
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
"Creating visions of a better future to inspire action."

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 has worked with clients and partners such as Adobe, Apple, Disney, McDonald’s, the NBA, Nintendo, NViDIA, and Sony among others. During his consulting career, he facilitated hundreds of hours of design thinking workshops across the globe (and online), and got certified in order to share his knowledge and mentor others.
Manuel also has a background in Haptics as a former Researcher from Immersion, where he specialized in designing multisensory immersive experiences and submitted multiple patents. The Haptic Cuff is probably his most futuristic project from 2020, as the COVID pandemic increased the desire for advanced distance human-touch experiences. He later co-founded The Haptics Club, a bi-weekly podcast about Haptic technology.
He is also the first Afro-descendant artist to officially 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 OpenAI, who recently signed a multiyear, multibillion dollar investment with 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, while inviting other Caribbean artists to showcase their collaborative work.
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
Punchcut 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

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

Case Study 3 - Native Mobile App
Banking & Financial Markets - Design System & AI - BDC
All use cases from IBM are under NDA (Non-Disclosure Agreement).
Please send a request to be able to access it.
Mobile App


Native Mobile App
Adult Industry - Native Mobile App - Mindgeek
Warning: Rest assured, there is absolutely no nudity or pornographic content. But this link may not be totally safe for work, as some of the app screenshots contain visuals that may not be appropriate in all circumstances.
Freelance Work
I'm constantly prototyping and working on new ideas, here are some of my public projects:Explore Art

Support My Work
Show me some love by tipping me a coffee or buying some merch:"Stay hungry. Stay foolish."
- Steve Jobs
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Recent events
IxD & XR Prototyping
Circuit Stream - Free Open House 2022
Bringing Haptics and Hand Tracking to the Innoactive Creator
Interhaptics - Online Webinar 2021
Smart Haptics Online
Smart Haptics - Online Conference 2020
IBM Brazil Design Chapter
IBM - Online Webinar 2020
IDF Master Class: 21st Century Design with Don Norman
IDF - Online Webinar 2020
Artist Digital Developer Day: 2020
Unity - Digital 2020
Design for Multisensory Experiences
Punchcut + Immersion - Free Live Webinar 2020
AR/VR Learning & Training
Circuitstream - Online Workshop 2020
Why XR Will Break All Rules
Nathan Lavertue at WAQ19 - Québec, Canada 2019
La Charette Art+Tech
D3 Center - Montreal, Canada 2019
Unity Unite
Los Angeles, USA 2018
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Recent Certifications
Circuit Stream
Issued Jan 2022Circuit Stream Certified XR Designer - Unity
Pragmatic institute
Issued Oct 2021PMC Level 1
Polygon Runway
Issued Jul 2021Certificate of Graduation - 3D Illustrator
Domestika
Issued May 2020Low Poly Character Modeling for Video Games
Cooper
Issued May 2020Remote Facilitation
The Interaction Design Foundation
Issued Aug. 2019How to Design for Augmented and Virtual Reality?
IBM
Issued Jul. 2019Enterprise Design Thinking - Team Essentials for AI
IBM
Issued Feb. 2019iOS Design Foundation
IBM
Issued Jul. 2018Enterprise Design Thinking Co-Creator
IBM
Issued May. 2017IBM Design Thinking Practitioner
The Interaction Design Foundation
Credential ID 65911Certificate of Membership
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Recent Reads
Irena Cronin & Robert Scoble (Forword by Steve Wozniak)
The Infinite Retina: Spatial Computing, Augmented Reality, and how a collision of new technologies are bringing about the next tech revolution
Wang Shaoqiang
Infographics: Designing & Visualizing Data
Edward R. Tufte
The Visual Display of Quantitative Information
Frank Thomas
The Illusion of Life: Disney Animation
Jean-Paul Sartre
L' Existentialisme Est Un Humanisme (essai)
Brad Frost
Atomic Design
Jeff Gothelf with Josh Seiden
Lean UX - Designing Great Products with Agile Teams
Meng To
Design + Code
Don Norman
The Design of Everyday Things
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Recent Podcasts
Haptics Podcast
Multi Platform PodcastThe Haptics Club
IxD & XR Prototyping
Open HouseCircuit Stream
Conversations Noires
ConferenceNever Was Average
Le Metavers
Youtube PodcastDebrouya Stories
Koumbit du JV
ConferenceKoumbit
XR Conversations
ClubhouseXR Family
Fireside Chat
Youtube PodcastThe Johana Riquier Show
La Guadeloupe du Futur
Twitch PodcastLe Mwakast
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.