About — Khoi Nguyen

About

Designer who codes.
Researcher who ships.

Currently

M.S. Integrated Design, Business & Technology — USC Iovine and Young Academy

Freelance Product Designer + Front-End Developer

Seeking full-time opportunities starting Summer 2027.

I'm a freelance product designer and front-end developer based in Los Angeles. I graduated from UC San Diego in June 2025 with a B.S. in Cognitive Science (Design & Interaction) and am now pursuing my M.S. at the USC Iovine and Young Academy in Integrated Design, Business & Technology.

My path started junior year of high school as a marketing intern at a non-profit. Working closely with industry product designers, I became immediately fascinated by how they blended technical and creative skill sets to turn ideas into real, usable products. I never looked back.

I bring together a technical background, a creative mind, and a genuine love for people to advocate for real users while solving problems inventively. Five years from now, I hope to be part of a team of engineers, designers, and PMs building the future of technology. In the meantime, I'm dedicated to shipping impactful work.

Experience

The journey
so far.

2019

UX Design Intern

GiveTeens20 — Fremont, CA

Where it all started. Developed a comprehensive design system that modernized the organization's website while working alongside industry UI/UX designers.

2022

UX/UI Designer

Association for Computing Machinery — UC San Diego

Conducted user research on UCSD students and staff to identify pain points within the UC San Diego mobile app, driving a 15% increase in usability.

2023

Product Designer

COMPASS Institution — San Diego, CA

Led UI/UX design for a comprehensive six-page website redesign. Built design systems, wireframes, and high-fidelity prototypes across mobile, tablet, and desktop.

2025

Interaction Design Instructor Assistant

UC San Diego

Mentored 30+ students on designing and evaluating user interfaces, applying cognitive principles and UI best practices to critique and grade their work.

2025

Product Designer

San Diego Public Library

Redesigned the Library Market event and reservation system. Conducted staff interviews, mapped workflows, and created high-fidelity prototypes that reduced scheduling errors and double-bookings.

2025

Graduated from UCSD

University of California, San Diego

B.S. in Cognitive Science with a Design & Interaction specialization and minor in Computer Science. Graduated with Dean's List every quarter.

2025

Freelance UI/UX Designer

Labora Cafe — San Diego, CA

Designed and launched a fully responsive website for a new local cafe. Built the brand identity from scratch and shipped in 4 weeks — driving 1.1K unique visitors and 2.6K page views within the first two weeks of launch.

2025

Founder + Product Designer

KHOI App — Independent

Designed and developed a two-sided beauty marketplace connecting clients with independent beauty professionals. 309 beta sessions across 9 testers. Shipping to App Store.

2025 — Present

M.S. Student

USC Iovine and Young Academy — Los Angeles, CA

Pursuing a Master of Science in Integrated Design, Business & Technology. Expected May 2027.

2019 · Where it started