Hi there! I’m Kate.
I’m a human-centered product designer based in Oakland, CA with a background in user research, design systems, visual design, and front-end development. I have a knack for simplifying complexity and I love deeply understanding user needs to craft engaging, exceptionally user-friendly experiences.
I’ve been helping drive engagement, solve pain points, elevate design standards, and build out design systems for the last 7 years with cross-functional teams.
Increasing Engagement in Media Reviews
Led a redesign for a tool with 8 million monthly users to simplify information hierarchy and elevate UI. Resulted in a 29% increase in engagement and comprehension.
Streamlining a Product Homepage
Led design of a homepage for a site with 3 million monthly users to increase engagement and integrate brand system. Resulted in 54% increase in engagement and measurable improvement to visual design.
Driving Signups and Conversion
Led design on multiple touchpoints across Common Sense’s products to get users into subscription funnels and make sign-in/sign-up more streamlined.
Evolving a Design System
Co-led a design system and spearheaded cross-product implementation. Significantly improved design consistency and usability, and increased product team’s speed and efficiency.
Designing an Inventory App for First-Time Computer Users
I helped conduct a 9-week human-centered research & design sprint in schools & stores in Guatemala to explore product-market fit for a low-cost computer. We created an inventory app for shop owners.
Improving a Low-Cost Operating System
Chronicles of my work during my 2 years working on a low-cost computer designed for people with little to no internet access. Leading a design system, designing apps, conducting research in Indonesia.
Read about it →
My love for (and 10 years of experience in) visual design, branding, and illustration continuously sharpens my design craft. Here are a few recent samples; reach out for more!
Co-creating a Friendly, Authentic Coffee Brand
Graphic Design, Illustration, Art Direction
Freelance (Pro Bono)
Designing a Colorful and Clear Reading Experience for a Forty-Page Whitepaper
Graphic Design, Art Direction
Blueback Global
Personal Sketchpad
A glimpse into my lifelong art practice.
(And I got to illustrate a set of super-cute kid-focused avatars for Common Sense!)
I approach design problems with curiosity and thoughtful strategy.
Whether a challenge is ambiguous and open-ended or fully laid out, I always start with empathetic listening and an open mind. I’m constantly zooming in and out throughout the design process to ensure that our direction is informed by all relevant contexts—from user needs, to organizational/business needs, to community/global contexts. I’m not afraid to scrap an idea that’s not working.
I believe in design as a powerful tool to create pathways towards a more equitable, sustainable world.
Designers have an immense responsibility to build tools that are inclusive and accessible. I am deeply committed to continued learning and allyship toward racial, social, and climate justice, and I’m interested in circular design and liberatory design.