About
I grew up wanting to illustrate children's books — the painted kind, with stories that didn't talk down to kids. Fine Arts pulled me sideways, photography pulled me further, and I spent a few years shooting weddings until someone stole my camera gear. I took it as a reason to stop chasing tools and start chasing problems. Design is where I landed, eight years ago and still here.
I've spent those years on products in education, healthcare, and nonprofits, building for the people most software forgets. Somewhere in there I realized the work was never really about screens. It's about how people feel: the person using the thing, and the team in the room making it.
I'm an optimist, and I've come to believe optimism is a design tool. It's how you get people to believe a better version is possible, then go build it. AI can make the screens now. I'm here for the part it can't.
Most recently that meant leading design at Velora: merging Keela, Raisely, and Aplos into one shared platform. I came in to build the design practice and the system from scratch, which is my favorite kind of problem.
On the name
My Korean name is Sung Mook. Over time it became mooque, a contraction I've worn long enough that it's mine now. Something between a handle and a brand. Easy to remember, hard to place, which felt right for someone who doesn't fit neatly into a single box.
The email is ncsstyco, short for Necessity Company. The idea is straightforward: good work should create genuine necessity, not manufactured urgency. I've spent eight years building for nonprofits, schools, and healthcare. Places where software failing isn't just an inconvenience. That shapes how I think about what's worth making. Purpose over profit, not the other way around.
Outside of Work
The best ideas I've had at work came from somewhere else entirely.
Food & people
My family are the cooks. I grew up around chefs and home cooks, musicians and artists. That world is where most of my real inspiration comes from: the improvisation, the care about detail, the way something has to earn its place. That curiosity about food and technology eventually led me to collaborate on an AI-powered recipe app built around conversational design.
Paint & a camera
I trained in illustration, watercolour, and oil painting, and shot weddings on the side before design took over. I still pick up a brush when I can, and I've helped emerging artists build visual identities of their own.
Running & a stage
I started running just before COVID and ran a half-marathon on my birthday, fundraising for SickKids Hospital. And in August 2026 I'll be on stage. I joined a 40-person amateur musical, somewhere well outside my comfort zone. Optimism in practice, I suppose.
A daily streak
I've done French on Duolingo every day since December 2020. In 2026 I'm finally trading the streak for real language school. I also write about what I'm working through: systems, adoption without authority, design after an acquisition.
I'm currently open to Staff and Principal design roles, particularly where design systems, working across product and engineering, or 0→1 platform work is at the center. If you're building something interesting, I'd love to talk.