His work has been recognized with numerous design awards, patents, and has been captured in a variety of publications. He brings over 19 years of experience across a range design disciplines from graphic design and branding to UX/UI design, architecture, product design, marketing, and product strategy. He often leads multidisciplinary teams to solve complex experiential, interaction, transportation, and product problems across a variety of industries and clients.

McDaniel was born and raised in Centreville, Mississippi. After beginning his design career in Silicon Valley, he now lives in Austin, Texas where he currently works at McKinsey & Company as an Expert Associate Partner with McKinsey Design. He joined McKinsey after working at the White House for President Obama as part of the U.S. Digital Service. Before heading to Washington, Michael created and founded Reaction – a startup that revolutionized products around one of humanity’s most basic needs: shelter. Michael also invented and created a new transportation system for Austin, Texas, called The Wire. Prior to founding Reaction, Michael worked at frog design as a Principal Designer. There he led diverse teams to solve complex experiential, interaction, transportation, & branding problems across a variety of industries. His broad skill set and thoughtful approach to design has led to very unique solutions for clients including MTV, Comcast, AT&T, American Airlines, Best Buy, HP, Sprint, and Disney.

Michael’s work on design teams for M. D. Anderson Cancer Center in Houston, Texas, has been recognized by several professional design organizations, including the Society of Environmental Graphic Designers (SEGD). His redesign of the entire Interstate Highway System won top honors from the Cooper Union back in 2006. Michael's design work has been featured in major design publications such as Fast Company, Print, Critique, Communication Arts, How, and Step Inside Design. His work has been published in several design books including Design Secrets: Layouts by Rodney Moore; Minimum Dwelling by Eduard Broto; and Get Backed by Evan Baehr and Evan Loomis.

Michael routinely speaks on the topic of design and innovation with multiple appearances at TED, PSFK, PopTech!, and Creative Mornings. He earned a B.F.A with an emphasis in graphic design from Mississippi State University and in 2006, the university named Michael an Alumni Fellow for the College of Architecture Art and Design.