Hello

Thank you for visiting.

My name is Mustafa Alami, and I am a designer. I began my studies in finance, but was ultimately drawn to the intersection of business, art, and technology. That path led me through interactive multimedia, motion graphics, and video production, and eventually into UX and product design.

I often entered new fields without formal credentials, guided instead by curiosity, rigor, and a deep commitment to learning. I researched, synthesized, defined direction, and led. Over time, I recognized that my strength lies in seeing the larger system - connecting disparate ideas, framing the right problems, and creating clarity that teams can move forward with.

My process begins with questions and sketching: mapping research, visualizing challenges, and exploring possible paths. That same sketchbook fuels my illustration practice, where observations become prints, paintings, and cards.

I'm drawn to solutions that do more than one thing - like an X-beam, where intersecting elements create both strength and elegance. I work at the intersection of creativity, technology, critical thinking, constraint, and human empathy.

Today, my practice is expanding beyond the screen as I study architecture and industrial design, carrying forward the same focus on systems, structure, and human impact.

Experience

malami.com: UX Design Consulting

Principal Designer

San Francisco, CA : 7/2014 - Current

I help companies turn complex product ideas into clear, usable applications. I gravitate toward dense, data-heavy tools where the experience must be productive. Working from product vision through rapid prototyping and usability testing, I've led the design of more than 30 enterprise and startup applications across finance, real estate, analytics, customer support, and AI-driven workflows. I'm typically brought in to create alignment - defining the experience strategy, mentoring teams, and guiding products from concept to launch. My work is rooted in human impact: reducing friction, increasing clarity, and making the systems people rely on every day feel simple, fast, smart, and delightful.

numyum.com: Stories & Art

Illustrator & Author

San Francisco, CA : 7/2014 - Current

I founded numyum as an illustration and storytelling practice, creating a line of art cards sold wholesale in retail stores and writing and illustrating the Rabbit's Wit & Bird's Wisdom series. My work spans painting, print, and exhibition, with a focus on simple, expressive visuals that communicate warmth, humor, and clarity. The practice extends my product thinking into physical form - taking ideas from concept through making, packaging, distribution, and direct customer connection.

Salesforce.com

Principal Designer

San Francisco, CA : 2/2010 - 5/2014

Head of Service Cloud UX

As Head of Service Cloud UX, I shaped the experience strategy for a product line representing a significant portion of Salesforce's revenue. I built and mentored a team of product designers and defined a clear vision for a multi-channel agent workspace that unified phone, email, chat, and knowledge into a single, coherent system. The role required aligning executives, product, and engineering around next-generation initiatives - pitching, securing funding, and guiding programs from concept through delivery.

Principal Interaction Designer

In this role I focused on future-looking efforts across the platform. I led the design of Service Cloud Communities, extending support into a collaborative, customer-facing Q&A experience, and designed the iPad experience for Salesforce, the New Account Feed, Big Screen UX, a cohesive Help system, mDeck, and Make My Day. In parallel, I mentored designers across multiple product clouds and created UX evaluation frameworks that raised the quality and consistency of design decisions across the organization.

Oracle Corporation

Design & Product Director

Redwood Shores, CA : 2010 - 2010

Think.com & ThinkQuest.org

I defined product direction for Oracle's online learning platforms, creating social tools that enabled middle school students around the world to create, communicate, and collaborate. The work combined product strategy, interaction design, and organizational leadership - building and mentoring a multidisciplinary design team while aligning executives, educators, and partners around a shared vision.

New Internet Computer (NIC)

I led the interaction, visual, and brand experience for the Linux-based Internet appliance. The role required defining the end-to-end experience across hardware, software, and identity, and evangelizing the vision to executives, teams, and external partners. This work established my foundation in designing cohesive systems- where product, platform, and brand operate as a single, integrated experience.

Team Video International

Art Director - Head of Design & Animation

Washington, DC: 1997 - 2000

I established and led the design and animation department, defining the visual language and production workflow for motion graphics created for national broadcast clients including BBC America, TLC, Discovery, PBS, NBC, and ABC. My role spanned art direction, animation, and editorial, carrying projects from concept through final delivery. This work earned an Emmy nomination in 2000 and formed the foundation of my approach to design as a blend of storytelling, systems thinking, and end-to-end making.