Sandy Hongsan Chen is a digital product design leader with 15 year of experience in NYC, currently based in Taipei, Taiwan.

Design is my medium to reach the world.

Change is a constant in the tech industry, and I’ve watched it grown. For over a decade, I’ve practiced visual design, front-end coding, motion design, UI/UX, digital product design, digital strategy, UX research, design workshop creation, business operations, service design, product management, design operations, creative direction, product team direction, hiring, and mentoring.

In any practice, I apply Design Thinking. To me, design is not exclusively visual nor structural. It’s a string of intentional activities to discover and craft the best solution to improve any given product. It’s about creating processes to empower a team in building the most ideal product. To make these possible, I always fully immerse in the subject matter; collect and analyze user feedback and metrics; guide and direct delightful designs; combine user needs, business needs with industry needs, and apply strong project management skills through delivery.

I have a unique point of view of the world as a multi-lingual immigrant who studied business. I always keep the future landscape in mind and apply just enough empathy to make the best decisions. With incredible luck, I’ve had the pleasure to lead teams to produce solutions for clients in finance, automotive, education, sports, media, fashion, and B2C startups.

Numbers inform me

Data weaves together the story of any product. Through data analysis, we understand what happened in the past and what we need in the future to improve user experience and business performance. Setting and tracking team goals are equally important to encourage daily personal wins, which eventually amounts to incredible company wins. I believe in tracking intentionally and purposefully, whether it’s user engagement on Google Analytics, product NPS, departmental KPI, or personal OKR.

Products excite me

All products are born to deliver services needed in the world. Whether it’s tangible or digital, a well-designed product will optimize people’s lives. I love to think through all the problems, obstacles, possibilities, and put together a plan for simple user experience and elegant interfaces. Just thinking about how a well-designed product could shape the future of a community and a business really gets me going.

Users encourage me

Whether it’s asking a Uber driver the nuances of the driver interface, or understanding how anyone opens a current account in Scotland, I’m always surprised by the feelings and needs of users. I learn so much when users describe their own particular ways in interacting with the products. I love defining the target audience, understanding their pain points, and be reminded of the things that I’ve not thought of. Users encourage me to become a better problem-solver to provide ever-lasting value.

Leadership humbles me

When there are many business decisions to be made, it’s important to bring your humanity to work. Leadership is about sharing your knowledge to guide your team so they excel. Leadership doesn’t mean you have all the answers, but it does mean you can spot talent and nurture it to the fullest. Leadership means you recognize opportunity and know when to steer your team towards it. Most importantly, leadership means you constantly learn from anyone in your organization regardless of rank. I’m forever improving myself as a leader, and it always puts a smile on my face when my team shines.

  “To me, design is not exclusively visual nor structural. It’s a string of intentional activities to discover and craft the best solution to improve any given product.”