About Dave
Who's dave
tien • shiang • tsai
I’m Dave Cai, a product designer based in Seattle. Before this, I spent years in digital media production — I cared about how things looked long before I worried about whether they worked.
Born and raised in Beijing, my Chinese name is Tianxiang Cai. I’ve gone by “Dave” since I was five, so either one works.
How this journey started
The shy kid’s story
Before high school I was painfully introverted — I rarely spoke, and talking to strangers gave me real anxiety. “Cool kid” was not on my résumé.
Then, one month into high school, an English assignment had me dub a clip from a favorite TV show. I fell down a Final Cut Pro rabbit hole, taught myself everything from online tutorials, and the reaction from my class and teacher was… unexpectedly good. That was the moment I realized I’d found a way to actually express myself.
Video’s been my medium ever since — I went deep on video production and graphic design, then wandered into electronic music and VFX compositing for good measure.
Building the tools
not just using them…
I graduated in 2020 — yes, that 2020 — and watched the world move online practically overnight.
Then I watched my grandparents wrestle with apps clearly designed by people who’d never met them. Something clicked.
I didn’t just want to use good tools — I wanted to build them, the way a video editor once handed me my voice.
So I pivoted into UX design, bringing my media background along for equity, accessibility, and the occasional well-placed pixel.
In 2022 I joined the Human-Centered Design & Engineering (HCDE) master’s program at the University of Washington, going deep on user research, interaction design, and accessibility.
Design for humans
not by simply following the trend
I’ve been watching tech for over a decade — long enough to tell the blue-sky concepts that never ship from the flashy launches that fizzle, and both from the rare ideas that quietly become part of everyday life.
Which makes me ask: what actually makes design timeless?
Right now, everything is AI — every company seems to be bolting a language model onto something and calling it innovation. I’ve tried plenty of these tools, and I keep wondering: are they solving real problems, or just wearing this season’s buzzwords?
I’ve done enough product management to respect the business pressure. But a product’s first job is to serve people.
Understanding why a trend exists beats chasing it every time. I’m always up for a good conversation about products, design, or business — if any of this resonates, let’s talk.
Besides pushing pixels in Figma
You can find me..
Made in Seattle with ❤️