About

PHILIP HAN

Who I Am

I am a multidisciplinary designer who uses a human-centered and systems approach to solve complex problems.

Born in Germany, raised in France and Michigan, to American and Chinese parents, my cultural ambiguity pushes me to analyze context and think from many different perspectives.

Why Design?

Design is the strategic alignment of people, processes and technology, to achieve desired outcomes. My strengths paid well with the world of design: being strategic, futuristic, curious, ideative, and empathic. Coupled with my skills in design thinking, design research, qualitative analysis and synthesis, wireframing, information architecture, content strategy, and workshop facilitation among others have led me to be recognized as a specialized generalist.

I have an innate, natural curiosity to explore and understand the many contexts and drivers behind systems (be it cultural, financial, technological, etc.). Why do they exist? How did they begin? What caused them to evolve? Who lives with them? Who influences them? How do they relate to others? What motivations and frustrations do people have? Most importantly, what might systems look like in the future?

This is why my mission is to Create Desirable Futures.

What I Do

When it comes to identifying a specific designer title, it can be difficult as it shifts based on client, project, semantics, and other factors:

User Experience Designer
(Wireframing, Information Architecture, Journey Mapping, User Flows, Content Strategy, etc.)

User Experience Strategist
(Business + Design + Development)

Service Designer
(Service Blueprinting, Process Mapping, Customer Journeys, User Personas etc.)

User Experience Researcher
(User Interviews, Qualitative and Quantitative Research, User Testing, etc.)

My Experience

For over 4 years, I have worked with International brands and enterprises (Herman Miller, Gordon Food Service, Caterpillar, Toro), Small and Mid-size Businesses (Ferris Coffee & Nut, Chamberlain), and non-profit organizations (Mayo Clinic, Spectrum Health, United Nations Universities).

Engagements have ranged from smaller week-long strategic sprints, to being integrated within larger long-term program increments on enterprise agile teams.

How I Work

Driven by a natural ability to navigate ambiguity, backed by an analytical and strategic mindset, and pulling from a diverse toolset of methodologies, I work with, and help teams thrive at the intersection of services, systems, products, business, and technology.

Known to be flexible and adaptive, my strengths are best utilized in nimble, collaborative environments surrounded by diverse subject matter experts, stakeholders, and most importantly: access to real people ("users")!

Boundless curiosity, strong collaboration, deep exploration, and rapid iteration are core principles in my work.

A Note on Ethics

It is my belief that creators bear the responsibility to respect all living things and their ecosystems - be it social, cultural, financial, or environmental. Our actions, and the actions we don't take, have impact.

With this in mind, I love to work with people and organization who strive to create desirable futures that are equitable and sustainable.