I am Yuan-Yu Kristy Liao, a design lover and global cultural explorer and adventurer.

I now lead the design effort on global payment space at Netflix. My main focus is to crack payments for our emerging & growing markets. Previously I designed products for Spotify, the world’s leading music streaming service, serving as the lead designer for emerging markets. Our team reshaped Spotify offerings tailored to cultural differences in untapped markets. I approach projects with human-centered design that is grounded in user research, product strategy, collaborative problem solving, rapid prototyping and thorough testing. I have designed cloud-based web and mobile applications using the Lean UX and Agile design frameworks. Designing a streamlined and rewarding user experience is my guiding principle.

Born and raised in a small, rural village, I moved to the US in 2009 to pursue an advanced degree at UC Berkeley. The culture shock I experienced by moving to a western nation inspired a deep curiosity for the people, places and attitudes that shape our communities and create our world. With only a meager budget, tattered maps, a smile and sense of adventure, I have travelled to dozens of countries on six continents, documenting and sharing my adventures with a large online community of followers. People are my passion and I strive to make a positive contribution to the world and those around me.

AutoCAD Web

EXPERIENCE DESIGN, DESIGN PROCESS

We are building a web-based version of the world’s most successful computer-aided(CAD) software, that targets young professionals who need tools to draw, edit and share their designs. This represented a unique challenge to transform the legendary and complex desktop AutoCAD software into a lightweight, cloud-based application with a sharp, modern UI.

AUTOCAD MARKETING SITE

Web Design

We designed, updated and maintained the AutoCAD Marketing Site. It shows how we presented the value of the product to consumers and help them to understand the features. This is also an example how we build a responsive design that supports different devices and languages .

TRAVEL Genie

Mobile Design, Personal Project

Travel Genie is an all-in one vacation-planning tool. The app draws on several publically accessible data feeds/APIs from across the web and integrates them into a seamless, simple and visually cohesive user interface. Users can plan and organize their trips before they depart and manage their trips from within the app while traveling.

FILE MANAGER REDesign

User Experience, DESIGN PROCESS

File Manager, a tool that helps users organize and manage their cloud storage on both web and mobile devices. I led the redesign the entire user interface.

Design Guideline

VISUAL DESIGN, DESIGN PROCESS

Developed a design guideline for a consistent brand experience across multiple products. A unified design can also help to reduce the user cognitive costs and deepen the impression of the product. I collaborated with developers and other designers to ensure that the style guide addressed the needs of professionals across the company and customers around the globe.

AutoCAT

I love cats and I create cats!

"A Good Place to Sit"

I like my pillow, my fancy bed, my cat tree and the bathroom sink. Each has its time and fills a need, but a box is best when I want to think.


My Design Process


Research

Effective user experience starts by understanding users deeply. Researching what people need is the first step of my design process. I immerse myself in other people’s world, looking for an opportunity to innovate. I gather information through ethnographic research including stakeholder interviews, contextual inquiries, etc. At the same time, a case study of existing systems would be conducted.

Analyzing, Planning, and Prioritizing

After collecting sufficient data, the second phase is to translate research into the actionable insight. This includes conducting a thoughtful analysis, framing the problems, defining target users and building personas. For complex design challenges that require a long-term investment, it is critical to carefully plan and set priorities at this stage.

Designing and Testing

At this stage, I produce design options and conduct user tests to verify the results. I create a number of assets with varying degrees of fidelity, including paper prototypes, interactive prototypes, wireframes and mockups. This phase also includes intense collaboration and brainstorming with all stakeholders.

Building

This stage sees the creation of high-fidelity of assets, including a detailed specification, animations, transitions and a user interface guideline to ensure proper focus and direction for long-term projects. Close communication with software engineers ensures that designs are built precisely according to plan.

Measuring and Iterating

The software development process has no end-point. It is a process of evolution. A variety of measurements and data analysis validate the design solutions. This is followed by continuous improvements and product updates with plans for the next iteration.





LET'S Connect

If you have design challenges, I would love to talk!