at Georgia Institute of Technology** (Aug 2021 - Dec 2021)
  Atlanta, Georgia, US
  Develop applications for new kirigami prototyping technique Rapid prototype with laser cut materials Document experimentation in peer reviewed paper
- **Undergraduate Research Assistant - SimTigrate Design Lab at Georgia Institute of Technology** (Aug 2019 - Dec 2019)
  Atlanta
  $15 / hour, 10 hours / week To assist the lab in transitioning to a larger operating team structure, I designed the lab's IT infrastructure process, encompassing team communication, task management, and document storage. I conducted user research on the faculty members and student employees, analyzed options for available tools against the values expressed in user research and produced a proposal for a complete system.
- **Student Intern - GTRI CIPHER at Georgia Tech Research Institute** (Jun 2019 - Jul 2019)
  On-site
  I worked under Dr. Ruiz in the Cybersecurity, Information Protection, and Hardware Evaluation Research Laboratory of GTRI on a sensor fusion security system. I participated mainly in the design and prototyping of pressure-sensitive floor tiles based on piezoelectric resistance. Working with a group of undergraduate students and other high school interns, we were able to develop the tiles from a basic, single tile prototype to a full-size, functioning grid.
- **Student Intern - GTRI ATAS at Georgia Tech Research Institute** (Jun 2019 - Jul 2019)
  On-site
  I worked as a student intern at the GTRI Aerospace Transportation & Advanced Systems Laboratory under Dr. Ai-Ping Hu. My project was a continuation of work done by Dr. Hu's students on a microcontroller-based device that detected the ripeness of blueberries based on near-infrared spectroscopy. I was tasked with advancing the device and its technology from a proof of concept to a completed prototype. By the end of the internship, I had improved the performance of the custom sensor and significantly miniaturized the device.
- **Chief Executive Officer at Fernbank LINKS Robotics** (Aug 2015 - Jul 2019)
  Atlanta
  I was a key team member and leader of Fernbank LINKS Robotics, one of the best high school robotics programs in Georgia. My experiences on the team range from photographing events, managing social media, producing video, managing team communications, to team leadership.
  
  The team competes in the FIRST Robotics Competition as team 4468. I have traveled with the team to the state and world championship for the two years I have been on the team. Team 4468 is renowned in Georgia and is considered among the best teams in the state.

## Skills

### Technical
- Arduino
- Autodesk Fusion 360
- Computer-Aided Design (CAD)
- Onshape
- SolidWorks
### Business
- Project Management
- Social Media
### Creative
- Branding
- Design
- Design Research
- Design Thinking
- Graphic Design
- Interaction Design
- Logo Design
- Origami
- Photography
- Product Design
- Rapid Prototyping
- Sketching
- UI
- User Experience Design (UED)
- User Interface Design
- UX Research
- Web Content Writing
### Interpersonal
- Communication
- Leadership
- Presentations
- Problem Solving
- Public Speaking

## Projects

- **Historic Hunter Hills Branding Project** (Feb 2020 - May 2022)
  Created a brand book for the community Researched residents by interviews, walk-arounds Designed brand elements from brand imperatives

## Talks & sessions

### [Affordances of the Atmosphere](https://sifa.id/p/tynanpurdy.com/talk/affordances-of-the-atmosphere-3mqddclqdbk22)
_10 min_

## Publications

- Currents.is, an image clipper — kast.pckt.blog (Jul 2026) https://kast.pckt.blog/currentsis-an-image-clipper-d89d23r
- Welcome to Kast — kast.pckt.blog (Jul 2026) https://kast.pckt.blog/welcome-to-kast-wg8k64p
- Dither Garden - Professional Image Dithering Tool — linkblogs.skyreader.app (Jul 2026) https://linkblogs.skyreader.app/did:plc:6ayddqghxhciedbaofoxkcbs/ms3c5acu6fbojfotm1
- Lexidraw, an Excalidraw fork where your drawings follow you — linkblogs.skyreader.app (Jul 2026) https://linkblogs.skyreader.app/did:plc:6ayddqghxhciedbaofoxkcbs/ms3a6770fizf4qrd1y
- Continue reading on Unthread (Jul 2026)
- "Save for Later" Has No Later — linkblogs.skyreader.app (Jul 2026) https://linkblogs.skyreader.app/did:plc:6ayddqghxhciedbaofoxkcbs/mrfpqftszdrlg6afqv
- ATmentions — linkblogs.skyreader.app (Jun 2026) https://linkblogs.skyreader.app/did:plc:6ayddqghxhciedbaofoxkcbs/mqv4jlo6yggypaxnpy
- Affordances of the Atmosphere — blog.tynanpurdy.com (May 2026) https://blog.tynanpurdy.com/3mktbnonld22p
- Continue reading on Unthread (Apr 2026)
- Dive into research resources (Apr 2026)
- A week of firsts — tynanistyping.offprint.app (Apr 2026) https://tynanistyping.offprint.app/a/3mih3ccd6nj23-a-week-of-firsts
- I Do Not Accept Your TOS — blog.tynanpurdy.com (Jan 2026) https://blog.tynanpurdy.com/3mcy6s6xz7c2q
- Publishing on the ATmosphere — tynanistyping.offprint.app (Jan 2026) https://tynanistyping.offprint.app/a/3mcsvjjceei23-publishing-on-the-atmosphere
- ATproto facilitates competition — blog.tynanpurdy.com (Nov 2025) https://blog.tynanpurdy.com/3m633mffwvc2f
- A Feed from the Future — blog.tynanpurdy.com (Oct 2025) https://blog.tynanpurdy.com/3m2p274bfqk2i
- Tynan Uses — blog.tynanpurdy.com (Sep 2025) https://blog.tynanpurdy.com/3lzways66yk25
- There's An @pp For That — blog.tynanpurdy.com (Sep 2025) https://blog.tynanpurdy.com/3lxxu7bf4xk2s
- Hacking on Bookmarks — blog.tynanpurdy.com (Sep 2025) https://blog.tynanpurdy.com/3lxvjs2pnj22i
- A running list of ATproto ideas  — blog.tynanpurdy.com (Aug 2025) https://blog.tynanpurdy.com/3lwgzk2ovnk2c
- Yet Another New Website (eventually) — blog.tynanpurdy.com (Aug 2025) https://blog.tynanpurdy.com/3lx3ylippms23
- Blogging directly on ATproto — blog.tynanpurdy.com (Jun 2025) https://blog.tynanpurdy.com/3lrqutyhv6s2w
- I made the write with rhythm picture real — blog.tynanpurdy.com (Feb 2025) https://blog.tynanpurdy.com/3lxbezeipjs2v

## Credentials

- Figma UX UI Design Essentials — Udemy (Aug 2023) https://www.udemy.com/certificate/UC-65310bb9-6bc9-4f67-85dc-dc7183e881b9/
- Generative AI with Vertex AI: Text Prompt Design — Google Cloud Skills Boost for Partners (Jul 2023) https://partner.cloudskillsboost.google/public_profiles/6a495c84-dd69-4cbb-bfff-ff4e93a58db2/badges/4350413?utm_medium=social&utm_source=linkedin&utm_campaign=ql-social-share
- Notion Essentials Badge — Notion (Jun 2023) https://www.credly.com/badges/4f57fad4-21e0-4df9-a088-6569b9b66791/linked_in_profile
- Bachelor of Science in Industrial Design — Georgia Institute of Technology (May 2023) https://www.parchment.com/u/award/e55fd11c57f8720b051f1f0a9894286f
- Social / Behavioral Research Investigators and Key Personnel — CITI Program, A Division of BRANY (Sep 2019) https://www.citiprogram.org/verify/?wba19cf3a-3225-4aac-8654-9b32bea7d641-32920664
- Responsible Conduct of Research — CITI Program, A Division of BRANY (Aug 2019) http://www.citiprogram.org/verify/?wdec5ac90-d7cb-4217-9964-3bd949327491-32920665

## Education

- **Georgia Institute of Technology** — Bachelor of Science - BS, Industrial Design (Jan 2019 - Jan 2023)
  Activities & Societies: Industrial Designers Society of America
  Interactive Product Design Lab
  Design Bloc
- **Druid Hills High School** — International Baccalaureate Diploma (2016 - 2019)

## Awards

- Student Leadership and Excellence Award — Georgia Tech School of Industrial Design (May 2023)
  This award recognizes outstanding students who support the ID program.

## Involvement

### Volunteering
- Ecosystem Action Research (Jan 2026 - Present)
  Founding Contributor
- Atproto Boston (Nov 2025 - Present)
  Lead Organizer
- Lobstah Bots (Feb 2024 - Present)
  Mentor

## Languages

- English (native)
- Spanish (elementary)

## Links

- YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@tynanpurdy
- activitypub: https://mastodon.social/@tynanpurdy
- instagram: https://www.instagram.com/tynanpurdy/
- github: https://github.com/tynanpurdy
- linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tynanpurdy