AZL.HOME

Thanks for stopping by my corner of the internet. Here's a bit 'bout me.

1. professional bio
2. Grandma-friendly bio
3. intergenerational bio

1. My name is Aaron Z. Lewis. I'm designing digital products and writing about the feedback loops between our media ecology, our psyches, and our culture. I studied cognitive psychology and computer science at Yale and dabbled in political philosophy on the side. I've worked as an interface designer for Hillary Clinton's 2016 presidential campaign, Uber, and various small startups. I've also spent some time as a ghost writer for the Illinois State Treasurer and as a Design Fellow at Kleiner Perkins and True Ventures. In a past life, I was a professional classical guitarist and one-half of the award winning Lewis Duo. Now I'm focused on X-raying the media environments we take for granted and making the familiar feel new again. If you want me to keep you posted, sign up for every-once-in-a-while emails about my writings and rabbit holes.

2. Dear Grandma, glad you made it here. I know it's kind of hard to understand what I do all day, so here's the gist: I'm basically the person in charge of making sure that your computer programs and web sites are easy to use. My kind of design is sort of like your quilting process, but on a screen — moving shapes around until everything fits just right.
   
   I also write things that get read by random strangers on the internet. Most of my articles are about how modern technology is changing the way we relate to each other and to the world. But sometimes I look back on the effects of inventions that were introduced back in your day: radio, TV, telegraph (just kidding, you're not *that* old). It boggles my mind to think about how many media revolutions you've experienced over the last few decades. This one can be disorienting at times, but let's figure out how to navigate it together.

3. I often get asked where I'm from. Like, where I'm from from. I'm the product of a very unlikely mash-up of cultures and religious traditions. My grandpa was a child of the Deep South who traveled to New York at a young age and became the first black UPS driver in the state. My grandma ran her own beauty shop. On the other side of the family, my grandparents were Russian Jews who owned a furniture store in downtown Chicago. My parents found each other in spite of their very different upbringings and brought me into the world. For my whole life, I've been straddling cultural boundaries and trying to integrate traditions that don't often find themselves in the same body. Black, white, Christian, Jewish, queer — I am all of these things and a whole lot more. My hope is to translate between these worlds, help them understand each other, and begin cultivating communities of care.