The Guy Designing Google’s Modular Phone Just Left

Google’s modular phone, known as Project Ara, is showing real promise. We’ve seen a brief design overview, heard all about the concepts and even seen it working here and there. So why is the head of the head of design for the project leaving?

His name is Dan Makoski, and he’s been instrumental on the modular phone project ever since Google brought the Phonebloks crew on-board for a collaboration. Makoski has also reportedly worked on Google’s devices business, specifically the Motorola Moto X during its brief time with the web giant. He certainly knows how to build something eye-catching in that case.

Makoski announced on his blog that he’d be leaving the team for greener pastures over at an American finance institution, CapitalOne:

Today is my last day at Google.

Starting tomorrow, there will be no more free lunches, subsidized massages, weekly company meetings, ringing colorful bicycle bells, or working with the brilliant pirates at Google’s Advanced Technology & Projects team, or ATAP.

But starting tomorrow, I also open my next chapter as VP of Design at Capital One, with an initial focus on mobile commerce and payments. Yes, you heard right. The bank with the “What’s in your wallet?” Samuel L. Jackson ads. And I don’t blame you if you’re like a few of my colleagues who think I’m a bit insane to leave one of the world’s most admired tech companies for a bank.


Image: Dan Makoski

Makoski adds that CapitalOne has a great design studio space in San Francisco where he’ll work to build new finance products to help people interact with their products better.

There’s no word yet on who will take his place at Google, but we hope that Project Ara stays looking as pretty and as fun as it did under Makoski’s reign. [Dan Makoski]


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