Most software doesn’t fail because of the technology behind it. It fails because the people who need to use it can’t figure out how to get started. Whether you’re walking into a meeting room and staring at a display full of options or trying to share your screen in a hybrid meeting with teammates across three time zones, the friction almost always starts at the interface.
That’s the problem John Flores spends his days solving. As Lead Product Designer at Mersive, John focuses on making collaboration software so intuitive that users never have to stop and think about how it works. His one-sentence description of the role says it best: “I make software intuitive, so you don’t have to think when using it.”
John joined Mersive in August 2021, coming from a background in digital content creation and product development at AXS TV. Since then, his work has shaped how the Mersive Collaboration Suite looks and, more importantly, how it feels to use.
Why “Intuitive” Is Harder Than It Looks
Building software that non-technical users can navigate with confidence takes more than a clean layout. John is the go-to designer for this kind of challenge because he doesn’t stop iterating “until we get the process down to the simplest, most intuitive experience possible for end users.”
That matters because the people using Mersive in a conference room or a classroom aren’t thinking about the software. They’re thinking about the meeting, the lesson, or the project. Good UX design steps back and lets that happen.
There’s also a misconception worth addressing: a product designer is not the same as a graphic designer. Product design covers the full experience of using software, including how it flows, where features live, and how users move through it. Visual design is one piece of a much larger process.
What Effortless Collaboration Actually Looks Like
Ask John what effortless collaboration means to him and his answer is precise. “Effortless collaboration means stripping away barriers and automating as much of the process as possible regardless of if users are in the room or remote. When this happens, all connected users feel like they are on an even keel without having to take any extra steps.”
That standard, equal access to participation regardless of where you are, is still where many organizations fall short. Remote participants often get a diminished experience, and in-room attendees have to go the extra mile just to share content.
One project that showed John the full potential of getting this right is digital whiteboarding. “I can sketch a user flow on my iPad and others can comment or leave feedback,” he says. “Your team can be in various countries with each person participating in the same fashion as if you were all in the same room with markers and sticky notes.” When the tools work the way they should, the distance between people disappears.
AI as a Tool, not a Threat
One shift John watches closely right now is how product designers respond to artificial intelligence. His take is direct: “Learning how to embrace AI tools and not run from them. Utilizing AI to augment the design process, not replacing it, is the only way designers will be successful in the future.”
That framing aligns with what MIT Management Sloan School writes on generative AI: the highest value comes from humans and AI working together, not from one substituting for the other.
For product designers, that means using AI to accelerate repetitive tasks and speed up research cycles while keeping human judgment at the center of every experience decision.
Collaboration Across the Whole Company
One thing John didn’t expect when he joined Mersive was how integrated the design process is with the rest of the organization. “The design team and process aren’t siloed off in their own corner. Instead, it is a shared effort across many teams and disciplines all working towards the same goal.”
That cross-functional approach shows up in how John works day to day. He reviews open design tasks, then works through a cycle of brainstorming, sketching, ideating, gathering feedback, and iterating, with a five-minute walk outside built in before the next round begins. The feedback loop never really closes, and the input comes from across the company.
His advice for anyone starting out in product design applies just as much inside Mersive as anywhere else: “When designing a product, don’t trade accessibility for aesthetics. Just because your app looks good doesn’t mean it’s usable. Also, grow thick skin and don’t take user feedback personally.”
The Project John Is Most Excited About Right Now
Of everything on John’s current workload, one project stands out. He’s energized by Mersive Tablet because, as he puts it, “it takes the guesswork out of walking into a space, launching a hybrid meeting, and sharing content with everyone in person or remote.”
Anyone who has fumbled through a room setup before a large, important hybrid meeting starts will recognize that problem. Mersive Tablet targets friction at the entry point, before the call even begins.
What the Future of Collaboration Technology Looks Like
John’s vision for where hybrid meeting technology is heading doesn’t center on more features or more notifications.
“The future of how teams collaborate will look like a shift away from the current glorified chatbots but instead technology that analyzes situations and makes decisions in the background in real time rather than getting in users’ way.”
Technology that works quietly in the background, reducing friction without demanding attention, is already the direction Mersive is building toward. The goal is for the tools to become invisible so the work can stay focused.
Out of Office
When he’s not iterating on a design problem, John watches more than 300 films a year spanning multiple genres and decades. He credits Corridor Crew, a YouTube channel focused on the craft of visual effects and filmmaking, as a steady influence on his design thinking. The channel’s core lesson carries directly into his work at Mersive: limitations don’t have to be blockers, and it’s possible to build something great while still having fun solving the problem.
Want more perspective from the people behind Mersive? Follow John on LinkedIn to stay connected.