# Sam Gurango > UX/UI & Product Designer | Crafting Research-Driven, People-First Experiences for Web & Mobile | #OpenToWork Location: San Francisco Bay Area, United States Profile: https://flows.cv/samgurango With 3+ years of UX/UI and Product Design experience, I help startups and mission-driven teams turn complex ideas into intuitive, people-first digital products. My work spans wellness, mental health, women's health, sustainability, eCommerce, and beyond—leading zero-to-one builds, user research, and iterative testing that improve satisfaction and drive meaningful engagement. I'm especially drawn to products that promote well-being, behavior change, and a sense of belonging. My approach blends UX strategy with playful, research-driven design—because great design should feel good, do good, and be easy to use. Currently open to part-time and full-time roles with values-aligned teams, while continuing to support small businesses through freelance and community-led work. When I'm not a pixel-pushing problem-solver, you can catch me dancing to EDM or spending time with my two Siamese cats. 📧 sgurangodesign@gmail.com ## Work Experience ### UX/UI Designer @ Confidential AI Research Lab (via Handshake MOVE Fellowship) Jan 2025 – Present Contributing to structured evaluation of advanced systems across high-volume, multi-domain task sets, with a focus on clarity, usability, and user alignment. Strengthening skills in defining and applying success criteria by assessing multi-step outputs at scale, using human-centered reasoning in ambiguous or subjective scenarios. Helping inform internal quality benchmarks by synthesizing insights from 100+ evaluations, providing clear justification and rationale to support consistent decision-making. ### User Experience Designer @ Sam Gurango Design Jan 2023 – Present | San Francisco, California, United States Provide UX/UI design and product strategy support to startups and small businesses—specializing in intuitive, human-centered digital experiences across health, wellness, e-commerce, sustainability, and beyond. Collaborate closely with clients on research, prototyping, and responsive interfaces across web and iOS. Apply systems thinking and behavior-driven design to both user-facing products and internal workflows. Project highlights include: • LePal.ai – Designed an AI-powered mental health app for Gen Z, leading end-to-end UX research including 20+ interviews and usability tests. Created user personas, wireframes, and interactive prototypes to support two feature iterations. Informed product and pricing strategy through competitive analysis and behavioral insights. • Impulse – Designed a social accountability app for habit-building and well-being. Developed standardized usability testing protocols that saved 20+ hours/month and uncovered key UX issues. Collaborated cross-functionally on 25+ product decisions and created 15+ brand-aligned assets across mobile and web. • Hip Hub – Redesigned the subscription flow for a music media iOS app, increasing freemium-to-paid conversions by 50%. Delivered 47+ wireframes and prototypes, and established a cohesive design system to ensure visual and functional consistency across the platform. • GalleryPal – Led a Design Sprint for an iOS art gallery app, from ideation to prototype. Delivered high-fidelity wireframes with minimal, elegant layouts designed to enhance spatial navigation and user delight. • Unearth – Designed a career-matching app end to end, from user research to high-fidelity UI. Conducted 25+ interviews and surveys to develop personas, empathy maps, and a WCAG-compliant design system. Case study featured in UX Collective’s Bootcamp. ### UX/UI & Brand Designer @ Upsilon Jan 2025 – Jan 2025 Assisting in developing Upsilon Health’s brand bible, including typography, color scheme, and logo design. Helping define and refine brand visuals to reinforce branding and ensure consistency across digital platforms. Designing user flows, wireframes, high-fidelity mockups and interactive prototypes of products, establishing and enhancing the user experience from the ground up. Leading usability testing and applying feedback to iterate on designs, improving UX. ### Market Research Analyst (Extern) @ Colton Alexander Jan 2024 – Jan 2024 | San Francisco, California, United States Conducted in-depth market research on climate-focused industries to identify emerging trends, user behaviors, and innovation gaps—honing skills in discovery, analysis, and strategic insight. Led due diligence on two sustainability startups and sourced an additional company aligned with the firm’s investment thesis. Assessed market fit by connecting user needs to product potential, mirroring the research, synthesis, and alignment processes core to product design. Presented actionable insights on product viability and stakeholder value. ### Founding UX/UI & Product Designer @ SOLEOADO Jan 2023 – Jan 2024 | San Francisco, California, United States Designed an immersive e-commerce platform for a B2C art-inspired brand recognized by cultural icons including Bad Bunny, Alicia Keys, and Kali Uchis. Led website redesign and WordPress migration (15% conversion increase, 21% bounce rate drop), built a design system, and created cohesive brand visuals. Orchestrated social campaigns with 1-2M total impressions and 30% CTR. Broadened creative impact with packaging, brand storytelling, and collaboration management. ### Corps Member @ Teach For America Jan 2022 – Jan 2022 Selected from a competitive national pool of ~45K applicants to teach high school biology in under-resourced schools. Designed inclusive, student-centered learning experiences that made complex content more accessible—laying the foundation for a user-first mindset. Balanced credential coursework and large classroom sizes while gaining early experience in research, storytelling, and experience design under high-pressure, real-world conditions. ## Education ### Bachelor of Science – BS in Environmental Science; Minor in Business, Cum Laude University of San Francisco ### Certification in UX/UI Design Springboard ## Contact & Social - LinkedIn: https://linkedin.com/in/sgurangodesign - Portfolio: https://sgurangodesign.webflow.io/ --- Source: https://flows.cv/samgurango JSON Resume: https://flows.cv/samgurango/resume.json Last updated: 2026-04-13