Born in São Paulo in the mid 50s, Michael took an early interest in photography and painting (as student of japanese-brazilian painter Joji Kussunoki). His work reflected a deep fascination about the variety of colors, textures and shapes found in nature. He went on to a PhD and 15-year long career as a biologist, teaching and doing field research on insect-plant interactions in the Amazon and in the savanna-like brazilian Cerrado.
In the early 90s Michael went to the USA and recycled himself as a designer. He attended the Art Center College of Design in Pasadena, and afterwards graduated from Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh with a Master's in Interaction Design.
Michael has worked as interaction designer for companies such as Oracle, Nortel and Informatica; he has lived in several countries and cities with his wife and 2 daughters, including Ottawa, Reading (UK) and Barcelona - where he taught design for 5 years and did research (on information in public spaces) for the European Comission.
Michael currently lives with his wife and their two cats in San Jose, California.