# Katie Yarnold > Senior Product Designer Location: Oakland, California, United States Profile: https://flows.cv/katieyarnold Hi! I'm Katie, a Product Designer specializing in education technology. With a Master's degree in Learning Design, Innovation, and Technology from Harvard, I have a deep understanding of how technology can support student growth and success. I'm passionate about creating accessible and inclusive educational experiences for students of all ages and abilities. As a designer, I strive to create intuitive and engaging products that make learning fun and engaging. My goal is to design educational technology that empowers students to reach their full potential and fosters their love of learning. I believe that technology can be a powerful tool for breaking down barriers to education, and I'm committed to using my skills to make a positive impact in the world of education. SKILLS Web & Mobile Design, Style Guides, Systems Design, Interaction Design, Graphic Design, Illustration, Wireframes, Prototyping, copywriting User Research, Competitor Research, User Personas, Journey Mapping, User Flows, Usability Testing TOOLS Sketch, Figma, InVision, Adobe XD, Adobe Creative Suite, HTML, CSS, Google Suite, Microsoft Suite, Google Analytics ## Work Experience ### Senior UX/UI Designer @ Sown To Grow Jan 2024 – Present | Oakland, California, United States ### UX Designer @ Sown To Grow Jan 2023 – Present | Oakland, California, United States • Serves as the primary UX Designer responsible for the end-to-end product design process for all new features for a K-12 Social-Emotional Learning platform serving 200,000+ students and 15,000+ educators • Drove product strategy by working cross-functionally with Engineers, Product Managers and stakeholders to identify problems, compile product requirements, and rapidly ideate and implement solutions • Centered user voice in solutions by conducting 15+ contextual inquiries in classrooms, interviewing 25+ users, and conducting 20+ user tests, resulting in user personas and journey maps to guide product development ### UX/UI Designer @ Upswing Jan 2021 – Jan 2023 | Austin, Texas, United States As company's the first and only UX/UI Designer & Researcher, I was responsible for scoping out, researching, and designing all new product features. Some key contributions: • Pioneered user-centered design practices by implementing company-wide processes and documentation for user research methods such as user surveys, interviews, testing and data analytics. • Conducted 40+ user interviews, 40+ user tests, and user surveys with 1,300+ combined responses to draw key insights about the challenges students face with online learning. • Advocated for inclusive design by conducting accessibility audits and compiling lists of recommended changes to ensure the platform is compliant with WCAG Level AA standards. • Overhauled the platform's student homepage to create a more holistic support experience for students, increase engagement and and ultimately improve student retention rates. • Standardized UI across the platform by creating the company’s first design system, consisting of 150+ components, layouts & UI patterns, in collaboration with Engineering team ### UX/UI Designer Team Lead @ Queen's Web Jan 2020 – Jan 2021 | Houston, Texas, United States • Led a team of 6 to design and develop an internal employee portal which increased employee efficiency. • Facilitated collaborative rapid design workshops with developers & stakeholders which led to innovative design solutions and deeper product ownership. • Created wireframes for minimum viable products (MVP) that solved users’ needs for better organization and business goals of increased team communication and production quality. • Collaborated with stakeholders to successfully translate company vision into a style guide, content strategy & high fidelity prototype for consistent branding across the entire product. ### Copywriter @ Pandia Health Jan 2020 – Jan 2020 | San Francisco Bay Area • Crafted strong brand voice throughout a variety of marketing materials. • Wrote clear, concise and HIPAA-compliant copy to increase usability of patient onboarding flow. • Wrote high-converting retargeting email marketing campaigns for various audience segments. ### UX Design Apprentice @ General Assembly Jan 2020 – Jan 2020 | San Francisco Bay Area ### PandaTree Group Lesson Platform — UX/UI Designer @ General Assembly Jan 2020 – Jan 2020 | San Francisco Bay Area • Led a team of 3 UX Designers to design a fun & engaging mobile small group language lesson experience. • Built upon the client’s existing branding and utilized visual language to create a high fidelity prototype that improved both accessibility & gamification for an experience that keeps kids engaged. • Validated designs by conducting 3 rounds of usability testing with 20+ parents & kids to ensure that the final product was delightful & educational for PandaTree’s largest user group: kids aged 2-9. ### Hunter’s Point Shipyard Artists Website Redesign — UX/UI Designer @ General Assembly Jan 2020 – Jan 2020 | San Francisco Bay Area • Worked with a team of 3 UX designers to design a responsive website to increase engagement between HPSA's artists and the community. • Discovered needs & pain points of users who engage with art online through user research. • Synthesized data to create a persona and prioritize features. 
 • Sketched potential screen designs & user interfaces. • Tested & iterated medium fidelity wireframes for improved usability. 
 • Created a high fidelity prototype that allowed users to engage with artists through events, live videos and viewing art. ### Arts Coordinator @ Boys & Girls Clubs of San Francisco Jan 2019 – Jan 2020 | San Francisco Bay Area • Design arts curriculum that is developmentally-appropriate for youth in grades k-12. • Taught daily art classes for students age 6-18. • Organized and facilitated annual art events such as Youth Open Studio, Teen HeART Night, and Citywide Arts Week. ### High School English & Art Instructor @ Japan Exchange and Teaching Program(me) (JET) Jan 2015 – Jan 2019 | Within 23 wards, Tokyo, Japan • Taught English lessons for over 800 students annually in all 3 grades of high school. • Designed & implemented speaking and writing curricula, including weekly essays and quarterly speaking exams. • Designed & implemented curricula for special interest lessons, including Art-English hybrid lessons and college-level discussion courses. • Executed successful one-on-one tutoring sessions which led to 250% more students passing the intermediate and advanced levels of the National English Proficiency Test (Eiken) than in previous years. • Wrote test materials and reading passages for based on students' individual academic level. • Led tea ceremony club and art club, including preparing for large-scale outside events with 500+ attendees. • Created original lesson plans and supporting materials. ### Founding Director, Artist, Curator @ TJET Artists Collective Jan 2015 – Jan 2019 | Tokyo, Japan • Founded group for supporting artists on the JET Program in Tokyo. • Used social media to recruit 100+ members, promote events such as exhibitions and classes, and sell artwork. • Organized and taught monthly life drawing Meetups with up to 20 attendees. • Managed a team to organize 6 group exhibitions and art markets with 20-50 attendees each and generating a total of ¥70,000 in art sales. ### Event Organizer, Painting Instructor (Welcome Tokyo group) @ Meetup Jan 2016 – Jan 2017 | Tokyo, Japan • Organized and taught bi-weekly paint & wine events with up to 25 attendees. • Handled cash and budgeting for all paint & wine events. • Established and maintained partnerships with event venues. • Onboarded & trained new paint & wine instructors and assistants. ### Founding Director, Artist, Curator @ Berkeley Young Women's Art Collective Jan 2014 – Jan 2016 | Berkeley, CA, USA • Founded a collective for emerging artists, recruited members, and managed outreach events. • Secured a $300 grant from the Northern California Women's Caucus for Art to hold a group exhibition at Arc Gallery in San Francisco. • Curated and installed the show “Inhabiting Blurred Divides” at Arc Gallery. ### Lead Art Instructor @ Galileo Learning Jan 2015 – Jan 2015 | Tiburon, California • Taught art for 50 pre-school students at day camp. • Worked as part of a team to care for all campers and create an exciting atmosphere. ### Bartender @ Elephant Bar Restaurants Jan 2011 – Jan 2015 | Emeryville, California • Ensured guest satisfaction from start to finish: greeted guests, took orders, delivered food in a timely manner, handled payment transactions • Greeted all incoming guests • Answered calls, fielded guest questions and directed calls accordingly • Managed customer service complaints and found appropriate solutions • Handled large amounts of cash daily ### Volunteer Art Instructor & Program Coordination Assistant (Bridging the Arts) @ University of California, Berkeley Jan 2013 – Jan 2015 | Berkeley, California, United States • Developed curriculum and taught art for over 150 elementary and junior high school students, including students with Autism, using very limited budget/resources • Assisted in the coordination of the program, including mentoring fellow instructors and organizing exhibitions and fundraisers ### Shift Leader @ Rubio's Restaurants, Inc. Jan 2005 – Jan 2012 | El Cerrito, California • Managed a team of 5-10 employees to ensure smooth daily operations of restaurant • Handled cash for entire restaurant and ensured the accuracy of daily cash deposits • Wrote daily operations reports • Managed store inventory and weekly food/supply orders • Distributed employee paychecks • Kept track of petty cash • Managed customer service • Reached daily sales targets • Ensured cleanliness of entire restaurant • Interviewed potential employees and trained new employees ### Shift Supervisor @ Starbucks Jan 2006 – Jan 2009 | El Cerrito, California ## Education ### Master of Education - MEd in Learning Design, Innovation, and Technology Harvard Graduate School of Education ### Bachelor's degree in Studio Arts & English University of California, Berkeley ### Associate of Arts (A.A.) in Liberal Arts and Sciences/Liberal Studies Diablo Valley College ### Pre-College Program in Metal and Jewelry Arts California College of the Arts ## Contact & Social - LinkedIn: https://linkedin.com/in/katie-yarnold - Website: https://www.katieyarnold.com/ - Website: https://www.katieyarnold.art/ --- Source: https://flows.cv/katieyarnold JSON Resume: https://flows.cv/katieyarnold/resume.json Last updated: 2026-04-08