Vivian U.

Vivian U. has an extensive and diverse work experience in the field of design. Vivian started their career as a UI Designer at WebEnertia in 2008, where they worked on various design projects for clients such as Intel, Cisco, and Sony PlayStation. From 2012 to 2013, they worked as a Graphic Designer at ZERO1: The Art & Technology Network before moving on to Maybe, Inc. as a UX/UI Designer.

Vivian U.'s work at Maybe, Inc. was notable as the company was later acquired by LinkedIn in 2013. During their time at Maybe, Inc., they designed innovative products in an incubator and successfully launched three products within eleven months.

After the acquisition, Vivian U. joined LinkedIn and worked as a User Experience Designer, contributing to the transition from inbox to messaging and redesigning the Business Solutions website. Vivian was promoted to Senior User Experience Designer in 2016 and co-facilitated Design Sprints with cross-functional teams.

In 2019, Vivian U. joined Slack as a Staff Product Designer. Vivian played an essential role in concepting the future of Slack's paid tiers, redesigning Slack Connect's invitation flow, and driving premium trials for new Slack teams. Vivian also led Design Sprints to identify and solve design problems and created delightful prototypes.

Following their tenure at Slack, Vivian U. became the Head of Design at Vori in 2021. Vivian led a Design Sprint that resulted in true product-market-fit and managed a remote team across mobile, tablet, and web platforms. Vivian also developed research practices and facilitated company-wide shareouts for actionable product development.

In 2022, Vivian U. took on the roles of Angel Investor at Kairos and Design Advisor at DesignBake, providing advice and feedback to early-stage startups and solo designers in Silicon Valley.

Most recently, Vivian U. became a Design Career Coach, focusing on coaching designers to enhance their leadership, communication, and collaboration skills. Vivian also provides resources and templates for establishing strong design partnerships with stakeholders.

Currently, Vivian U. is employed at Instawork as a Staff Product Designer. Instawork is a company that creates economic opportunities for local businesses and skilled hourly professionals worldwide, and Vivian U. contributes their design expertise to this mission.

Vivian U. has a Bachelor of Arts (B.A.) degree in Design Studies from San Jose State University. Vivian also holds a Bachelor of Fine Arts (BFA) degree in Digital Media Art from the same university. Prior to that, they obtained an Associate of Arts (AA) degree in Graphic Design/Art from City College of San Francisco.

In addition to their formal education, Vivian has obtained several certifications. Vivian completed the "Product Management Foundations" course at Reforge in July 2022 and the "Growth Series" course at the same institution in June 2022. In July 2021, they completed the "Design Sprint Masterclass" course at AJ&Smart. In May 2021, they completed the "Design Leadership Fundamentals" course at Design Dept. Vivian also has a certification in "Accessibility for Web Design" from LinkedIn, obtained in June 2018. Lastly, in August 2013, Vivian completed the "Interaction Design Practicum" course at Cooper U.