# Noriko Usami

> Product Design × UX Research

Location: Walnut Creek, California, United States
Profile: https://flows.cv/noriko

Research Publication
Artistic Distance: Body Movements as Launching Points for Art Inquiry. In Proceedings
of the 33rd Annual ACM Conference Extended Abstracts on Human Factors in Computing
Systems (CHI EA '15). (co-authored with Kimiko Ryokai and Yoshinori Hara) 

Research Background
＋　Region: Have been conducting various research in Japan, Korea, Vietnam, China for more than five years
＋　Areas of interest: buyers' psychology, high value users, gamers, localization, cultural differences, usability, social impact
＋　Method: Qualitative methods (in-depth interviews, usability studies, diary studies etc), quantitative methods (large scale international surveys)

## Work Experience
### Product Design Lead @ Acumain Inc.
Jan 2023 – Present | San Francisco Bay Area

### UX researcher at Google @ High Context LLC
Jan 2017 – Jan 2018 | Mountain View

### UX Research and Design @ Griddle (educational game), Sigma Sports (wearable sports analytics)
Jan 2015 – Jan 2015 | Berkeley
Enriched and streamlined product concepts and developed UIs

＋　Defined user tasks and interaction flows based on findings from
user research and best practices 
＋　Created interactive mock-ups for laptop version by applying iterative design
techniques
＋　Collected feedback and communicated insights with the product manager,
engineers, and scientists

### Graduate Student Researcher (interaction design) @ UC Berkeley
Jan 2014 – Jan 2015
Researched Interactive Art Appreciation Systems with Prof. Kimiko Ryokai (published as a case study in ACMCHI 2015)

＋　Conducted contextual inquiry and field activities with experts and novices of abstract painting and Ikebana (Japanese traditional flower arrangement), created video ethnography and analyzed correlation between their thought process, space usage and body movement 
＋　Conceptualized application design that supports appreciation of Ikebana for novice audience through implicit and embodied interaction

### Design Intern @ The Climate Corporation
Jan 2014 – Jan 2014
Conducted UX Research and mobile UI design

＋　Took initiative and crafted UX research deliverables including 5 customer journey
maps and 3 persona concepts
＋　Developed and sketched interaction models and flows for tablet and mobile
devices by applying research findings and iterative design techniques
＋　Created interactive wire frames for tablet and mobile devices that were used for
formative evaluation
＋　Communicated insights with stakeholders including senior designers, product
managers and engineers

### Deputy Assistant Director @ Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA)
Jan 2009 – Jan 2011
Evaluated Official Development Assistance (ODA) projects, sector and country strategies

＋　Designed, managed, and published studies to identify and analyze socio-economic, environmental and behavioral impacts of large scale ODA projects
＋　Developed a model and methodology to evaluate regional development outcomes from multiple ODA projects through a case study in China; conducted various field surveys and stakeholder interviews
＋　Envisioned and facilitated training and joint evaluation activities with the Vietnamese government
＋　Supported and reviewed the designing, executing and publishing process by oversea offices and other departments; implemented content management by updating review standards and ensuring consistency and health of the knowledge generated
＋　Initiated and improved an interdepartmental knowledge sharing database on the intranet; generated and maintained contents from the Evaluation Department and designed interaction and implementation process that enabled users with different purposes to quickly and easily retrieve these information resources

### Country Officer @ Japan Bank for International Cooperation (JBIC)
Jan 2007 – Jan 2009
Appraised new ODA loan projects in Vietnam and conducted various studies and negotiations
 
＋　Designed and managed early-stage studies (up to $300,000) to examine technical feasibility as well as needs, capabilities, past and current socio-economic contexts of stakeholders relevant to new project ideas
＋　Led multidisciplinary teams of engineers, environmental specialists and domain specialists for the formulation of three infrastructure and community development projects ($100 to 200 million); designed output measurement and monitoring system as well as organized institutional structure for operation and maintenance 
＋　Conducted a loan agreement negotiation with the Vietnamese government for four projects, resulting in signing of loan agreements of approximately US$500 million in total


## Education
### Master of Information Management and Systems in UX/UI Design, HCI, Design Thinking
University of California, Berkeley
Jan 2013 – Jan 2015

### Bachelor of Law in International law
Hitotsubashi University
Jan 2002 – Jan 2007


## Contact & Social
- LinkedIn: https://linkedin.com/in/noriko-usami-93a0095
- Portfolio: http://norikomisra.com/

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Source: https://flows.cv/noriko
JSON Resume: https://flows.cv/noriko/resume.json
Last updated: 2026-03-25