FIONA CHU

Fiona is a mixed-method UX Researcher who merges analytical insights with creativity to shape meaningful experiences, steer strategic decisions, and advocate for users interacting with technology.

Fiona has experience in survey design, in-depth interview, diary study, contextual inquiry, usability testing, workshop, design strategy, digital health, and UX design. She cares about DEI and healthcare and has engaged diverse user groups such as visually-impared people, HCPs, individuals dealing with mental health challenges, parents with child of unique developmental path. Previously at ASUS Tech, C Space Health, and MINGYI Foundation.

UX RESEARCH | DESIGN | STRATEGY

Research

  • Medical Information Website for Parents

    1-year research made to build and refine website to empower parents with children of unique developmental path. From exploring problem space, defining user groups, generating concepts to evaluating design. Methods include secondary research, STP, survey, in-depth interview, persona, journey map, A/B Testing, usability testings. In collaboration with Design, Content Wrting, Developer, Marketing.

    Mixed Methods | Exploratory & Evaluative | Website Design | Health Equity

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  • Digital Mental Healthcare System for HCPs and Patients

    A series of exploratory and evaluative research projects lasting 1 week to 4 weeks, made to to build and refine a digital mental healthcare system that includes a patient app, a HCP dashboard, and a wearable device. Methods include survey, in-depth interview, diary study. In collaboration with Marketing, Data Analyst, Survey Fielding.

    Qualitative | Exploratory & Evaluative | App Design | Dashboard Design | Mental Healthcare

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  • Accessible IoT Devices for the Visually-Impared

    6-month research made to design and refine voice assistant tech and IoT devices usage more accessible for visually impared individuals. From exploring problem space, defining user groups to iterating process. Methods include secondary research, STP, Value Proposition Map, ethnography study, contexual inquiry, in-depth interviews, survey, A/B testing, persona, journey map, and usability testings. In collaboration with Data Analyst, Technician.

    Mixed Methods | Exploratory & Evaluative | Service Design | Tech Accessibility

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Design

  • Task Management App for Animal Shelter Staffs

    12-week solo project including UX Research, UX/UI Design to develop an app designed to help animal shelter staffs manage tasks, connect adopters and volunteers. Methods including in-depth user interviews, moderated and unmoderated usability testings, persona, journey map, wireframe.

    UXR | UX/UI Design | App | Figma

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  • Redesign Website for County Mental Healthcare Resources

    12-week solo project including UX Research, UX/UI Design to help public access mental healthcare information and resources easily. Methods including industry landscape research, UX Audit, competitive analysis, in-depth user interviews, usability testings, persona, journey map, wireframe.

    UXR | UX/UI Design | Website Design | Adobe XD | Figma

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  • Cultural Discovery App for LA Residents to Explore History, Art, Nature Around city

    14-week team work to facilitate designs that intersect culture protection and social needs within the riverfront communities. This app is made to encourage engagement with communities. We conducted fun participatory research on street, using image-based tool to explore thoughts and opinions of people regarding LA River and surrounding communities.

    UXR l Participatory l UX Design

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More Design

About

Driven by making our world a better place. I find immense joy in crafting experiences that spark growth and delight in people. I merge analytical insights with creativity to build solutions that matter. I’m a team player, a storyteller weaving narratives from data, a creative problem-solver who sees challenges as opportunities, a ‘big picture’ thinker thriving to bridge user needs with broader goals, and a life-long learner in the evolving landscape of human experiences.

Many would call me a deep thinker, but I just want to explore beyond the obvious, be a life-long learner, and build a meaningful life. I believe that our life experiences shape who we are as a person and a professional, nurturing our adaptability and empathy. I thrive on learning new things, traveling, engaging people who live and think differently from myself, to refresh how I see this world.

I care about mental health, education, personal growth, DEI, community building, travel & in-between culture. I love being part of teams where diverse minds converge.

I’m always seeking to improve my skillets as a strategic thinker, thoughtful analyst, creative and storyteller. My most recent adventure is volunteering in Nepal assisting local NGO to develop a discussion guide for mental health assessment.

In addition to my professional experience, I've been running a Fiona Jewelry on the side, on a mission to give back to mental health charities. It has been a wild ride growing as a one-person business, taking on multiple roles of designer, researcher, creative director, content creator, marketing and all others.

Currently reading: Lean Impact - How to Innovate for Radically Greater Social Good, The Pocket Universal Methods of Design, The Girl in the Green Dress, & Little Princess - One Man’s Promise to Bring Home the Lost Children of Nepal.

My Toolbox

I follow a dynamic five-phase approach, where the starting point depends on the project’s nature and can sometimes involve back-and-forth iterations rather than a linear process. My toolbox consists of a spectrum of UX research methods. I choose my method based on stakeholder input, the product development phase, constraints (resources + timeline), and the research questions we are trying to answer (attitudinal/behavioral).

What is?

Discover

What is the nature of the problem?
What do we already know?
What can we learn from current data?
Methods such as: User Interviews, Literature Review, Ethnography Study, Survey

what if?

Define

Which problem can we impact the most?
What is the business purpose behind?
What decisions will this research be influencing?
What are the constraints in time and resources?
Methods such as: Stakeholders Interviews, Competitive benchmarking, Research Scoping and Planning, STP, Value Proposition Map, Key Performance Index

What matters?

Empathize

How does user experience look like?
What challenges are they facing?
What tasks are they trying to complete?
Methods such as: User Interviews, Diary Study, Survey, Card Sorting, Persona, Journey Map, Participatory Design

What wows?

Develop

What is the user flow?
How can we design the experience?
Methods such as: User Flow, Wireframing, Information Architecture, Crazy 8 Ideation, Prototyping, Figma, Adobe XD

What works?

Evaluate

How users feel about content/design?
How usable is our product? How can we improve?
What do users like/dislike?
Methods such as: Moderated/Unmoderated Usability Testing, Survey, Screener Design, A/B Testing

What my colleagues say…

  • “A diligent and thoughtful consultant. With a background in UX, she has an eye for design, creativity, and analysis. She is a kind, supportive, and dedicated teammate. She worked hard to complete our projects and offered insightful questions and ideas to deepen the analysis. Fiona is a pleasure to work with and have on a team!“ - Barrett Ladd, Director, Customer Insights/Experience & Strategy

  • “Fiona is exceptional at synthesizing user data into actionable insights, and also very skilled at managing projects end to end. “ - Nancy Chang, Ed Media Founder, Ex-Mckinsey, Startup & Nonprofit Innovation Coach

  • “Fiona was always available to answer any questions I had, or provide assistance when needed. Fiona is extremely detail oriented, insightful and creative, and this was evident through her deliverables. I thoroughly enjoyed having Fiona as a colleague as she is easy to work with, very collaborative and an irreplaceable asset. Anyone would be lucky to have Fiona on their team.“ - Sajeda Ahmad, Research Consultant Peer, Health Science

  • “…Fiona is a dedicated teammate with genuine curiosity and a real desire to understand users and their problems. She’s also a fantastic communicator, and she’s fearless about learning new skills and mastering additional tools. And on top of all of this, her positive and caring vibe is contagious.“ - Penny Pan, Social Innovator, Nonprofit Project Manager/Advisor, Mental Health & Education

  • “She completed her tasks with minimal supervision, and very early on she gave me the confidence to give her more significant projects to handle. She is also an excellent communicator and people person, and is skilled in managing different stakeholders both internally and externally. Fiona is a committed, thoughtful and insightful contributor, I would recommend her as a great addition to any team or project!“ - Nancy Chang, Ed Media Founder, Ex-Mckinsey, Startup & Nonprofit Innovation Coach

  • “We had some difficult challenges throughout the project and Fiona is the type of person you can count on to keep a cool head in a stressful situation. Fiona has a very proactive personality and really tries to uncover insights to help the team move the project forward.“ - Nancy Chang, Ed Media Founder, Ex-Mckinsey, Startup & Nonprofit Innovation Coach

  • “I’m so impressed with the way she has jumped head first into the account in her first few weeks. Week 2, Fiona jumped into an IDI project and delivered a topline report. And now week 3 she was writing and owning a survey project. Not only was she willing to own the work, the way she thoughtfully asks questions and suggests ways of designing the reports/research activities show she has a passion and curiosity for the work and are really understanding the client’s business so quickly. We are so lucky to have you on our team!” - Aditi Tandon, VP, Brand Strategy & Insights for Healthcare

  • “Captivating storyteller and the relentless learner” is the phrase that comes to mind when I think about Fiona. I’ve had the pleasure of working with Fiona for 2 and a half years at the ASUS. Above all, I was impressed with Fiona’s ability to command a room and get people on board with ideas—even people who were initially on completely different pages... Fiona made sure everyone left with a smile. I’ve loved my experience working with Fiona, and I know that anyone looking to hire or work with her will, too.“ - Mao Jun Ren, Senior CMF Designer for Consumer Tech