Product Design Leader
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People & Pixels
I’m a Product Design Leader with 18+ years of shaping impactful experiences. I build & nurture collaborative, holistic design teams that craft beautiful, intuitive experiences. My leadership style is people-first. My teams and the users we design for are at the heart of everything I do.
BRANDS I’VE COLLABORATED WITH
FEATURED WORK
Yahoo Consumer Products Design
Co-led Yahoo’s Consumer Products Design Org of 50+ global designers through organizational change, leadership transitions & strategy shifts. Implemented structured design processes to restore clarity, collaboration, and team morale.
Content Experiences & Platforms
Built a ground-up Content Platforms Design team, unified fragmented tools into a cohesive, scalable platform ecosystem through deep cross-functional collaboration, design vision, and strategic organizational change leadership.
Led strategic, user-centered explorations integrating AI and machine learning across Yahoo’s ecosystem, to thoughtfully enhance product experiences
Led the vision, design strategy, team alignment, and cross-functional collaboration to deliver a fast, consumer-friendly CMS platform that enabled external creators to publish seamlessly across the Yahoo network
Developed and led a cross-functional platform org strategy, creating a unified platform suite and foundational design system across 20+ content platform tools, streamlining workflows, and enabling scalable development.
Binge-ready in 8 weeks. Designing delight for TV fans, fast.
Led and designed a new video streaming platform in partnership with Hulu. A 0-to-1 product in an accelerated eight-week timeline from concept to launch.
ADDITIONAL CASE STUDIES
Speed meets strategy in design-led R&D.
0-1 INNOVATION
RAPID-PROTOPYING
PRODUCT-MARKET FIT
Bringing empathy and insight to financial health.
0-1 FINTECH PRODUCT
FINANCIAL EMPOWERMENT
HUMAN-CENTERED DESIGN
Breathing new life into the Yahoo Lifestyle Properties
REBRAND & REDESIGN
VISUAL STORYTELLING
NEW REVENUE OPS
Bringing users together through experiences and utility
VIDEO CO-WATCHING
LIVE EVENTS
SOCIAL & REMOTE EXPERIENCES
Leadership Approach
With years of experience leading and designing in the trenches, I’ve gained a deep understanding of creative process, the power of collaboration, and the importance of giving designers the time & space to do their best work. As a leader, I focus on providing guidance, tools, and autonomy, to empower my teams and give them the support they need to create exceptional experiences.
Through thoughtful guidance, advocating for design thinking, and building strong relationships, I lead with empathy, care, and enthusiam, creating environments where creativity thrives. Whether it’s whiteboarding, sketching, or pushing pixels when needed, I stay actively involved, championing my team through every step of the design process.
CORE STRENGTHS
Cross-Functional
Product Strategy
I take a holistic approach, aligning product opportunities with business goals and user needs. Listening to users and data, I provide actionable insights and solutions that inform product strategies. I collaborate closely with product and engineering teams to drive actionable insights and cohesive strategies.
0 to 1
Product Development
I specialize in driving products from concept to launch, through collaborative UX sprints, formulating UXR strategies, rapid prototyping, and user testing. I work closely with Product to identify opportunities, solve problems, and shape UX. I advocate for Minimum Lovable Products with a “ship to learn” mindset.
Design Excellence,
Execution, & Delivery
I foster a culture of trust, team growth, and excellence, ensuring high quality through feedback loops, cross-functional collaboration, and continued learning. I empower teams to take ownership and deliver exceptional, timely work with a focus on design thinking and cross-functional alignment.
Endorsements
Thoughtful notes from teammates
“After six years working with Nina, I can confidently say she’s an exceptional mentor and manager. From intern to senior, she supported my growth, gave thoughtful feedback, and brought clarity to product discovery and cross-functional collaboration.”
Debby Hsu
Senior Product Designer • Yahoo
“I can only hope to have a manager like Nina again. She truly cared about our team, advocated for our needs, and supported us personally and professionally. Her clarity, problem-solving, and leadership helped me grow so much as a designer”
Emily Dong
Product Designer • Yahoo
“I was extremely lucky to have Nina as a mentor and manager. She championed our team, created a fun and collaborative environment, and helped us grow by advocating for our needs and aligning our work to clear product direction. I learned so much from her and would be lucky to work with her again.”
Samantha Cheung
Product Designer • Yahoo
“Nina is one of the best designers and managers I’ve worked with—opinionated yet pragmatic, creative yet collaborative. She leads with humility and authenticity, and brings a lightness and fun that reminds everyone to breathe and enjoy the work.”
Julien Langlois
Engineering Manager • Polyvore, Yahoo
HELLO 👋
Let’s Connect!
Thanks so much for checking out my work.
Feel free to reach out! I’d love to chat, share more, or explore ways we can collaborate!