About Me

I’m Nicole Brennan, a Senior Product Designer and Board-Certified Cognitive Specialist with two decades of experience designing systems that serve real people—and actually work.

Currently at Harvard’s Applied Social Media Lab, I design AI-mediated experiences for deliberative platforms, including Personality Lab, a framework I built to create and measure distinct AI personas for civic research environments. My work focuses on behavioral design, AI ethics, and human interaction design: how people engage with AI participants, what makes that engagement trustworthy, and how you build systems that measure what actually matters.

Before Harvard, I built products used by millions—from federal platforms like USA.gov, Vote.gov, and Search.gov to private-sector tools in energy, education, and finance. That work spans a full redesign of the government’s digital front door, voter registration workflows, personalized energy reports, mobile banking apps, and online learning platforms. I specialize in untangling complexity and turning it into intuitive, inclusive, and scalable solutions.

I don’t just check boxes. I design for cognitive load, trauma-informed use, and real-world messiness—because good design works for everyone, not just the default user. That means leading cross-functional teams, scaling design systems, conducting research with assistive tech users, mentoring emerging designers, and shaping inclusive practices that prioritize long-term impact over trend.

Outside of work, I explore the same ideas through gardening, community clubs, fine arts and photography—clarity, connection, and how people make sense of the world.

Let’s build something usable, honest, and worth someone’s time.