
Hi, I'm
Manuel Sainsily
Futurist, XR Design Manager @ Unity.com, Caribbean Artist Based in Montreal, Podcast Founder @ TheHapticsClub.com, Previously XR Design Lead @ IBM.com
Start With Why
"Imagining visions of a better future to inspire innovation."

Manuel Sainsily is a futurist with over a decade of expertise in emerging technologies such as mixed reality, haptics, computer vision, and artificial intelligence.
A little bit of background...

As a multi-disciplinary artist born in the French archipelago of Guadeloupe in the Caribbean, Manuel cares deeply about Ethics, Diversity & Inclusion, and Ecology. He graduated in 2013 with a Master of Science in Computer Science and became a Canadian citizen in 2021.
Since then, Manuel has been managing a team of about ten Product Designers at Unity Montreal, where they apply human-centred design methodologies to create experiences that improve the lives of billions of people.
Before that, he led the XR Design Department of Canada for more than 2 years at IBM, and was a certified Design Thinking facilitator who worked with clients and partners such as Adobe, Apple, Disney, McDonald’s, the NBA, Nintendo, NViDIA, and Sony among others.
Manuel also has a background in Haptics as a former Researcher from Immersion, where he specialized in designing multisensory immersive products such as the Haptic Cuff. He later co-founded The Haptics Club, a bi-weekly podcast about Haptic technology.
He is also the first Caribbean artist to collaborate with OpenAI, who recently signed a multiyear, multibillion dollar investment with Microsoft to accelerate AI breakthroughs worldwide. He was featured in international tech press for his work using Dall-E 2, including Fast Company, The Guardian, and more. They helped sponsor the launch of his museum exhibition “Caribéanofuturisme”, which happened the day after ChatGPT was released publicly. Manuel introduced this cutting-edge technology on stage in front of a live audience of a thousand people.
Less than two weeks later, Manuel was invited to New-York City by Meta to showcase his art at the prestigious World Trade Center Oculus gallery, and to advise the company on their future endeavors in the AR and VR industry.
Today, he shares his knowledge by advising leading tech companies, speaking at conferences, providing coaching services, and creating educational content on social media.
Case Studies & Ongoing Projects
Career Projects
Here is a non-exhaustive list of projects I had the opportunity to lead or contribute to as a Product Designer:
Haptic Technology


Case Study 1 - Immersion 5G Haptic Cuff
- 2019Punchcut and Immersion partnered to conceptualize and prototype the Haptic Cuff: the most advanced distance, human-touch experience.
The Haptic Cuff is a 5G-enabled device packed full of advanced haptic technology with high-fidelity vibration actuators, thermal elements, and a squeeze actuator.
The recording from the webinar Design for Multisensory Experiences that we did with Punchcut is now available here.
We covered design guidelines and case studies for voice, spatial, and tactile interaction, as applied to home assistants, the Spatial Web, wearables, and automotive.

Case Study 2 - Immersion Touchscreen Auto Console
Made with TDK's PowerHap Piezo and Immersion's Active Sensing Technology.
Haptic Technology made by Immersion creates touch feedback on touchscreens and other automotive surfaces.
Haptics adds interactive feedback making the user experience easier to use, intuitive and helpful.
This demo is built with Immersion's Active Sensing Technology and TDK's PowerHap Piezo Actuator.
Digital Transformations


Case Study 1 - Augmented Reality App
Telecomunications, Media & Entertainment - Augmented Reality - COX - 2019

Case Study 2 - Digital Transformation
Public Services - Digital Transformation & Design System - SAAQ - 2017

Case Study 3 - Native Mobile App
Banking & Financial Markets - Design System & AI - BDC - 2019
All use cases from IBM are under NDA (Non-Disclosure Agreement).
Please send a request to be able to access it.
Public Projects
I'm constantly prototyping and working on new ideas. Let's dive into some of my public projects:Learn More


Caribéanofuturisme
Caribéanofuturisme is a future-oriented, nomadic exhibition that utilizes multi-platform, immersive experiences, including both traditional and digital elements such as mixed reality and artificial intelligence, as well as performances that blend history and futurism, to help us explore the pathways towards a new global ideal: “The Relation”.
ChatGPT was publicly released the evening before the opening night. I decided to update my Dall-E (text-to-image AI generator) live demo that was already prepared to include this ground breaking technology and introduce it to my audience before the rest of the world would even hear about it. I used it to write a poem that highlights the water problems in the Caribbean, and also to generate prompts for our live AI Art co-creation workshop I facilitated during the event.

Caribéanofuturisme
I was selected by Meta amongst 30 talented AR creators to visit their New-York City headquarters, and they surprised us by showcasing our art at the World Trade Center Oculus Gallery (designed by Santiago Calatrava after 9/11).
For the occasion, I created the first ever haptic filter on Instagram using OpenAI Dall-E and Meta Spark.
As a French Caribbean, having the opportunity to put Guadeloupe islands on the map and being part of this diverse community means the world to me, and having my work showcased in this historical place was truly unique.
Educational Content
I love sharing my expertise with individuals and companies through 1-on-1 coaching, workshop facilitation, and by creating educational content on social media:Human-Centred Design Methodology
A 3-Step Process
Humans are at the core of the reflexion, and the goal is to design from their perspective to find innovative, adaptive & unexpected solutions to meet their needs.
It's a creative approach to problem solving.
Here is the simple 3-step process I follow during my ideation workshops:

Imagination
Research & Empathise
• Explore users journeys
• Frame design challenge
• Identify needs & biases
• Validate assumptions

Inspiration
Diverge & Converge
• Align on intent
• Share inspiring stories
• Brainstorm wild ideas
• Co-create insights

Innovation
Plan & Prototype
• Define roadmap
• Build partnerships
• Implement feedback
• Measure success
Education & Work Experiences
Diplomas:
Master of Science in Computer Science
Obtained @ SUPINFO Montreal (Canada).
Bachelor of Science in Computer Science
Obtained @ SUPINFO Guadeloupe (France).
You can also access a list of all my certifications here.
Testimonials
Clients & Partners
Here is a non-exhaustive list of clients, partners and companies I've had the opportunity to work with during the past decade. Access the testimonials page via the button below to browse all recommandations received from past collaborators, managers and people I've mentored.
