My name is Sarah and I am based in Southern California. I tell compelling stories through data by leveraging my multidisciplinary background. I care about improving people’s lives through technology. As a “forever student”, I will always find an opportunity to grow.
I enjoy kayaking, knitting, and going on food adventures when I can.
Here is a list of my other favorite things:
📖 Books: Before the Coffee Gets Cold by Toshikazu Kawaguchi, Infinite Country by Patricia Engel , The House by the Cerluan Sea by TJ Klune
🎭 TV Characters: Ben Wyatt from Parks and Rec., Randall and Beth Pearson from This is Us
🎙️ Podcast: First Person
🎥 Movie: Kung Fu Panda
If you want to know more, feel free to download my resume or scroll through the web version on this page.
Answerlab / UX Researcher
March 2022 - Present
Planned, moderated and analyzed more than 40 research projects embedded with my client to achieve their key objectives.
Identified and streamlined gaps in research processes, which increased quantitative survey requests from client teams by 40%.
Because of my collaborative and co-ownership efforts, my client signed up for an additional workstream with AnswerLab to work exclusively with me.
Conducted quantitative and qualitative surveys, usability tests, participatory design studies and competitive analyses to facilitate strategic roadmaps for client company products.
Collaborated regularly with client researchers, client engineers, product managers and relevant stakeholders to break silos and ensure client success.
University of California – Irvine / Graduate UX Researcher
August 2017 - August 2020
Performed field observations to understand ways to better implement tangible technologies on canoes to help people with disabilities navigate waterways.
Conducted participatory design sessions with people who have low-vision and blindness to improve assistive technologies.
Awarded the Multidisciplinary Design Program Funding to integrate physical computing into cultural artifacts.
Interviewed participants to create a holistic understanding of culturally respectable computing.
Built digital artifacts and physical tangible prototypes that represent Malaysian shadow puppetry to demonstrate improvisation in storytelling.
University of California – Irvine / Teaching Assistant
August 2019 - August 2020
Instructed HCI design graduate students during their advanced prototyping and capstone courses.
Helped students improve core user task flows and wireframes to showcase good storytelling practices.
Provided feedback on information hierarchies and visual components of prototypes.
Demonstrated icon design to students using Adobe Illustrator and Sketch.
Blackbox @ Cards Against Humanity / UX Research Intern
June 2017 - September 2017
Created a competitive analysis matrix of companies to improve internal products.
Conducted card sorting activities with clients to improve the information hierarchy of the shipping and logistics interface.
Administered contextual inquiries to evaluate mental models around the interface.
Assisted in A/B testing of the Cards Against Humanity Lab site.
Indiana University / UX Research Assistant
March 2016 - March 2017
Designed research methodologies for social media collection.
Performed affinity diagramming and online ethnography of maker communities.
Established an understanding of how cultural computing manifest in Taiwan.
Utilizing design criticism to understand how history and design artifacts help with community advocacy.
Indiana University / Associate Instructor
August 2015 - May 2017
Taught HCI design students to employ theories of experience from material exploration to concept creation.
Educating students on how to craft experiences and user flow of physical computing and wireframed screens.
Trained other instructors and students on physical prototyping equipment like 3D printing and laser cutting.
Help students think about ways to do physical prototyping for research and user testing.
Notionfront / Video Production Assistant
May 2014 - February 2015
Image taken for Daym Magazine
Helped build websites using Wordpress and Joomla.
Created promotional videos for the Community Health Systems in Missouri.
Curated and photographed features section for the Daym Magazine.
World Vision USA / Graphic Design Intern
June 2013 - August 2013
Established methods of engaging the Korean and Chinese community in the West Coast region to become child ambassadors.
Copy edited content written in English and Mandarin and created monthly adverts in Korean.
Designed flyers, posters and postcards for a campaign in Mandarin, Hangul and English.
Columbia Missourian / Staff Photographer and Journalist
Jan - May 2013 & Aug - Dec 2013
Captured moments on camera through the observation of surroundings and archived metadata of photographs for easier accessibility.
Produced multimedia videos for the online news edition.
Worked in the urban community for the public life beat and built good rapport with the assigned local community.
University of California – Irvine / M.S. Informatics
September 2019 - August 2020
Indiana University / M.S. Human-Computer Interaction Design
August 2015 - May 2017
University of Missouri / B.A.J in Photojournalism
January 2011 - December 2013
University of Missouri / B.A. Religious Studies
January 2011 - December 2013
Sarah Ng, Jeffrey Bardzell and Shaowen Bardzell. (2020) Menstruating Entrepreneur:
Kickstarting the New Politics of Women’s Health. in 2020 Transactions of Computer Human
Interaction Special Issue: Women’s Health. New York, NY.
Shaowen Bardzell, Jeffrey Bardzell, and Sarah Ng. (2017) Supporting Cultures of Making:
Technology, Policy, Visions, and Myths. in 2017 Proceedings of Computer Human Interaction. New York, NY. DOI: https://www.doi.org/ 10.1145/3025453.3025975
Presentation
Sarah Ng. (2019) Neocolonial Databases and Negotiated Bodies. HASTAC 2019: Decolonizing Technologies, Reprograming Education. Vancouver, Canada.
Sarah Ng. (2020) Seizing Precolonial Nostalgia for a Transnational Future. in Center for Media, Religion and Communication at Imagined Borders, Epistemic Freedoms. Boulder, Colorado, USA.
Workshops
Sarah Ng & Noopur Raval. (2019) Inequalities of Global Knowledge Production. Accelerated
Academy Symposium. Lansing, Michigan
CHI Conference Late Breaking Work for ACM / Associate Chair
2020
Reviewed late breaking papers for human computer-interaction concerning design, culture and computing.
Coordinated and assigned reviews in the field.
Peer reviewed papers for rigourous research methodology, empiricism and research takeaways. courses.
DECADE / Head of Recruitment
2018 - 2020
Supervised recruitment for the Diverse Educational Community and Doctoral Experience group at the UC - Irvine.
Helped inspire talented undergraduates to apply for PhD programs at UCI.
Provided informational support for minority and first generation students.
Coordinated programs to support graduate students.
University of California - Irvine / Diversity Ambassador
2018 - 2019
Coordinated diversity activities for all current and incoming students in the fields of Informatics, CS and Engineering.
Developed a mentorship program between HBCU & UCI to increase the pool of talented PhD students. The efforts led to a noticeable increase in diversity the following year in the department.
Conducted webinars for prospective students and provided advice on the application process.
Business is Global / Mentor
March 2016 - March 2017
Taught students from rural communities in the US about design and innovation at Indiana University’s Kelly School of Business.
Indiana University Spring Research Symposium / Coordinator
2016
Organized the Spring Research Symposium where students showcased their project work.
Provided research support and coordination for students on site.
Designed the awards for winners using laser cutting.