# Ringae Nuek

> Founder & College Admissions Consultant → Helping students build compelling profiles, tell authentic stories, and find great-fit colleges.

Location: San Francisco, California, United States
Profile: https://flows.cv/ringae

I picked my college in the United States out of a giant book while attending a boarding school in the Himalayas. 
Without the internet, MTV, Nirvana, and 90s action movies shaped my idea of America. I had visions of Boston as the ultimate college town, so I chose my college and showed up sight unseen.

Four years later, I graduated with a great education—but I wasn't happy. Great curriculum. Great professors. But wrong culture. Wrong vibe. I learned something crucial: it’s hard to make the most out of a place when you feel like a fish out of water. 

After graduation, I found my place. I spent 20 years in design strategy, helping companies like the BBC and Samsung understand what their customers actually need before building something expensive that might be wrong. The methodology was simple: deep research into user behavior, understanding the 'why', prototyping solutions, testing assumptions, iterating based on evidence.

Then I had teenagers of my own approaching college.

And I kept seeing families make the same blind bet I did—relying on rankings, marketing materials, and anxiety instead of strategic research. Optimizing for admission to any prestigious school rather than transformation at the right one.

It wasn’t until my kids were faced with the same big life decision that I realized that the frameworks I'd used to help companies understand users could be adapted to help families decode what colleges value, identify genuine fit, and design a meaningful college experience. 

The best news? When your student's strengths align with what a college values, you're not just finding a better fit—you're also becoming a stronger candidate with a story that will resonate.

Because you're not buying a credential. You're buying who your child becomes.

Now, after two years volunteering with ScholarMatch and completing UC Berkeley's Certificate in College Counseling, I'm offering the kind of college prep I wish I'd had. I help students understand themselves deeply, research strategically, and tell their story. And students who do this work arrive at college with more clarity about what they want to build there — not just relieved to have gotten in.

## Work Experience
### Founder | College Admissions Consultant @ Waysmith
Jan 2026 – Present | San Francisco, California, United States
I help students build compelling profiles, identify great-fit colleges, and craft applications that tell a coherent story.

My approach uses structured exercises to clarify values and direction, strategic research into what colleges actually prioritize, and frameworks that help students present their varied interests as strengths rather than scattered activities.

I work with families on everything from course selection and extracurricular strategy to college list development, essay coaching, and interview prep. All sessions are virtual.

### Fractional Product Design Leader @ Bloom Filter
Jan 2013 – Jan 2025 | San Francisco Bay Area
For twelve years, I helped startups in fintech, healthcare, legal tech, social impact, and consumer tech design products people actually want to use. Clients included Voxel, Impact Karma, Topology, Motif Investing, Flo Health and more.

My work spanned hands-on product design—shaping UX, making design decisions, building and leading teams—alongside the strategic work of figuring out product-market fit. That meant deep research into what users need and what the market values, then translating those insights into products and positioning that connect the two.

I worked closely with founders and executives to turn ambiguity into clear direction, helping them navigate high-stakes decisions with confidence.

Select engagements:

Voxel — Led redesign of this AI-powered workplace safety platform. Reshaped the core web app that helps safety teams use computer vision data to identify incident patterns and prioritize preventive measures.

Impact Karma — Led product & design of Karma Wallet, a web app tracking the impact of spending choices. Broad role spanning strategy, research, design, and product management

Topology — Led design and research at this eyewear startup, taking them from pre-MVP to a human-centered iOS app. Early research uncovered critical trust issues that shaped the company's roadmap

Motif Investing — Redesigned native apps end-to-end, mapping customer journeys, identifying key user types, and iterating with prototypes and user testing

Petabyte (acquired by Chewy) — Led product design of pet parent-facing iOS and Android apps. Conducted research with pet parents and vets that directly informed the app's design and features

### Head of Design @ Varo Money Inc.
Jan 2016 – Jan 2017 | San Francisco, CA
I took Varo from an investor deck through to their App Store launch. Work included running a Google Design Sprint with C-level stakeholders, participatory design sessions with our users, hiring and managing a small team, and leading product design in a fast-paced and resource-constrained environment.

I returned to Varo in 2019 in a consulting capacity to lead the UX design of Varo's new web application.

### Founder | UX Design Consultant @ Ringae Design Ltd
Jan 2004 – Jan 2013 | London
For nine years, I led UX efforts for large corporations launching new digital products or significantly redesigning existing ones—primarily in mobile and media. Clients included BBC, Samsung, Nokia, Motorola, Betfair and others.

I ran research that informed design decisions, developed frameworks and design systems, and worked closely with internal teams to turn concepts into shipped products. Much of this work happened during the transition from feature phones to smartphones, requiring rapid adaptation to new interaction paradigms.

Select engagements:

BBC — Redesigned the moderation system handling thousands of daily user submissions; contextual interviews significantly informed design choices. Re-engaged multiple times, including for mobile iPlayer navigation

Samsung — Developed design strategy and detailed 'blue sky' proposal presented to Samsung HQ for a new European mobile platform

Nokia — Led UX concept development for Live category phones; responsible for layering 'finger touch' onto the 5800 XPressMusic, Nokia's first full-touch phone

Motorola — Developed new mobile phone framework for low-end devices, prioritizing essential user goals and ease of use with wizard-style flows

Hutchison 3G — Managed integration of Facebook and Skype into the native UI of the 3 Skypephone S2 and INQ1 phones, creating a single integrated experience. The INQ1 won Best Mobile Handset at GSMA 2009 Mobile World Congress

Betfair — Redesigned the iPhone app and mobile web apps for this high-volume betting platform, significantly increasing mobile transactions and streamlining the core user flow

### Designer @ Foster + Partners
Jan 2003 – Jan 2004 | London
Led design of Foster + Partners' website and interactive media — CD-ROM building explorations, Flash interactives, and educational software for children associated with a building project.


## Education
### BA in cum laude, International Relations
Tufts University

### Professional Program in College Admissions Consulting Certificate
University of California, Berkeley

### MA with distinction in Interaction Design
Domus Academy

### High School
Woodstock School


## Contact & Social
- LinkedIn: https://linkedin.com/in/ringae
- Portfolio: https://waysmith.io/

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Source: https://flows.cv/ringae
JSON Resume: https://flows.cv/ringae/resume.json
Last updated: 2026-04-13