Andrew Burwell — Designer, Strategist, Astrophotographer
Houston, TX — 29.7604° N, 95.3698° W

Andrew Burwell
Designer. Strategist.
Astrophotographer.

Award-winning digital strategy leader by day, astrophotographer and Mac app developer by night. Building software for the astronomy community from the same passion that keeps me pointed at the stars.

Explore

Where Design Meets the Cosmos

I'm a graphic designer and digital strategist with over two decades in creative leadership — from art directing magazines to leading global web strategy at SLB, one of the world's largest energy technology companies. My career has spanned brand storytelling, VR experiences, content strategy, and the emerging field of Generative Engine Optimization.

Outside the office, I've spent nearly a decade practicing astrophotography on the Apple Mac platform. What started as a backyard hobby in Bortle 9 Houston skies evolved into operating a remote telescope observatory in Animas, New Mexico — 1,500 miles and a world of dark sky away. I run macobservatory.com, the go-to resource for Mac-based astrophotography.

Recently, I've channeled my design background and domain expertise into native Mac app development, building a suite of tools that the astronomy community has been missing on macOS. No coding background required — just a designer who refused to wait for someone else to build it.

20+
Years in creative & digital strategy
9+
Years in astrophotography
4
Mac apps shipped & in beta
Bortle 1
Dark sky at DSP Remote, NM

Professional Journey

Web Channels Manager
SLB (Schlumberger)
Dec 2022 — Present · Houston, TX
Leading strategic direction and operational excellence across SLB's digital platforms. Managing a team of specialists across multiple domains including Sitecore-based web management and pioneering GEO (Generative Engine Optimization) strategies for AI discoverability.
Digital Content Strategist
SLB
Jul 2017 — Dec 2022
Shaped the voice and presence of SLB online through strategic content creation, management, and optimization.
Creative Director
SLB
Aug 2007 — Jul 2017
Led the creative direction for SLB's Production Group, spearheading marketing strategies across business units — including VR experiences, AR, and competition-level creative work.
Art Director
Houston PetTalk · XBOX Nation · GameNow · Electronic Gaming Monthly · Computer Gaming World · Triumph Publishing
2000 — 2007
Art directed a range of consumer and gaming publications including XBOX Nation, Electronic Gaming Monthly, and Computer Gaming World. Produced over a dozen publications for Triumph Publishing.
Freelance Graphic & Web Designer
Deep Space Products · Acacia Integrated Millwork Solutions · Ziegler Cooper Architects · Rosenberger Construction · DBR Inc. · and more
Ongoing throughout career
Independent graphic and web design work for clients spanning architecture, construction, astronomy equipment, and millwork — bringing the same design precision to smaller businesses and niche industries.

The Mac Observatory

A Bortle 1 Sky, 1,500 Miles Away

macobservatory.com is the web's most comprehensive resource for astrophotography on the Apple Mac. It covers everything from software reviews and tutorials to equipment deep-dives and complete workflow guides for planetary and deep sky imaging on macOS.

My remote observatory is hosted at DSP Remote in Animas, New Mexico — a Bortle 1/2 dark sky site that I operate entirely from Houston using N.I.N.A. imaging software. The setup includes a Takahashi TOA-130NFB refractor paired with a ZWO ASI6200MM-Pro camera and Chroma filters, optimized for high-resolution deep sky work under some of the darkest skies in North America.

I also maintain a planetary imaging setup closer to home, using an EdgeHD 11" and ZWO ASI cameras for high-frame-rate capture of Jupiter, Saturn, Mars, and the Moon.

Takahashi TOA-130NFBRefractor
Celestron EdgeHD 11"SCT
Celestron EdgeHD 8"SCT
Takahashi Epsilon E-200Astrograph
William Optics RedCat 51APO Refractor
ZWO ASI6200MM-ProCamera
Explore Scientific 102EDRefractor
Astro-Tech AT6RCRitchey-Chrétien
Chroma FiltersNarrowband & LRGB

Mac Observatory Suite

A collection of native macOS apps built in Swift/SwiftUI to fill the gaps that have long existed in the Mac astrophotography ecosystem. Designed by an astrophotographer, for astrophotographers.

Laminar
v1.5 · App Store
Native planetary and solar capture for Apple Silicon. High-frame-rate SER recording with real-time frame quality analysis, dynamic ROI selection, and live dark, flat, and hot pixel calibration applied to the preview as you focus and tune.
Strata
Beta · TestFlight
GPU-accelerated planetary and solar processing through Metal. Three stacking methods, three sharpening engines, drizzle, and derotation, all native on the Mac, with no Wine and no leaving macOS.
Meridian
Beta
Your deep sky imaging archive, cataloged, visualized, and searchable. Reads every FITS header in your imaging folders, resolves objects across 20 catalogs, and builds a visual archive that works with no internet required. Apple Silicon, macOS 14+.
Ephemeris
v1.0 · Free
A native Mac viewer for PHD2 guide logs. Time-series charts, calibration plots, FFT periodograms, polar-alignment estimates, and multi-session analysis. Free and open source (GPLv3), macOS 14+.

Recent from the Blog

Honors & Awards

2023
SLB Gold Award — Performed by SLB
SLB · Office Management, Web Development and eT-Labs
2017
Lantern Award — 360° VR Animation
Houston BMA · Automated Surface Delivery Platform
2017
Lantern Award — Themed Special Event
Houston BMA · Automated Surface Delivery Platform Launch

Background

🎓
University of Houston
Graphic Design & Visual Communication
Digital Content Strategy Generative Engine Optimization Cross-Functional Leadership UI/UX Design Brand Strategy Sitecore CMS Swift / SwiftUI Astrophotography VR / AR Production Technical SEO AI-Assisted Development