Seattle, WA, USA

Designing for Social Impact & B2B

MS Human Centered Design @ UW

Strategic Product Designer with Research Roots — 3 years of Research and Strategy experience focused on operational and systems-level challenges.

A journey through four recent projects that I'm most proud of ↓

seattle neighborhood greenways | Master's Capstone

This year, I helped address the challenge of Seattle's disconnected bike network by designing and testing a holistic initiative for branded bike routes.

Visual Design

Systems thinking

Social Impact | Non-Profit

Co-design

Challenge

How might we make “local cycling knowledge” more accessible to inexperienced cyclists, so that they are able to navigate Seattle’s bike network more safely and confidently?

Outcome & Impact

An initiative for branded bike routes with six integrated elements that embed local knowledge into visible, physical guidance in the environment.

Challenge

How might we make “local cycling knowledge” more accessible to inexperienced cyclists, so that they are able to navigate Seattle’s bike network more safely and confidently?

Outcome & Impact

An initiative for branded bike routes with six integrated elements that embed local knowledge into visible, physical guidance in the environment.

Challenge

How might we make “local cycling knowledge” more accessible to inexperienced cyclists, so that they are able to navigate Seattle’s bike network more safely and confidently?

Outcome & Impact

An initiative for branded bike routes with six integrated elements that embed local knowledge into visible, physical guidance in the environment.

Samsara | Internship

Last summer, I led research and strategy for Samsara's truck driver coaching product, which helped the team create a product vision that secured executive buy-in.

Strategy

Design Research

B2B | Iot

Product Vision

Challenge

Customers needed a way to address costly behaviors outside of safety, but the team was unsure of what this experience would look and feel like.

Outcome & Impact

5 key insights that led to an updated product vision that secured buy-in from executive leadership.

Challenge

Customers needed a way to address costly behaviors outside of safety, but the team was unsure of what this experience would look and feel like.

Outcome & Impact

5 key insights that led to an updated product vision that secured buy-in from executive leadership.

Challenge

Customers needed a way to address costly behaviors outside of safety, but the team was unsure of what this experience would look and feel like.

Outcome & Impact

5 key insights that led to an updated product vision that secured buy-in from executive leadership.

🔐 View B2B strategy project →

focused | volunteer project

I also worked on a landing page redesign that resulted in a new live website and projected 10% increase in user acquisition.

Visual Design

Social Impact Startup

UX Design

Challenge

Prospective users struggled to understand the platform's value proposition, leading to low conversion and acquisition rates.

Outcome & Impact

A landing page redesign with clearer value proposition, improved information architecture, and more scannable content. Addressed 5 usability issues. Projected 10% increase in acquisition

Challenge

Prospective users struggled to understand the platform's value proposition, leading to low conversion and acquisition rates.

Outcome & Impact

A landing page redesign with clearer value proposition, improved information architecture, and more scannable content. Addressed 5 usability issues. Projected 10% increase in acquisition

Challenge

Prospective users struggled to understand the platform's value proposition, leading to low conversion and acquisition rates.

Outcome & Impact

A landing page redesign with clearer value proposition, improved information architecture, and more scannable content. Addressed 5 usability issues. Projected 10% increase in acquisition

View visual design project →

University of Washington | Master's Project

I expanded my typical problem solving approach by engaging with an emerging discipline — Transition Design — to translate a complex problem into a tangible future vision.

Systems thinking

Co-Design

Futures thinking

Social Impact

Challenge

How do you transform abstract sustainability concepts into concrete, inspiring visions that communities can rally around and work toward together?

Outcome & Impact

Created a replicable blueprint for translating complex systems challenges into community-driven visioning processes that other organizations can adapt and scale.

Challenge

How do you transform abstract sustainability concepts into concrete, inspiring visions that communities can rally around and work toward together?

Outcome & Impact

Created a replicable blueprint for translating complex systems challenges into community-driven visioning processes that other organizations can adapt and scale.

Challenge

How do you transform abstract sustainability concepts into concrete, inspiring visions that communities can rally around and work toward together?

Outcome & Impact

Created a replicable blueprint for translating complex systems challenges into community-driven visioning processes that other organizations can adapt and scale.

View system's thinking project →

Get to know my approach to design and who I am outside of work ↓

Where I've been

Psychology → UX Research → Product Design: I’m motivated by the process of understanding the complexities of humans and systems.

My journey from psychology to UX research, and now product design, reflects my curiosity and desire to not just uncover insights, but to translate them into impactful solutions. This is the sweet spot in the process, that I find most challenging but also most fun and rewarding.

How i work

From users to stakeholders to teammates, I'm passionate about creating spaces where people feel heard and understood.

These have become core parts of who I am as a designer that help me stay grounded in complex and ambiguous environments.

Connect all the dots

I'm always looking for the hidden connections in a system. I create visualizations and use frameworks that help us understand complex relationships—ultimately to get us unstuck and help us move forward.

Prioritize building relationships

I genuinely love to build relationships with coworkers outside of work and get to know people as humans. I've found this leads to trust, alignment, and buy-in (and also makes work more fun!)

Adapt my process to the context it's in

I recognize that all companies operate differently. I will always find a way to deliver insights, ideas, and designs that serve immediate needs without losing sight of the bigger picture.

Dig deeper to find the real problem

The real problem is usually never the first one that's voiced. My psychology education helps me ask better questions and listen for what people aren't saying to uncover the deeper needs and motivations of both users and stakeholders.

Skills I bring

A designer with a bend towards research and strategy

Design Strategy

Systems Thinking

User Research

Service Design

Interface Design

Futures Thinking

What inspires me

I'm a human too

These are a few of the things you can find me doing outside of work to stay grounded and find inspiration.

Biking
Dancing
Reading
Drinking Tea
Hiking

Camping
Bikepacking
Dancing
Drinking Tea
Reading

And I’ve always been passionate about psychology, so you can usually find me reading books about how humans think, feel, sleep, move, and be in relationship with one another.

Some of the recent books you’ll see on my Goodreads:

The Creative Act: A Way of Being by Rick Rubin
All About Love by bell hooks
Crying in H Mart by Michelle Zauner
The Myth of Normal by Gabor Mate

Contact

I'd love to connect, share ideas, and learn together 🌱

Seattle, WA, USA

sarah.stumme7@gmail.com

Available for work

Strategic Product Designer with Research Roots — 3 years of Research and Strategy experience focused on operational and systems-level challenges.

This year, I helped address the challenge of Seattle's disconnected bike network by designing and testing a holistic initiative for branded bike routes.

Last summer, I led research and strategy for Samsara's truck driver coaching product, which helped the team create a product vision that secured executive buy-in.

I also worked on a landing page redesign that resulted in a new live website and projected 10% increase in user acquisition.

I expanded my typical problem solving approach by engaging with an emerging discipline — Transition Design — to translate a complex problem into a tangible future vision.

Psychology → UX Research → Product Design: I’m motivated by the process of understanding the complexities of humans and systems.

From users to stakeholders to teammates, I'm passionate about creating spaces where people feel heard and understood.

Connect all the dots

Prioritize building relationships

Adapt my process to the context it's in

Dig deeper to find the real problem

A designer with a bend towards research and strategy

I'm a human too

Biking

Dancing

Reading

Drinking Tea

Hiking

Camping

Bikepacking

Dancing

Drinking Tea

Reading

I'd love to connect, share ideas, and learn together 🌱