Burn the old playbook*
Burn the old playbook*
Burn the old playbook*
What we build shapes how we live.
Speaker on AI, behavioral science, and designing products that make people more capable, not just more engaged.
What we build shapes how we live. So let’s stop building bullshit.
Hi, I'm Melinda. 👋
Hi, I'm Melinda. 👋
I'm a lifelong nerd who combined a love of games with a fascination for how people actually behave into 15+ years building, advising, and leading at early-stage venture-backed companies.
I have collaborated with global organizations such as Aegon, Elsevier, and Rituals, contributed to Interreg initiatives, advised the European Commission and Goethe-Institut, and serve on the advisory board of the SXSW Pitch competition.
As one of the early voices in gamification, I've become a globally trusted authority on behavior and technology, with multiple awards including two Red Dot Awards. The work hasn't changed: designing for real capability, not manipulation. The technology has. Now I bring that lens to AI.
I'm a lifelong nerd who combined a love of games with a fascination for how people actually behave into 15+ years building, advising, and leading at early-stage venture-backed companies.
I have collaborated with global organizations such as Aegon, Elsevier, and Rituals, contributed to Interreg initiatives, advised the European Commission and Goethe-Institut, and serve on the advisory board of the SXSW Pitch competition.
As one of the early voices in gamification, I've become a globally trusted authority on behavior and technology, with multiple awards including two Red Dot Awards. The work hasn't changed: designing for real capability, not manipulation. The technology has. Now I bring that lens to AI.
I want to disrupt the defaults to build what’s next.
I want to disrupt the defaults to build what’s next.
Talks that change how your audience thinks, not just what they think about.
I speak on what happens to people when systems are designed without them in mind, what AI is doing to attention, capability, and trust, and what builders should do instead. Gamification was the early version of this question. AI is the current one.
I've appeared at SXSW, HATCH, World Usability Day, Gamification World, and 50+ events worldwide, and been featured by BBC, Sprout, and PAGE.
I speak on what happens to people when systems are designed without them in mind, what AI is doing to attention, capability, and trust, and what builders should do instead. Gamification was the early version of this question. AI is the current one.
I've appeared at SXSW, HATCH, World Usability Day, Gamification World, and 50+ events worldwide, and been featured by BBC, Sprout, and PAGE.
Past Talks
Past Talks
Years of asking the same question gamification was asking, now sharper, because the stakes with AI are bigger.
From Cheat Codes to Conscious Choices
World Usability Day Estonia 2023
Where's the line between motivating people and manipulating them and what happens when designers don't know the difference?
Where's the line between motivating people and manipulating them and what happens when designers don't know the difference?
Where's the line between motivating people and manipulating them and what happens when designers don't know the difference?
The Danger of Gaming
the System
The Danger of Gaming the System
HATCH Conference 2022
Why designing for engagement without understanding the system underneath it is the most dangerous thing a designer can do.
Why designing for engagement without understanding the system underneath it is the most dangerous thing a designer can do.
UX & Gamification: The Big Picture
Gamification Europe 2019
Why UX, narrative, and gamification belong in the same conversation, and what happens when designers don't realise they already are.
Why UX, narrative, and gamification belong in the same conversation, and what happens when designers don't realise they already are.
Why UX, narrative, and gamification belong in the same conversation, and what happens when designers don't realise they already are.
Achievement Unlocked! Gamification Best Practices
The Danger of Gaming the System
Gamification World 2016
What is at the core of good gamification and why does gamification not really exist?
What is at the core of good gamification and why does gamification not really exist?
