14 years in the game.

I'm Kayel McCraw, a designer based in Brisbane, Australia. I design products, brands, and whatever else I can get my hands on.

I've spent the last seven years at Clipchamp, Microsoft, working across product, brand, 3D, motion, and now AI. Growing up I was making films in Microsoft Movie Maker, so working on the product that eventually replaced it felt like a real full circle moment.

I've always been drawn to design. When I was younger I didn't realise it could be a job. It felt more like an art form – the care, consideration, and thinking that went into it, whether it be a product, or a game, or an animation. It’s given me appreciation for the thinking behind the work. Why something is the way it is, not just how it looks. Do the decisions have reason? Does it hold up when you zoom out?

I think the best design disappears, like a film where you forget you're watching a screen. A pen you don't notice until the ink runs out. An app that just feels right. I want to make things people use without thinking and miss when they're gone.

I'm currently exploring game development. It's a medium where design, sound, storytelling, and systems all have to come together to make something great. Photography is another constant, feeding into a deeper love for cinematography and film.

Technology's rapid evolution is continually creating new design challenges. Design needs to be more engaging, more authentic, and increasingly more accessible. That's what makes this work so exciting.

I like working with people who care. People who push back, ask hard questions, challenge whats been done, that's when the work gets good.