# Yan Liu > Principal Product Designer @ Microsoft Ex-Spotify, BCG, Samsung Top 1% Mentor@ADPList | AI Product Builder | International Speaker Location: San Francisco Bay Area, United States Profile: https://flows.cv/yanliu Hello! I’m Yan, a product design professional with 10+ years of experience spanning multinational giants (Microsoft, Spotify, Samsung), unicorn startups (Nextdoor), and consulting agencies (Boston Consulting Group), along with 2 years of management experience. I thrive at the intersection of design and business, with expertise in driving growth-focused initiatives, shaping product vision and strategy, crafting go-to-market strategies, and building 0-to-1 products. With a strong data-driven mindset, I excel at translating complex business goals into innovative, creative solutions—a unique strength as a product designer. As a tactical and strategic thinker, I bring boundless energy and a hands-on approach to achieving impactful results. Feel free to connect with me at yanliudesign@gmail.com. Looking forward to collaborating! Strategic Thinker | Creative Leader | Expertise in B2B & B2C Products | Cross-functional Team Leadership | Problem Solving | Relationship Building | Transforming Ideas into User-Centric Experiences | ## Work Experience ### Principal Product Designer @ Microsoft Jan 2024 – Present | San Francisco Bay Area Patent owner on Copilot Design 💜 ### Product Design Mentor (Top 1%) @ adplist.org Jan 2024 – Present ### Product Design Lead - Growth @ Spotify Jan 2022 – Jan 2024 | United States Established Spotify as the go-to platform for live events from 0 to 1. Designing a cutting-edge marketplace feed with numerous live music shows, offering fans a seamless journey from live event discovery to ticket purchase. This initiative serves as a new monetization stream for Spotify, substantially boosting revenue for artists and venues. ### Lead Product Designer / Growth Strategy Expert @ Boston Consulting Group (BCG) Jan 2021 – Jan 2022 | New York City Metropolitan Area Our interdisciplinary team works on digital, technology, and data projects for a wide range of industries. We offer guidance and support through a strategic and client-centric approach and apply design, technology, and media solutions to take BCG’s achievements to the next level. - Optimized a digital marketing and email campaign strategy for a leading American manufacturing company - Designed a KPI dashboard and sales tool through data visualization for a multinational technology corporation - Improved Growth and retention metrics for an online learning platform to drive new customer acquisition (by 22%) and retention rate (by 28%). - Implemented internal clinic management and data tracking software for a global healthcare company - Created a mobile AR solution for energy transformation for a multinational energy corporation - Initiated a paid acquisition strategy and a new social media strategy for a leading American media company, increasing ROI to 21%, growing company web presence and global brand awareness by 34% - Implemented a VR/AR go-to-market strategy for Digital BCG. ### Venture Scout & Startup Advisor @ UpHonest Capital Jan 2022 – Jan 2022 Sourcing and investing early-stage startups. Providing product advice and consulting services to companies. ### Product Designer, Growth & Retention @ Nextdoor Jan 2019 – Jan 2020 | San Francisco Bay Area A Silicon Valley Unicorn went IPO in 2021. To be the neighborhood hub for trusted connections and the exchange of helpful information, goods, and services. Building connections in the real world. • Led the growth and retention team to deliver several core product experiences, including feeds ranking, new member onboarding, daily digest, safety moderation and so on. • Strategized to surface business value and improve member engagement across Nextdoor’s products through innovative growth and retention strategy. • Designed products from user research, low-fidelity wireframes to storyboards, user journeys, high-fidelity prototypes, and animations. Collaborated with PM and engineers to test and ship end-to-end products. • Created vibrant and creative illustrations to imagine the new branding of Nextdoor. ### Product Designer, Cloud SaaS @ VMware Jan 2018 – Jan 2019 | San Francisco Bay Area Consulted from EchoUser • Consulted as a Product Designer at VMware to redesign a cloud security monitoring and analysis product called Secure State. • Audited the current product and provided design solutions to solve user needs and business challenges through User Research, Storyboard, Interaction Design, Information Architecture, Prototyping, and User Testing. • Collaborated with UX designers, PM, security and compliance team, designed the dashboard, change log interface, CLI, cloud service providers, rule management and suppression workflow as well as the billing & usage user map. ### Design Research Fellow @ MIT Media Lab Jan 2016 – Jan 2018 | Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States Worked at the Tangible Media Group under the supervision of Prof. Hiroshi Ishii. Designed a machine called “Whisper” for subtle emotional communication. Responsibilities include user research, concept design and IOT design. • Worked at the Affective Computing Group under the supervision of Prof. Rosalind Picard. Designed a social wearable and App for Stress Management by detecting the stress level of the user throughout the day. • Worked at the City Science Group under the supervision of Prof. Kent Larson. Led a project about Urban Big Data Visualization and Projection Mapping through a data-driven approach. ### VR/AR Lab Design Associate @ Harvard University Jan 2016 – Jan 2018 | Harvard University • Gave lectures on Unity Design, 3D Modelling, Augmented Reality and Design Thinking to students and visitors. • Created a VR platform for Depression patients and designed the story and interaction flow for the experience/VR. • Assisted startups to build their ideas based on Design Thinking and Human-Centered Design strategy. • Daily inventory, monitoring equipment software upgrades/maintenance. ### Interaction Design Intern @ Samsung Electronics America Jan 2017 – Jan 2017 • Interned at Samsung Experience Innovation Lab, focusing on consumer IoT and Smart Home products. • Designed UX for Multi-Device Interaction Experiences and Services, improving connectivity between Samsung TV and mobile devices. Collaborated with PMs, researchers, and developers to revamp the brand strategy and user model. Developed detailed storyboards, wireframes, mockups, and prototypes to elevate Samsung's signature product line. • Enhanced UX design for Smart Home Experience, integrating Machine Learning and AI into the system to provide personalized and intelligent features that optimize user interactions and automate home processes. Designed UI screens with voice assistant integration to improve the overall user experience. ### Landscape Architect @ AECOM Jan 2015 – Jan 2016 | Paris, Île-de-France, France ### Architecture Designer @ Ramboll Studio Dreiseitl Jan 2014 – Jan 2015 | Singapore ## Education ### Master in Design Studies - Human Computer Interaction Harvard University ### Research fellow at MIT Media Lab in Tangible Media and Affective Computing Group Massachusetts Institute of Technology ### Cross-registration HBS courses Harvard Business School ## Contact & Social - LinkedIn: https://linkedin.com/in/yanliudesign - Portfolio: https://medium.com/@yanliuharvard - Portfolio: https://x.com/dreameryan026 --- Source: https://flows.cv/yanliu JSON Resume: https://flows.cv/yanliu/resume.json Last updated: 2026-03-25