I was born and grew up in Kobe, Japan, and am currently located in Seattle. In 2015, I left my customer service job at a Japanese airline, ANA, and moved to Seattle to rebuild my education and career. During my educational journey, I discovered my passion for human-centered design, which simply resonated with my happiness to help others.
This background emphasizes my strong commitment to Japanese hospitality, an exceptional mindset that drives me to go above and beyond to understand and anticipate user needs. By embracing this philosophy, I strive to ensure every interaction is intuitive, seamless, and delightful, exceeding user expectations and fostering engaging and satisfying experiences.
Since I studied web design in 2018, I’ve provided UX/web/graphic design work for small businesses and nonprofits in Seattle and Japan. It's been such a fulfilling experience to support those who contribute to creating better communities and the world.
As an example, I designed these graphics to help Seattle-based nonprofit, Feet First, strategically promote walkable communities to younger demographics through social media.
I grabbed my first pen in 2018 and immediately fell in love with its beautiful forms and the power to calm the mind. I design celebration cards & envelopes and event decorations to bring people a sense of joy and happiness through my calligraphy.
I am a curious designer constantly thinking about how I can become a better designer. The ability to keep learning and adapting to the new status quo is vital in the fast-moving UX industry. I regularly read books, watch videos, and utilize social media to expand my knowledge and skills.
Everyone has something to offer. I embrace my uniqueness as a person from a different culture and professional background and focus on bringing unique value to the table.
As a designer, I acknowledge that we have the power to influence people’s lives and the world. Therefore, I make sure the impact I'm making is a positive one. I advocate for ethical design that centers marginalized groups, supports sustainability, and carefully considers unintended consequences throughout the design process.
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I had the pleasure of having Tomomi on my team. She is kind, humble and curious. As an intern, I saw Tomomi grow and gain confidence as she had more experience presenting to stakeholders about her research plans. She is an insightful, a good listener and very self directed. Tomomi has a bright future ahead and so much to contribute. Any team would be lucky to have Tomomi.
Lead Design strategist @Premera Blue Cross
Tomomi was a great addition to our team! A highly motivated and adaptable self-starter, she was able to ramp up on design at Graduate Student Association (GSA) and grew GSA's online presence from the ground up through her own efforts. Her passion for design runs high, and is exemplified by the thorough and detailed design that she continually produces. Tomomi is also very reliable and collaborative, always delivering on time and conducting herself in a noticeably professional and respectful manner. She is an asset to any design team that she joins!
Former President @HCDE GSA
I really appreciated Tomomi's flexibility, thoughtfulness, and positivity. Tomomi was fun and easy to work with. This project would not have been the same without Tomomi; not only did she put together an amazing final visual design, she made critical contributions throughout every phase of the project, including research, ideation, and user testing. Tomomi's dedication and work ethic did not go unnoticed or unappreciated by her team members.
Teammate in the User-Centered Design Course