hello 👋

I’m Samara, a product designer based in New York 🥨.
With a background in industrial design, I craft thoughtful and intuitive experiences that bridge digital and physical worlds.
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I’m driven by the desire to improve people’s lives through design -solving problems with empathy, creativity, and strategic intent.
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Recently, I've been exploring emerging technologies, like gen-AI, which has enabled me to prototype faster, think broadly, and push beyond traditional UX into product, code, and business strategy.
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Check out some of my photos 📸.

Resume.pdf

Send me an email

samaradiazsanchez@gmail.com

Skills
User Experience Design
  • User research (interviews, surveys, usability testing)
  • Journey mapping, persona development, user flows
  • Wireframing, prototyping, interaction design
  • Usability analysis and UX audits
Product & Visual Design
  • Hi-fidelity handoff and responsive design
  • Motion design
  • Visual storytelling and creative direction
  • Design system creation and maintenance
  • Concept sketching, low-fidelity ideation
Problem-Solving & Collaboration
  • Design thinking and iterative problem solving
  • Cross-functional collaboration with developers, PMs, and stakeholders
  • Workshop facilitation (brainstorming, ideation sessions)
  • Balancing user needs with business and technical goals
Tools
Design & Prototyping Tools
  • Figma (primary design/prototyping tool)
  • Adobe Creative Suite (Photoshop, Illustrator, InDesign, XD)
  • Pen & paper (ideation, sketching, lo-fi concepts)
Web Tools
  • Webflow
  • Wix
  • Framer
  • Wordpress
UX Research
  • Sprig
  • UserTesting
  • Google Analytics
3D Design Tools
  • Spline
  • Rhino 3D
Experience

2025-Now

FULL TIME

Altus Group

Sr. UX Designer

2022-2025

FULL TIME

Altus Group

UX Designer

2021-2022

PART TIME

ZenSpend

Lead UX Designer (Personal Project)

2019-2020

PART TIME

YourMD.ca

UX Designer

2018-2019

PART TIME

Visual Analytics Lab OCADU

Research Assistant | UX Designer

2017-2022

FULL TIME

OCAD University

Student Services Coordinator

Education

2021-2021

Google Foundations of UX Design

Coursera Certificate

2019-2020

BrainStation

User Experience Design Certificate

2018-2019

OCAD University | School of Continuing Studies

Web Design & Development Skills Certificate

2013-2017

OCAD University | Bachelor of Design

Industrial Design

Minor | Entrepreneurship & Social Innovation

Impact

Beyond product design, I’m driven by team impact and knowledge-sharing. I’ve led UX lunch & learns at work, and introduce topics like emerging technologies (AI), micro-interactions, and designing for B2B, as well as others, to help elevate our collective practice. I believe in growing together as a team - through curiosity, honest feedback, and continuous learning. I also had the chance to contribute to the team's design system and documentation best-practices.

Process

Below is the design thinking process I follow. This process is inspired by a variety of methodologies that are weaved together to form a framework that I find helpful when designing. It is a mixture of the d.school Design process, the double diamond model and the scientific method, using techniques found in human-computer interaction research.

design process
archive