With 12 years in game UX and creative direction, I've helped shape AAA console and live mobile games at 2K, NetEase Games, THQ Nordic, Ten Square Games and Miniclip.12 years shaping UX and creative direction for console and mobile games.
Studios I've worked with
I turn complex game systems into experiences that feel intuitive, distinctive and worth returning to.
Teach through play, with guidance timed to the moment it helps.
Seen in Mafia: The Old Country, Destroy All Humans! 2
Give new, returning and mid-game players a reason to stay.
Seen in Man of Honor DLC, Football Strike, Fishing Masters
Make essential information easier to see, hear and feel.
Seen in Mafia: The Old Country, Destroy All Humans!
Fit the experience to the device, not the other way around.
Seen in EVE Echoes, Destroy All Humans!, Rise to War
Make story part of how every system feels.
Seen in Hatchyverse, Magical District, Fishing Masters, Mafia: The Old Country
Give the team shared principles that hold up as the game grows.
Seen in TopSpin 2K25, WWE Champions, Mafia: The Old Country
Game UX reaches beyond menus and buttons. Sound, touch, sight, controls and language shape how a game feels—and how confidently people play.
Sound can communicate before anyone looks at the screen. On Mafia: The Old Country, I worked with the audio team to define sound and haptic feedback across the game.
Haptics give hits, warnings and confirmations a physical feel. In Destroy All Humans!, they conveyed impacts and the destruction of buildings and vehicles.
Contrast, text size, subtitles and HUD density shape readability, from a sofa to a train. Mafia: The Old Country lets players preview subtitle settings before they start.
A thumb, mouse and controller each need different layouts and shortcuts. EVE Echoes and Rise to War use touch-first controls; Destroy All Humans! is built around the controller.
Introduce one idea at a time. Timely tutorials, responsive hints and familiar patterns help people make sense of new systems.
Prompts, labels and lore work best in the game's own voice. In Man of Honor, handwritten letters include a transcription, so story details don't depend on deciphering the script.
From a focused review to hands-on leadership, we can find the right level of support for your game.
A close review of the first hour or a key flow, with a focused action plan your team can put to work.
See a sample auditJoin your team part-time to design, review and mentor from pre-production through launch.
Lead UX or creative direction, aligning design, art and production around a shared vision.
From cinematic console adventures and live mobile games to original worlds and connected products.
A few words from teammates and collaborators. More on LinkedIn.
He can seamlessly combine different worlds, gaming, web, movies, TV series, into something that feels magical.
Francis is the most inspiring person I've met in my entire career. His knowledge and understanding of the gaming and entertainment market, from a user experience perspective, feels impossible for one person to possess. His creativity is unparalleled. He can seamlessly combine different worlds - gaming, web, movies, TV series - into something that feels magical. When we were brainstorming concepts for new gaming products, the team was always left speechless with their jaws dropped on the cushy office floor. If you're looking for someone to elevate your product's creative direction to new heights or build something new with a fresh, innovative, yet grounded perspective, Francis is the person to choose.
His deep knowledge and constant research in game UX means he was not only skilled as a UX designer but also an excellent Lead that made working with other roles in the studio smooth and collaborative.
I can wholeheartedly recommend working with Francis. His deep knowledge and constant research in game UX means he was not only skilled as a UX designer but also an excellent Lead that made working with other roles in the studio smooth and collaborative as we met milestones and deadlines. He was always clear in his communication and feedback, while also bringing creative ideas for solving the problems we faced and encourage pitching my own ideas. He was truly a great Lead, colleague and friend that I hope I get the opportunity to work with him again!
His creative direction was really inspiring, bold and focused on the decisions needed to create something unique. An amazing idea pitcher and seller!
I had the pleasure to work with Francis on Ten square games for a year, and i worked with him closely receiving feedback on concepts and character design, and overall look and game-feel. He made sure consistency was maintained, but at the same time keeping an eye on what would make players happy and engaged. his creative direction was really inspiring, bold and taking the necessary decisions that needed to be considered in order to actually create something unique.
One of the most relevant things i learnt from Francis is; how to always have the latest market trends and players in mind, and be able to fast pivot with them.
An amazing idea pitcher and seller! also flexible when needed, and as a character note; you would love to hear him on stage talking about his game knowledge and ideas!
Fifteen projects across AAA console, live mobile, original IP and connected products.
I'm Francis, a UX and creative direction consultant for games. Italian, born in Sicily and raised in Milan, with Filipino roots.
Growing up between two cultures, and later working across Europe and Asia, taught me that players read the same screen in very different ways.
I studied product-service system design at Politecnico di Milano and NABA, with a year at Tongji University in Shanghai. It taught me to design the whole journey around a product, as well as what's on screen.
My first role was at Technogym, designing the connected console on its gym equipment. Watching people use it mid-workout, tired and distracted, taught me to design around how people actually behave. I took that into games at Miniclip and never looked back.
Since then I've shipped mobile hits, built original IP and led UX on AAA console games in Italy, China, Vietnam, Germany, Poland and the UK. Today I work with studios as a consultant on player experience and creative direction, and I write books about directing and the creative process.
Bronze Award, Samsung Young Design Award, for Cerere, a playful food-education system for children
2013Winning team, Audi App Jam, Shanghai
2013Winner, "Un designer per le imprese", Milan Chamber of Commerce, exhibited at La Triennale di Milano
2010Student winner, L.E.D. Light Exhibition Design, City of Milan, shown in Piazza della Scala
2009Artwork for Ubisoft's Assassin's Creed Origins, exhibited at Lucca Comics & Games
2017Artwork for Assassin's Creed Unity, exhibited in Venice during the 56th Biennale
2015Artwork published in the Game Art Revolution and Art (R)evolution books
2015–18Books, interviews, talks and perspectives on game UX, user research, creative direction and the people who make games.
A guide to directing games through the ADHD lens
How I structure projects, find motivation and move from concept to execution in a process full of ups and downs. A book about directing, storytelling and making creative decisions in a way that works with your mind instead of against it.
Conversations about game UX, research and directing, from newsletters to an academic paper.
Shorter pieces on building worlds, teams and a healthy creative life.
Tell me where your game is headed. I can review a critical flow, support your next milestone, or guide UX and creative direction across the project.