About
Katie Lee is a UX researcher and design and innovation strategist with over 10 years of experience driving product innovation and business growth through the lens of consumers’ needs and stories. Her work combines a background in product and service design with human-centered design thinking at its core. She is passionate about helping brands connect with their consumers on a deeper level and translating their needs into actionable insights and strategy. She also thrives on cross-functional collaboration, helping bring ideas to life though ideation, concept development and opportunity mapping.
Katie’ has led complex research initiatives and has brought to life innovative products and services for industry leaders such as Google, Nike, Intel, and Gatorade. She is currently residing in Los Angeles, CA and is a Principle UX Researcher at Pura.
Katie is an expert in:
Consumer shopping behavior, needs, and decision-making
Customer retention, subscription behavior, and loyalty
Smart home technology, connected products, and app experiences
Fragrance, lifestyle, and consumer product experiences
Global youth culture and omnichannel shopping behavior
Generative AI perceptions, trust, and responsible design
Professional creatives’ workflows, AI adoption, and innovative digital experiences
Other interests include traveling, cooking, being active and exploring our beautiful national and state parks and eating as much good asian food as possible, especially noodles and dumplings. Always happy to connect over some good food! :)
Skills and specialties:
Championing the consumer’s perspective in business and product decisions
Shaping research strategy around business goals and emerging opportunities
Designing rigorous, tailored research methodologies for complex questions
Translating consumer insights and market trends into product strategy and innovation
Aligning cross-functional teams and leadership around consumer needs and strategic direction
Communicating complex insights through compelling narratives and actionable frameworks
Facilitating strategic workshops to align vision, uncover opportunities, and drive ideation
Please get in contact if you would like to hear more about past work and projects.
Experience & Work
Current Work
Pura
Principle UX Researcher, Feb 2025 to Present
Speaking Engagements and Articles
Keynote Speaker, Design Management Institute: Diversity In Design Conference, May 2024
Delivered a keynote presentation to design executives and professionals on the topic of ‘AI and Creativity: Embracing Collaborative AI As our New Partner?’. The presentation explored six innovative approaches for designers to leverage Generative AI to enhance creativity and craft rather than diminish it.
‘AI Has a Trust Issue’
Published a LinkedIn article titled 'AI has a trust issue’, that outlines six user needs that AI products and features should look to meet to gain user trust.
Past Work
Smart Design
Senior Design Strategist, Nov 2021 to Dec 2024
Evolve Collaborative
Senior Design Researcher, Oct 2020 to Nov 2021
Design Researcher / Product Designer, Oct 2015 to Oct 2020
Freelance Researcher and Designer, throughout 2014
The Good Flock
Designer, 2013 - 2015
Katie received her BFA in Product Design from the University of Oregon in 2014. Her foundation in design thinking and hands-on problem solving informs her work as a researcher and product innovation strategist.
