"Cory worked for me during the time I set up the AI COE at Disney Experiences. What impressed me most was the way he combined strong creative instincts with a very current understanding of AI-enabled video and content creation.
He is highly proficient across a range of emerging AI tools and knows how to use them to augment the creative process—whether to accelerate production, explore new concepts, or bring ideas to life in new ways. But what differentiates him is that the creativity does not come from the tools alone. He brings his own human imagination, storytelling instincts, and creative judgment into the work, using AI as an amplifier rather than a substitute for creativity.
As creative technologies continue to evolve quickly, that combination of hands-on AI fluency and genuine human creativity is increasingly valuable. If you are looking for someone who understands the latest AI tools for video creation while still bringing originality and creative thinking to the content itself, I would strongly recommend Cory"
"Cory is the most talented user experience expert I have ever worked with in the digital realm. He was immensely helpful and productive in improving our UI/UX across multiple platforms (websites, CRM, social, etc). And then he single-handedly took on the challenge of becoming our resident AI-guru. I don't think I have ever seen someone take on a completely new skill set in a brand new medium and flourish so quickly. He studied all of the new software and tech options and produced stellar AI work for us. And he's still going! I have no doubt he will be leading a very successful AI function for someone very quickly and producing award-winning work."
"I’ve had the opportunity to work closely with Cory at Disney, where he has played an important role in shaping how our teams experience, understand, and engage with emerging AI technologies.
Cory has a unique ability to take something highly technical and turn it into something clear, intuitive, and engaging. He combines strong product and UX instincts with visual storytelling, motion design, and digital production skills. That combination has been incredibly valuable in an AI environment, where building the technology is only part of the challenge, the experience has to make sense to the people using it.
Through our work on JedAI and other internal AI initiatives, I’ve seen Cory bring ideas to life through product experiences, demonstrations, training content, visual communications, and design systems. He thinks beyond how something looks and considers how people will understand it, interact with it, and ultimately adopt it.
Cory is also an excellent collaborator. He works comfortably across product, engineering, and creative teams, takes complex or ambiguous ideas and gives them structure, and consistently brings a thoughtful perspective to the work. He has a great ability to listen, understand what a team is trying to accomplish, and translate that into an experience that feels polished and purposeful.
I frequently worked with Cory in publishing a podcast in which Cory was able to produce, edit, and contribute to a Podcast that was technical and he made it really fun and engaging. I would gladly work with Cory again. He brings together creativity, product thinking, technical curiosity, and storytelling in a way that is particularly valuable as AI products continue to evolve. He’s someone I trust to take a complicated idea and make it understandable, useful, and engaging."
"I had the pleasure of working with Cory at Disney Experiences Technology, where he brought a strong mix of motion graphics and product design expertise to our team.
Cory helped create several marketing videos and played an important role in transitioning our v1 chat UI to Disney’s standard design system. He’s a versatile designer who brings creativity, strong visual thinking, and a clear understanding of the user experience to his work.
Cory was a great creative partner. ☺️"
Tina Lloyd
Vice President, Integrated Brand Marketing and Digital Experiences , INSP
"Cory consistently impressed many with his ability to blend creativity with technical expertise, delivering innovative solutions that exceeded expectations. His insightful feedback and data-driven suggestions significantly influenced the framework of our website redesign project. His deep understanding of UX principles and proficiency in AI technology were pivotal in driving our team's success, contributing to our achievement of industry awards along the way."
Morgan Newman
Manager, Digital Product, SEO & Growth Marketing , INSP
"I had the pleasure of working alongside Cory at INSP, LLC for five years, where he consistently demonstrated exceptional skills and dedication as a UI/UX Designer. Cory's expertise in crafting visually compelling mockups and prototypes using Figma is truly remarkable. His ability to design intuitive and engaging interfaces for our company websites significantly contributed to our digital presence.
One of Cory's standout qualities is his collaborative spirit. He actively engaged with cross-functional teams, including digital marketing, sales, distribution, among others, to ensure a seamless integration of design elements with marketing strategies and technical functionalities. Their efforts were crucial in building immersive website experiences that resonated with our audience.
Cory also excelled in conducting UX research, analyzing audience demographics, website statistics, A/B testing, and UX trends. His data-driven approach to design ensured that every user experience was optimized and user-centric. He consistently suggested refinements to improve our interfaces based on data insights, balancing aesthetic appeal with functional effectiveness.
Innovation is at the core of Cory's work ethic. He spearheaded the integration of generative AI in our design processes, leading a pioneering initiative at ShopInsp.com to use AI for creating realistic product and model imagery. This innovative approach not only enhanced the visual appeal of our products, but also streamlined content creation, significantly boosting sales and customer engagement.
In his role, Cory played a key part in leading our digital transformation at INSP. He utilized advanced AI tools like MidJourney, ChatGPT, and ElevenLabs to create unique and familiar voices, and conducted proactive research to bring western stars back to life for promotional commercials and marketing materials. His application of these cutting-edge tools greatly improved efficiency, innovation, and the overall quality of our digital offerings.
I highly recommend Cory for any position that requires a blend of creativity, technical proficiency, and innovative thinking. He would be a valuable asset to any team."
Darlene Cah
Senior Writer and Editor Web Content , INSP
"When Cory joined our digital marketing team, I thought, “Oh, a tech guy. I’m not going to understand a thing he says or what he does.” Was I wrong! Well, about understanding what he says. What he does, I’m still slightly clueless, but I do know he has exceptional skills as a designer, especially in the use of AI. I’ll let others speak to his specific job-related tasks. I can tell you about Cory, the person, his soft skills, and what he brought to us as a team member—emphasis on “team.”
Don’t let his quiet demeanor fool you. He’s smart, witty, clever, and incredibly creative. Whether he’s critiquing a project, or proposing an original concept, his contributions are on point, and insightful. Jumping into a tight-knit, established team is not easy, but Cory fit in from day one with his easy-going, friendly personality backed up by his dedication to our team’s mission (and INSP), and his diligence in meeting tight deadlines while delivering the highest quality work. Our team is lean. We work hard, have each other’s backs, and we consistently go above and beyond to produce creative, effective and award-winning campaigns—and Cory jumped right in, never missing a beat. He made a great team greater. Optimistic, compassionate, creative—and analytical, where some might say, “It can’t be done,” Cory will find a way, and make it brilliant!"
The homepage needed to sell the products right away. I didn't just want flat designs, or professional models, I wanted the site to relate to the demographic of the channel (60+). So the majority of the characters were older, more relatable, and more real (even if they were created with AI)
INSP
ShopINSP
Role
Senior UI/UX and AI Specialist
Dates
Mar 2015
The Problem
INSP, a western-themed television station, wanted to promote their network through an online store selling branded merchandise like t-shirts, hats, and even bath rugs. As the Senior UX/UI Designer, I was tasked with creating the mockups for this shop. What began as a simple e-commerce task quickly evolved into something more significant, an innovative solution for selling to INSP’s primary demographic of 60+ viewers. The challenge? Creating a 'no-shop shop.' The network didn’t want to handle packaging or shipping, and all transactions were routed to external sites. My task was to design an online store that was intuitive for older users, who could browse products seamlessly and complete transactions on multiple third-party sites without confusion or hesitation.
The Solution
Starting with some basic concepts in Figma, which served two purposes; show ideas for the layout of the site and show how AI could be used to save ten of thousands on photos shoots to show off the products. We started this project end of 2022, so generative AI was still in it's infancy but the results could look real enough to use for models and product imagery.
The Impact
Within a few months of showing the potential, gen-AI had made leaps and bounds in quality. This helped sell the idea even better. Going from the original mockups, with a plastic look and trouble with the proper number of fingers, to fully formed and textured people. While the original sold the idea to most, the advancing technology really made the main stake holders, VPs and the CEO, really see the potential.
