Hi, I'm Sarah Ann!
I was named after both of my grandmothers, so I have two first names. My pronouns are she/her. I’m a curiosity-driven user researcher, with experience gathering insights on both consumer-facing and business-to-business teams for data-driven products.
Understanding users through research builds upon my foundation as a story seeker. My former career as a photojournalist taught me the power of combining ethnography, active listening, and documentary photography to share emotional stories that promote empathy and understanding. Today, I apply those skills to produce user research that is communicated in impactful and actionable ways.
I earned my master's degree in interaction design at the School of Visual Arts in New York City. My studies deepened my understanding of human-centered design and challenged me to consider the unique research needs and ethical implications of emerging technology.
In my free time, you can find me curled up with a good book and a cup of tea, or people-watching at Prospect Park. I'm always learning something new to fulfill my creative spirit. My latest side project is coding interactive generative art. ✨
Beginning full-time User Experience Researcher role in July 2022
Advocated for user needs based on qualitative and quantitative research for a machine learning-powered B2B SaaS supply chain risk management platform.
Designed, recruited, executed, and communicated the results of concept testing that influenced the design and product strategy for a high-priority new feature.
Spearheaded the development of 3 user personas based on 33 activity-based user interviews across various industries, areas of expertise, and countries.
Strategized engaging ways to communicate and socialize findings for alignment between engineering, product, design, and customer success teams.
Developed research infrastructure by creating a strategy for recruiting participants for an industry-specific research panel.
Designed and executed a qualitative, generative and evaluative research study that influenced the design direction of a consumer-facing, data-driven tool to promote skills-based career growth.
Collaborated with the Product Manager to develop and implement the first protocol for recruiting existing product users for research studies, leading to increased stakeholder exposure to users.
Shared findings with stakeholders in multiple actionable formats, including an interactive visual report, a presentation, and product team ideation workshop.
Conducted 250+ in-depth interviews and documented candid moments to tell 82 long-form journalistic stories that promoted understanding and empathy.
Led user experience research and strategy to implement cost-effective solutions to improve The Herald’s digital products and innovate ways to reach new audiences, resulting in a 254% increase in page views and a sustainable workflow for journalists.
Hired, managed, and mentored 8 staff photojournalists and photo interns.
🔗 Love Is Not A Memory: Visual Storytelling
Supported the accessible website design process with the needs of women with Parkinson's disease in mind.
Uncovered dozens of opportunities to improve the user experience through an accessibility audit, heuristic evaluation and navigation tree testing.
Led a collaborative product design team in the end-to-end process to create a high-fidelity prototype of a solution to promote skills-based career growth as part of the Citi University Partnerships in Innovation & Discovery program.
Conducted exploratory user research, which informed Citi's product roadmap.
Winner of Strategic Innovation in Product & Service Design competition.
🔗 Worthi by Citi x SVA