J.
Jess Kim
Product Designer
Hackensack, NJ | Commutable to NYC
Selected Experience
Independent Design Consultant
Led end-to-end UX and product design for e-commerce clients, starting from user behavior, mapping where users stalled, then designing to move them.
Ran UX audits identifying behavioral friction points and delivering prioritized redesign recommendations tied to how users actually moved through the flow.
Built visual identity systems for brands ranging from beauty to nonprofit, starting from brand diagnosis and stakeholder surveys, then translating strategy into cohesive digital experiences.
Product Design Lead
Built and governed a design system used across 1,000+ diverse brands: reusable components and full page-layout templates distributed in both Figma and PSD, plus the naming conventions and file structure the whole design team worked from.
Led mobile UX overhaul: read where users dropped off in the nav, flattened a 6-depth IA to 4, and moved core actions into the thumb zone; the team measured a 72% lift in conversion over the release.
Led the design of an AI-vision search and discovery experience: defined the discovery model and filter interaction (not the ML); the team reported a 74% ATC uplift and 32% growth in search conversion.
Led UX QA and post-launch stabilization for platform migration from Magento to custom internal system, triaging 100+ issues across web and app to ensure zero critical bugs at launch.
Managed and mentored a team of 3 designers, overseeing end-to-end product execution across search, discovery, and merchandising touchpoints.
Partnered with cross-functional leaders across product, engineering, and marketing to align on roadmap priorities and execution feasibility.
Product Designer
Served as the sole in-house designer, owning end-to-end design execution across product, marketing, and brand touchpoints during early-stage US market growth.
Built foundational design systems, brand guidelines, and UI patterns enabling product scaling and consistency.
Established design-to-engineering handoff workflows, improving delivery clarity and reducing iteration cycles.
Product / UI Designer
Delivered user-focused interfaces across web and mobile, improving usability and brand experience.
Partnered with engineering on Magento migration (1.9.2.4 → 2.3.1), ensuring design consistency and reducing UI breakage.
Directed cross-channel creative projects across CRM, social, print, and packaging, supporting cohesive brand execution.
Selected Projects
Redesigned search and filtering for a 100K+ SKU marketplace using AI-vision technology, reducing discovery friction and achieving a +74% ATC uplift.
Overhauled mobile navigation architecture based on behavioral data from 1,100+ users, driving a +72% increase in conversion rate.
Engineered a centralized production reference system during platform migration, reducing internal rework from 60% to near-zero and saving 1.5 days per brief. Proof that design-led systems thinking eliminates friction beyond the end user.
Toolbox & Skills
Leadership & Strategy
Team Leadership
Design Systems Strategy (Platform-Level)
Cross-functional Alignment
Workflow Optimization
Roadmapping
Design & UX
Product Design · UI/UX
Interaction Design
Design Systems & Governance
Behavioral Research
IA & Flow Design
A/B Testing · Analytics
Tools & Technical
Figma (Advanced)
HTML/CSS
JavaScript
Shopify · Magento
Framer
Builder.io
AI & Workflow
Claude · Gemini
ChatGPT · Midjourney
AI-Assisted UX Writing
Rapid Prototyping
Workflow Automation (Design → Dev → Marketing)
Education
BA: Studio Art (magna cum laude)
Concentration in Electronic Media & Photography | Minor in Digital Arts
Sunwood President’s Art Selection | URECA (3rd Place) | Honors Program in Art | Thesis Exhibition
Design Philosophy
“I design for outcomes, not outputs. Whether it’s a discovery engine serving 100K+ SKUs or an internal system eliminating team friction — I find the structural root of a problem and solve it in a way that scales. Data tells me where to look. Design is how I fix it.”