Estele Kim

Design as a painkiller.

Not a vitamin.

Eight years of UX strategy and research across healthcare, automotive, fintech, telecom, energy, and ecommerce.

Selected Work

Six case studies.

Discovery, mixed-methods research, and strategy across healthcare, ecommerce, hardware, software, and AR/VR.

02

Expert 365 Business — TurboTax's first subscription tax service.

3-phase mixed-methods research lifted projected click-to-sign-up by 18%, cut call duration by 20%, and informed a 3-year product vision for human-AI hybrid service.

Intuit · TurboTaxUX Research LeadDiscovery → Vision2025
View case study
03

Spatial Computing — Honda & Acura brand strategy, 2030–2040.

6-month future-state research with 40+ SME interviews across gaming, sci-fi, neurotech, and futurism. Findings shaped Honda 0 and Acura brand narratives for Gen Z and established a framework for emotion-driven interfaces.

Honda R&DLead Researcher & PM40+ SMEs6 months
View case study
04

Tableau — Data & Business Strategy: postponing a one-year migration with evidence.

A retrospective mixed-methods study on EDF Energy's Tableau-to-Power-BI migration. 17 participants across NA, 50+ stakeholders, four departments. Research argued for a revised timeline — and got it.

EDF EnergyUX ResearcherMixed methodsArticle published
View case study
05

Care Navigation & Clinician Workflow — healthcare research on both sides of the system.

A 12-week mixed-methods program: 122 surveyed and 9 interviewed on how patients find trustworthy local care, plus supervised hospital contextual inquiry into how physicians document it inside the EMR/EHR. +23% satisfaction.

Healthcare · Digital HealthLead ResearcherEMR/EHR contextual inquiry+23% satisfaction
View case study
06

WhatsApp, enhanced — small interventions, outsized friction.

A 12-week self-directed mixed-methods usability study. Performance testing and think-aloud surfaced "low predictability" as the through-line; Figma redesigns delivered statistically significant gains across four of five tasks.

Self-directedPerformance + think-aloudt-test validated12 weeks
View case study
Research Shareout

What shareout could look like in a scaled research

A live, interactive proposal built from a Voice of Customer study — the evidence, the recommendation, and the revenue case in one navigable artifact.

At a Glance

The numbers behind the practice.

30+
Products &
features shipped
100s
Studies
conducted
1,000+
Participants
engaged
8
Years of
UX practice
About

Research that earns its place in the roadmap.

A researcher, strategist, and creative explorer based in Los Angeles. I blend data-driven insights with imagination to solve real-world problems and uncover new opportunities.

B2C, B2B, hardware, software, AR/VR. Mandarin, Korean, English. Two dogs, one husband. I work where the interesting tradeoffs live.

Estele Kim
YouTube — @EsteleK

I think out loud
on camera.

Short takes on research craft, AI in the design process, and what happens when evidence meets a roadmap. Same voice you would get in a working session — just shorter, and with fewer slides.

Also on the channel
Portfolio introductionOne minute · Researcher, strategist, creative explorer
Latest short

“AI gave me back three years.”

More Work

Eight years across categories.

Selected additional engagements spanning ecommerce, energy, telecom, and emerging tech. Walk-throughs available on request.

Telecom · B2C

Verizon
Customer UX

UX research embedded in a high-volume telecom environment — surfacing friction in consumer flows and contributing to retention-focused product decisions.

UX ResearcherPrior
Request walk-through
Under NDA
B2B · Hardware

STI
Hardware UX

Mixed-methods research at the intersection of hardware and software — designing for B2B users where workflow specificity and operational constraints define the brief.

UX ResearcherPrior
Request walk-through
Under NDA

Plus contract research engagements, self-directed studies, and graduate work at the University of Michigan's HCDE program.

What's Next

Building a Staff or Principal bench?

Let's talk.