Mini is available for hire
Hire MiniMini Kim
Verified Expert in Design
Researcher & Designer
New York, NY, United States
Toptal member since March 13, 2019
Bio
Mini has worked with a diverse array of clients for over a decade in New York City. She enjoys learning about different industries and their unique challenges, having worked with healthcare, finance, and technology companies, amongst others. Mini strongly believes that UX is about collaboration between the business, users, and technology. In every project, she uses various UX methods and deliverables to get the best results.
Experience
- User Research - 13 years
- User Interviews - 13 years
- Service Design - 13 years
- Service Blueprints - 13 years
- Design Thinking - 13 years
- User Journey Maps - 13 years
- Usability Testing - 13 years
- Qualitative Research - 13 years
Portfolio
Corporate Integration Process
Journey MappingProcess MappingInformation DesignStakeholder EngagementMergers & Acquisitions (M&A)Integration+ 10 more
Campaign Process for Media Agency
User Journey MapsProcess DesignUser ResearchQualitative ResearchInterviewsData Visualization+ 8 more
Usability Testing Media Booking Tool
Usability TestingQualitative ResearchUX ResearchUser InterviewsHeuristic EvaluationQuantitative Research+ 10 more
UNICEF Innovation Map
NonprofitsNon-governmental Organizations (NGOs)MapsData VisualizationSurvey DesignGoogle Forms+ 5 more
Work Experience
UX Researcher
2025 - 2025
Robinhood
- Conducted qualitative user interviews with Robinhood Gold customers (Robinhood's loyalty program) to understand how they think about and use retirement accounts.
- Conducted discovery research with Robinhood Gold customers to understand their views on custodial accounts for their children, informing the direction of the new offering.
- Helped Robinhood identify differences among customer segments and how these differences could influence future account types.
Technologies: Research, User Research, Qualitative Research, Qualitative Analysis, Fintech
UX Researcher and Designer
2024 - 2024
Colgate-Palmolive
- Researched and created a user journey outlining the current process the innovation teams follow when developing new products.
- Led and helped design the process for how different teams collaborate on new product development, creating wireframes that outline how the new AI platform will organize ideas.
- Conducted user testing on the AI-generated idea and innovation prototype with target users.
Technologies: User Research, Feature Analysis, User Journey Maps, UX Audits, User Interviews, Stakeholder Interviews, Wireframing, Low-fidelity Prototypes, User Flows, Artificial Intelligence (AI), Generative Artificial Intelligence (GenAI)
Lead UX Researcher
2022 - 2024
Assurance
- Managed the UX research team and defined research methods for nine different product managers. Helped them define their problems and provide insights.
- Led the UX designers on the insurance agent side of the company by setting up UX design processes.
- Educated product teams on UX design and UX research.
- Contributed to planning sessions for each quarter and the planning direction of product features.
Technologies: Figma, FigJam, Presentations, Jira, Confluence, UX Sketching, User Journey Maps, Personas, User Research, Web Usability, User Interviews, UX Research, Sitemaps, User Flows, Usability Testing, Wireframing, UX Workshops, Usability Heuristics, Facilitation, Service Design, Service Blueprints, Design Thinking, Workshop Facilitation, Process Design, Qualitative Research, Interviews, Process Mapping, PowerPoint Design, Journey Mapping, UX Strategy, Software as a Service (SaaS), Design Leadership, Product Discovery, Product Design, Lean UX, SaaS, SaaS Design, User Experience (UX), User Testing, Complex Web Systems, Workshops, Business Intelligence (BI), Artificial Intelligence (AI), eCommerce, Mockups, Feature Analysis, Stakeholder Interviews, Low-fidelity Prototypes, UX Audits, Generative Artificial Intelligence (GenAI), User Personas, User Journeys, Qualitative Analysis, Research, Data-heavy Design
Vice President, Service Design
2021 - 2022
JPMorgan Chase
- Connected with stakeholders in the Corporate Investment Banking team to define the problems within the internal process.
- Led meetings with high-level stakeholders to discuss potential strategic changes to the internal process.
- Collaborated with UX designers in different teams to define research and guide them in design updates.
Technologies: Figma, Excel 365, Microsoft Word, Microsoft PowerPoint, UX Sketching, User Journey Maps, Personas, User Research, Web Usability, User Interviews, UX Research, Sitemaps, User Flows, Usability Testing, UX Workshops, Usability Heuristics, Facilitation, Service Design, Service Blueprints, Design Thinking, Workshop Facilitation, Process Design, Qualitative Research, Interviews, Process Mapping, PowerPoint Design, Journey Mapping, UX Strategy, Design Leadership, Product Discovery, SaaS, SaaS Design, User Testing, Complex Web Systems, Workshops, Business Intelligence (BI), Feature Analysis, Stakeholder Interviews, Low-fidelity Prototypes, UX Audits, User Personas, User Journeys, Qualitative Analysis, Research, Fintech, Data-heavy Design
UX Designer
2021 - 2021
SRAM
- Planned and conducted in-person focus group research at an event within one week, delivering findings to help the team decide on upcoming digital projects.
- Created user personas for SRAM’s digital initiatives based on qualitative research.
- Developed UX research guidelines for the SRAM team as the first UX researcher on the digital team.
Technologies: UX Design, UX Research, User Research, User Testing, Figma
Hero Analytics Designer
2019 - 2020
Anheuser-Busch
- Interviewed the data team to understand their current work, mapping out their process to identify how it could be simplified with a dashboard.
- Designed data visualizations for the marketing and analytics teams managing global sales.
- Collaborated with the manager to design and conduct a workshop to uncover dashboard users’ needs.
Technologies: Microsoft Power BI, UX Design, UI Design, Mobile Design, Web Design, Tablet Design, Analytic Design
Lead UX Design Instructor
2018 - 2020
General Assembly
- Designed a lesson plan with the General Assembly syllabus as a guide.
- Taught a 10-week-long, part-time UX design course.
- Created and led a 3-hour workshop on user journey mapping.
Technologies: Google Slides, Apple Keynote, Sketch, InVision, Figma, UX Sketching, User Journey Maps, Personas, User Research, Web Usability, User Interviews, UX Research, Sitemaps, User Flows, Usability Testing, Wireframing, UX Workshops, Usability Heuristics, Facilitation, Service Design, Design Thinking, Workshop Facilitation, Process Design, Qualitative Research, Interviews, Process Mapping, Journey Mapping, UX Strategy, Design Leadership, Product Design, Lean UX, User Experience (UX), User Testing, Prototyping, Workshops, Mockups, Stakeholder Interviews, Low-fidelity Prototypes, UX Audits, User Personas, User Journeys, Qualitative Analysis, Research
UX Research and Design
2019 - 2019
Icarus Lived
- Conducted discovery research in the early stage of the startup to define a user persona, helping the company clarify the target audience for its content app.
- Synthesized research findings and designed a remote, three-day, abbreviated Google Sprint (design thinking) workshop, facilitating sessions with the founders and team to define the MVP.
- Created multiple user flow diagrams to help the founder clarify the content product, followed by rapid prototype testing.
Technologies: UX Design, UX Research, Design Thinking, Workshops, UX Workshops, User Flows
Senior Product Designer
2019 - 2019
Clover Network, Inc.
- Contributed to the internal process and design of the eCommerce section of Clover.com.
- Served as the main product designer for the growth team, working on improving the number of purchases of Clover devices online and making the application process easier for the customers.
- Suggested UX research methods for the project, drafted a research plan, facilitated user testing on Usabilitytesting.com, and created a research synthesis, user flow, and user journey map to communicate with the stakeholders.
Technologies: MURAL, Adobe Photoshop, Adobe Illustrator, Sympli, InVision, Sketch, Figma, UX Sketching, User Journey Maps, Personas, User Research, Web Usability, User Interviews, UX Research, Sitemaps, User Flows, Usability Testing, Wireframing, UX Workshops, Usability Heuristics, Facilitation, Service Design, Service Blueprints, Design Thinking, Workshop Facilitation, Process Design, Qualitative Research, Interviews, Dashboards, Process Mapping, PowerPoint Design, Journey Mapping, UX Strategy, Software as a Service (SaaS), Design Leadership, Product Discovery, Product Design, Lean UX, SaaS, SaaS Design, User Experience (UX), Web Design, B2B, User Testing, Complex Web Systems, Point of Sale, Prototyping, Workshops, eCommerce, Mockups, Feature Analysis, Stakeholder Interviews, Low-fidelity Prototypes, UX Audits, User Personas, User Journeys, Qualitative Analysis, Research
Lead UX Researcher and Designer
2016 - 2019
Publicis Media (Publicis Groupe)
- Led the team involved in gathering user requirements, user testing, and wireframing for the in-house media planning tool.
- Handled the UX research to understand the media campaign flow and created a process map and user personas.
- Developed a research plan and usability testing template.
- Conducted a competitive analysis of different tools on multiple projects.
- Suggested UX research methods for a project based on the product team's needs.
Technologies: Abstracts, Zeplin, OmniGraffle, Adobe Illustrator, Microsoft PowerPoint, Microsoft Word, Microsoft Excel, Sketch, InVision, UX Sketching, User Journey Maps, Personas, User Research, Web Usability, User Interviews, UX Research, Sitemaps, User Flows, Usability Testing, Wireframing, UX Workshops, Usability Heuristics, Facilitation, Design Thinking, Workshop Facilitation, Process Design, Qualitative Research, Interviews, Dashboards, Process Mapping, PowerPoint Design, Journey Mapping, UX Strategy, Software as a Service (SaaS), Design Leadership, Product Discovery, Product Design, SaaS, SaaS Design, User Experience (UX), Web Design, B2B, User Testing, Prototyping, Workshops, Business Intelligence (BI), Mockups, Stakeholder Interviews, Low-fidelity Prototypes, UX Audits, User Personas, User Journeys, Qualitative Analysis, Research, Data-heavy Design
Senior UX Researcher and Designer
2015 - 2016
Shutterstock
- Planned and conducted user research and created a report that demonstrated the users' needs and challenges through the map of the existing user flow.
- Managed junior UX designers and UX researchers and guided them in planning and running user testing.
- Conducted and facilitated a workshop for the users.
Technologies: Google Slides, Adobe Photoshop, MURAL, OmniGraffle, Microsoft PowerPoint, Adobe Illustrator, Sketch, InVision, UX Sketching, User Journey Maps, Personas, User Research, Web Usability, User Interviews, UX Research, Sitemaps, User Flows, Usability Testing, Wireframing, UX Workshops, Usability Heuristics, Facilitation, Service Blueprints, Design Thinking, Workshop Facilitation, Process Design, Qualitative Research, Interviews, Dashboards, Process Mapping, PowerPoint Design, Journey Mapping, Software as a Service (SaaS), Design Leadership, Product Design, Lean UX, SaaS, SaaS Design, User Experience (UX), Web Design, B2B, User Testing, Complex Web Systems, Prototyping, Workshops, Mockups, Low-fidelity Prototypes, UX Audits, User Personas, User Journeys, Qualitative Analysis, Research
Director of Design and Interaction
2013 - 2014
UNICEF Office of Innovation
- Built a design-and-interaction team by hiring designers, developers, and data scientists.
- Determined priorities, defined the deliverables, and set timelines for different projects.
- Oversaw designers, data scientists, and developers throughout all the projects.
- Created a process for the whole team to determine what projects to prioritize.
Technologies: Microsoft PowerPoint, Adobe InDesign, Adobe Illustrator, Microsoft Excel, Adobe Photoshop, UX Sketching, User Journey Maps, User Research, Web Usability, User Interviews, UX Research, Sitemaps, User Flows, Usability Testing, Wireframing, UX Workshops, Usability Heuristics, Facilitation, Design Thinking, Workshop Facilitation, Process Design, Qualitative Research, Interviews, Dashboards, Process Mapping, Journey Mapping, Design Leadership, SaaS, Web Design, User Testing, Prototyping, Workshops, Mockups, Stakeholder Interviews, Low-fidelity Prototypes, UX Audits, User Journeys, Qualitative Analysis, Research, Data-heavy Design
UX/UI Designer
2012 - 2012
VivaKi (Publicis Groupe)
- Participated in wireframing exercises and meetings for the internal iPad dashboard of media buying for the CEO and CFO of Publicis Groupe.
- Designed the user interface and data visualization for the internal iPad dashboard.
- Mapped out the company's integration process and created an instruction manual.
Technologies: Adobe Illustrator, Adobe Photoshop, OmniGraffle, UX Sketching, User Journey Maps, Personas, Web Usability, Sitemaps, User Flows, Usability Testing, Wireframing, Usability Heuristics, Design Thinking, Dashboards, Product Design, Lean UX, SaaS, SaaS Design, User Experience (UX), Web Design, User Testing, Prototyping, Workshops, Business Intelligence (BI), Mockups, Low-fidelity Prototypes, UX Audits, User Personas, User Journeys, Qualitative Analysis, Research
Information Designer
2011 - 2012
Addison Design Company
- Researched and redesigned "Explanation of Benefit" for BlueCross BlueShield South Carolina.
- Created wireframes for the online 2011 GE annual report.
- Redesigned online and print collateral for TD Bank.
Technologies: Microsoft Excel, Microsoft PowerPoint, Adobe InDesign, Adobe Photoshop, Adobe Illustrator, User Journey Maps, Personas, User Research, Web Usability, User Interviews, UX Research, Sitemaps, User Flows, Usability Testing, Wireframing, UX Workshops, Usability Heuristics, Facilitation, Service Design, Service Blueprints, Design Thinking, Workshop Facilitation, Process Design, Qualitative Research, Interviews, Dashboards, Process Mapping, PowerPoint Design, Journey Mapping, SaaS Design, User Testing, Workshops, Low-fidelity Prototypes, User Personas, User Journeys, Qualitative Analysis, Research
Education
2012 - 2015
Master of Fine Arts Degree in Interaction Design
School of Visual Arts - New York City, NY, USA
2004 - 2008
Bachelor of Fine Arts Degree in Visual Communication
Washington University - St. Louis, MO, USA
Skills
Tools
Sketch, OmniGraffle, Lucidchart, MURAL, Slack, Apple Keynote, InVision, Google Slides, Microsoft Excel, Microsoft Word, Microsoft PowerPoint, Adobe Illustrator, Zeplin, Adobe Photoshop, Adobe InDesign, Google Forms, Excel 2010, Sympli, FigJam, Jira, Confluence, Microsoft Power BI
Platforms
Figma, iOS, Android
Industry Expertise
Insurance
Other
Process Design, Qualitative Research, Interviews, Journey Mapping, Process Mapping, User Testing, UX Sketching, User Research, UX Strategy, Usability Testing, Usability Heuristics, Web Usability, User Interviews, Workshop Facilitation, Facilitation, UX Research, User Journey Maps, Service Design, Service Blueprints, User Flows, Personas, Sitemaps, Information Architecture (IA), Design Thinking, Wireframing, UX Design, Competitive Analysis, Lean UX, Product Design, Software as a Service (SaaS), Design Leadership, Product Discovery, B2B, Complex Web Systems, Point of Sale, Prototyping, Workshops, Stakeholder Interviews, Low-fidelity Prototypes, UX Audits, User Personas, User Journeys, Qualitative Analysis, Research, Fintech, Data-heavy Design, Information Design, Dashboards, UI Design, PowerPoint Design, Competitor Analysis & Profiling, UX Workshops, Card Sorting, User Interface (UI), Design Strategy, SaaS, SaaS Design, User Experience (UX), Web Design, Business Intelligence (BI), Mockups, Feature Analysis, Abstracts, Data Visualization, Dashboard Design, Finance Reports, Financial UX, Annotated Wireframes, Graphs, Stakeholder Engagement, Mergers & Acquisitions (M&A), Integration, Guidelines, Heuristic Evaluation, Quantitative Research, User-centered Design (UCD), Form Design, Health Insurance, Nonprofits, Non-governmental Organizations (NGOs), Maps, Survey Design, CartoDB, Financial Design, Workflow, Startups, Graphic Design, Typography, Excel 365, Presentations, Artificial Intelligence (AI), eCommerce, Generative Artificial Intelligence (GenAI), Mobile Design, Tablet Design, Analytic Design
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