I’m an SF-based product designer turning any experience into gold – for users and businesses alike ✨

Aliena Cai

A neatly arranged workspace features a laptop, a UX sketchbook, a keyboard, drawing tools, stencil templates, and wireframe sketches for a mobile app design. The environment appears organized and intended for user experience design work.

Unveil Mobile App

Led end-to-end design for a social impact startup, building a social platform from 0 to 1 in just 2 months with rapid iterations and a small agile team, attracted 1K+ user interests.

A laptop displaying a webpage with the text 'I design and develop experiences that make people's lives simple.' is placed on a wooden table. It is set in an outdoor seating area with white furniture and greenery in the background. The setting appears to be calm and conducive to work or relaxation.

Stanford D.School

Conducted UX research and redesign for Stanford D.School's Shadow a Student Challenge, refining the UX to increase adoption by 30%. Collaborated with managers, UX designers, and data analysts to scale the initiative.

A well-organized workspace featuring a laptop, a potted plant, design sketches, and writing tools. The sketches appear to be wireframes for a 'Shopping Gift Voucher' application or website, drawn on white paper with annotations.

A person is typing on a MacBook Pro laptop surrounded by a smartphone, a green plant, a bottle of VOSS water, and a Starbucks paper cup. The laptop screen displays a UI/UX design with several circular graphic elements and a heading related to an iOS concept. The individual is wearing a smartwatch on their wrist.

Agents of Innovation

Led product design for a Silicon Valley innovation consulting firm, refining UX and increased user retention by 12%.

Brain-Computer Interface

Led product design for Cloudify 2025, a speculative brain-computer interface project imagining the future of the creator economy. Designed a social platform for idea sharing, sparked discussions and attracted 500+ user interests.

Should We Work Together? Let’s Find Out.

If you own a SaaS business and want to improve your design to boost adoption and conversion, I can help.

I specialize in making complex business products user-friendly. I work closely with engineers to bring designs to life and ensure everything runs smoothly.

From websites to apps, let’s turn your user experience into gold together! ✨

Connect

Client Feedback

Hear what clients say about Alena's exceptional design skills and expertise.

Aliena brought exceptional design, UX, and innovation skills to our team, reworking an innovation card deck and designing an Innovation Coin now in production. Her work was not only creative and high-impact but also delivered at lightning speed. A talented designer with great people skills—I highly recommend her.”

Bill C

Founder

Aliena is a go-getter who challenges the status quo for better results. She took on independent design projects from ideation to execution, including redesigning keynotes, worksheets, and handouts used globally. Her ability to collaborate, lead, and drive impact makes her an asset to any team.

Alex P

Product Manager

★★★★★

This is a sample portfolio

This is the portfolio I wish I had built when starting out as a UX/product designer. The project banner images do not represent my actual work.

Contact

aliena.connect@gmail.com