Cathy Jin McDonald

Cathy Jin McDonald

UX/UI Design | Accessibility | Design Systems

5 yrs experience · Los Angeles, CA · 10-20 hrs/week

About

Hello! I’m Cathy. I’m a Product Designer who loves creative problem-solving and crafting intuitive and elegant interfaces. My expertise includes designing educational CMS tools such as admin dashboards, user permissions, mass messaging systems, and more. I have 4+ years of professional experience collaborating with product, engineering, and cross-functional teams. I've led multiple features from inception to release, including a form payments with signatures feature that drove an 18% increase in revenue and an announcement feature that boosted engagement rates by 40%. My data-driven designs enhance usability, accessibility, and engagement with measurable improvements in task completion and user satisfaction. Skills: UX & UI Design, App & Web Design, Wireframing, Prototyping, High-Fidelity Mockups, User Research, Usability Testing, Heuristic Analysis, Competitive Analysis, Storyboarding, User flows and journeys, User Personas. Tools: Figma, Adobe Illustrator, Photoshop, InDesign, Adobe XD. Mission: My goal is to drive a positive impact and contribute to projects that make a difference. I aspire to help shape services with user-friendly design and continue contributing by designing tools that empower users. Portfolio available upon request.

Skills

AccessibilityAdobe Creative SuiteAdobe IllustratorAdobe InDesignAgile Project ManagementDesignDesign ResearchDesign StrategyDesign SystemsDesign ThinkingFigmaGraphic DesignHeuristic EvaluationHigh Fidelity PrototypeIcon DesignProcess ImprovementProduct DesignProduct StrategyPrototypingStoryboardingUI/UX DesignUXUX StrategyUX researchUsability TestingUser Interface DesignUser ResearchUser-Centered DesignVisual Design

Experience

  • UX/UI, Brands & Websites2025-05-01 –

    I’ve worked with clients across industries to create intuitive, impactful digital experiences and cohesive brand identities. My work spans UX/UI design, brand strategy, and marketing-focused design. Projects I’ve completed and am actively working on include: Designing UX/UI for websites that prioritize usability, engagement, and conversion. Developing design systems to ensure scalability and consistency across digital products. Creating brand identity packages including logos, color palettes, and typography systems. Designing email campaigns and templates to support marketing initiatives. Building portfolio websites for creative professionals to showcase their work and attract opportunities. I bring a collaborative, user-centered approach to every project, blending thoughtful strategy with strong visual design.

  • Product Designer & Product Manager · Edlio2021-10-01 – 2025-03-01

    Led the UX strategy for homepage news announcements, the most-used tool by schools, resulting in a 25% increase in engagement. Designed and launched a 0-1 Accessibility Report Tool, helping schools ensure content accessibility before publishing. Achieved 30% of projected sales revenue, signaling strong early demand and customer interest. Contributed to and maintained a Figma design system, ensuring consistency and regularly updating components used by developers across all teams to streamline implementation. Led the UX research plan, conducting interviews and usability testing to inform design decisions and shape the roadmap, resulting in a 15% increase in user satisfaction. Evangelized UX maturity and advocated for users, introducing methodologies such as usability testing, competitive analysis, journey & empathy mapping, and storyboarding to drive product enhancements. Created impactful UI designs and high-fidelity prototypes transforming concepts into intuitive experiences and effectively communicating ideas to stakeholders. Managed design tasks in an Agile environment, ensuring high-quality deliverables within tight deadlines.

  • Client Success Specialist · Edlio2019-02-01 – 2021-10-01

    Achieved a 96% retention rate by identifying user pain points, tracking engagement metrics, and providing actionable insights to improve customer experience. Transitioned from Client Success to Product Design by analyzing user needs and behaviors, leveraging metrics to provide insights that shaped design decisions. Collaborated with product managers to identify and address customer needs, shaping product features through direct customer interviews and feedback. Led research and discovery phases, analyzing client health and churn scores to drive product enhancements and strategic improvements. Led the knowledge team, overseeing the creation and maintenance of wikis, FAQs, and help articles to improve customer self-service and support efficiency.

  • Escrow Officer · Escrow World Inc.2013-01-01 – 2019-01-01

Education

  • Santa Monica CollegeAssociate's degree, Graphic Design
  • University of California, Santa Cruz

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