EXPERIENCE

2019 – current

2019 – current

Experience Designer & Strategist 

Experience Designer and Strategist 

International

2019 – current

UX Design Lead 

London, UK

2021 – current

UX Design Lead 

International 

2019 – 2021

UX Designer & Strategist

Krk, Croatia

2016 – 2019

UX Designer 

Grand Rapids, MI, USA

2016

UX Designer 

Grand Rapids, MI, USA

2015

Design Intern 

Grand Rapids, MI, USA

2013 – 2015

Design Work-Study 

Grand Rapids, MI, USA

2013

Design Intern

Shanghai, China

2012 – 2014

Design Intern

Grand Rapids, MI, USA

200918-Philip-Han-and-Matthew-Wheeler-on-a-UX-Research-trip-web-1

In-situ UX Research in Chicago, Illinois, USA

PHILIP HAN

Why I work in design 

I have an innate, natural curiosity to explore and understand the contexts and drivers behind systems (be it cultural, environmental, technological, financial). 

Design is the strategic alignment of people, processes and technology to achieve desired outcomes. My strengths pair well with problem solving: strategic, futuristic, curious, ideative, and empathic. Coupled with my capabilities in design thinking, human-centered design, design research, workshop facilitation, UX/UI, and product design, I have become recognized as a specialized generalist. 

What I do*

My roles shift based on clients, project needs, and other teaming factors. Most often I am seen as a Product Designer or User Experience Designer given my ability to span from initial research, to framing opportunities and solutions, through the exploration and designing of features for implementation — continuously iterating and testing throughout the process.

If I work on a team with other Designers who will own and handle the UI Design, then I serve the team as a User Experience Researcher or Design Researcher — often helping with UX and Product Strategy. Providing teams with qualitative foundational research, workshops, design sprints, information architecture, journey maps, user flows, collaborative co-creation sessions, users and product testing, and most importantly: shedding light on anything needed to clarify, unblock, or accelerate product management, UI design, and development teams.

*Semantics here are critical as organizational cultures interpret and define roles, terms, and methodologies in different manners given their unique contexts and differences. 

Who I've worked with

My engagements range from single week strategic sprints, to being embedded for multiple quarters. 

International Enterprises  

  • Allergan Data Labs 
  • Wayfair 
  • Herman Miller 
  • Consumers Energy 
  • Gordon Food Service 
  • Caterpillar 
  • Toro 

Startups 

  • Foreshadow 
  • Pogo 
  • Pitch 

Non-Profit Organizations 

  • Ecologi 
  • Mayo Clinic 
  • Spectrum Health 
  • United Nations Universities 

Small-to-Midsize Businesses 

  • Balkan Brothers 
  • Forecast 3D 
  • Triad Behavioral Health 
  • Ferris Coffee & Nut 
  • AOP 

Who I've worked with

I have worked with startups (Ecologi, Pogo, Pitch), international brands and enterprises (Wayfair, Herman Miller, Consumers Energy, Gordon Food Service, Caterpillar, Toro), small to midsize businesses (Balkan Brothers, Forecast 3D, Triad Behavioral Health, Ferris Coffee & Nut, AOP), and non-profit organizations (Mayo Clinic, United Nations Universities, Spectrum Health).

Engagements range from brief single week strategic sprints, to being embedded on a product team for multiple quarters. 

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 help teams thrive at the intersection of services, systems, products, business, and technology.

Being 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 (a.k.a.: 'stakeholders', 'customers', '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 carry the responsibility to respect and protect nature, living things and their ecosystems — be it social, cultural, environmental, or financial.

Actions, and inactions, 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 for all.  

Philip-Han-DJing-at-The-Porter-Party-2019-wide-web

Vinyl set at Downtown Greenhouse

INTERESTING FACTS 

LANGUAGES 

🇺🇸 English
🇩🇪 German 
🇫🇷 French 

LIVED IN 

🇩🇪 Germany 
🇫🇷 France 
🇺🇸 United States 
🇨🇳 China 

TRAVELED TO 

🌍 Africa 
🌏 Asia 
🌍 Europe 
🌎 North America 
🌏 Australia 

26 countries (so far)

View Airtable → 

PLANTS UNDER CARE

🪴 10 Asparagales
🌿 9 Alistamales
☘️ 4 Rosales
🌵 3 Saxifragales
🌺 1 Gentianales
🌱 1 Asterales

View Airtable →

Interest & Passions

▻ Exploring the world and its wonders 
▻ Wandering via hike or bike 
▻ Camping and enjoying time offline 
▻ Building and renovating things 
▻ Cooking and preserving foods 
▻ Cultivating plants and microorganisms 
▻ Researching technology and personal autonomy 
▻ Experimenting with multisensory installations 
▻ Mixing music and working on live analog sets 
▻ Collecting vinyl, art, and artifacts 

True_To_Form_Logotype_white-web
Balkan-Brothers-logo-white-web
Wayfair-logo-white-web
Herman-Miller-logo-white-web
OpenDigital-logo-white-web
Visualhero-logo-white-web
Mayo-Clinic-logo-white-web
Spectrum-Health-logo-white-web
Ferris-logo-white-web
UN-logo-white-web
Gensler-logo-white-web
KCAD-logo-white-web

DESIGN PRINCIPLES

CONTEXT 

Deep understanding of people, business, and systems is key to creating impactful solutions 

FRAMING  

Reducing risk by maintaining an informed, evidence-based definition of the problem and opportunity space 

ITERATION 

Working in an agile manner — frequently testing, continuously refining solutions 

DELIVERABLES & ARTIFACTS

UNDERSTAND  

User Research 
Archetypes & Personas 
Journey Maps 
Service Blueprints 
Systems Maps 
User Flows 
Audits 

User Research 
Analysis & Synthesis 
Personas 
Journeys 
Service Blueprints 
Systems Maps 
User Flows 

COLLABORATE 
COLLABORATE 

Workshops
Co-creation 
Team Facilitation 
Presentations 

CREATE 

Design Strategy
UX Wireframes 
Visual UI Mockups 
Information Architecture 
Interactive Prototypes 
Design Systems 

Design Strategy
UX Wireframes 
Information Architecture 
Visual UI Mockups 
Interactive Prototypes 
Design Systems 

TOOLS & METHODS

TOOLS 

Figma 
Whimsical 
Slack 
Pen & Paper 
Workshops 
Whiteboards
Sticky Notes
AirTable 
Miro 
Webflow 
UserTesting 

METHODOLOGIES 

Design Thinking
Human-Centered Design 
Service Design 
Lean UX 
Collaboration 
Co-Creation 
Agile 
Iteration Cycles 

MEASURE + TEST 

Qualitative Research
User Interviews
User Testing 
Analytics 
Experience Data 
A/B Testing 
Surveying 

RECOGNITION & INVOLVEMENT

Weekend for Good 
Pro-bono services for non-profits 

Design Week  
Facilitating design workshops for K-12 

KCAD Collaborative Design 
Speaking on HCD and DT methods 

Sustainability Champions Award 2016 
Service Design & UX for U.N. Conference 

Wege Prize 2015
International team – Composting 

Wege Prize 2014 
Local team – Hydroponics 

MWUX13 
Scholar – Placemaking  

Let's create desirable futures

Let's create desirable futures

Let's create desirable futures

Whether you need help to uncover evidence-based insights to reduce risk, frame the right problems, discover actionable opportunities,  design and build impactful experiences, or optimize your existing solutions — the time to create desirable futures is now.

Whether you need help to uncover evidence-based insights to reduce risk, frame the right problems, discover actionable opportunities,  design and build valuable experiences, or optimize your existing solutions — the time to create desirable futures is now.

Whether you need help to uncover evidence-based insights to reduce risk, frame the right problems, discover actionable opportunities,  design and build valuable experiences, or optimize your existing solutions — the time to create desirable futures is now.

Whether you need help to uncover evidence-based insights to reduce risk, frame the right problems, discover actionable opportunities,  design and build valuable experiences, or optimize your existing solutions — the time to create desirable futures is now.

Whether you need help to uncover evidence-based insights to reduce risk, frame the right problems, discover actionable opportunities,  design and build valuable experiences, or optimize your existing solutions — the time to create desirable futures is now.