Nice to meet you, I'm Cindy

My UX Journey

I began college as a double major in Chinese Studies and International Relations with an emphasis on World Trade and Development and East Asia (a mouthful, I know). I aspired to become a Chinese to English translator and/or interpreter to help break down language barriers faced by Chinese immigrants in the US after witnessing my parents struggle to assimilate due to the language barrier.

During the pandemic, I worked at the Oakland Chinatown Chamber of Commerce as an Administrative Assistant to service my community and practice my language skills. However, COVID-19 resulted in the rapid shift towards digitalization, online platforms, and electronic solutions, and I noticed that many community members and business owners struggled to adapt due to their low digital literacy and language barrier. To help them, I taught the elderly to use Zoom so they could host community meetings virtually, assisted business owners to apply for online grants, help them build their online presence, and more; however, I knew these were only short-term solutions. This experience motivated me to seek more long-term solutions to make these services more accessible.

While researching solutions, I discovered the world of user experience design. Realizing the impact I could make through this field, I triple majored in Design my senior year and became inspired to create functional, accessible, inclusive, and cross-cultural products that could bridge gaps and improve the lives of individuals facing similar challenges as members of my community. My goal as a designer is to help companies provide additional lanaguage options such as Chinese and to create simple digital experiences that are more inclusive of growing immigrant populations.

When I am not designing, I am...