🙏 Thanks for stopping by.

I've spent my career trying to make complex things feel inevitable — the kind of experience where you don't notice the design because it just works.

 

Along the way, AI has fundamentally changed how I work — and honestly, how I think about design. I am glad to be designing at a time when the whole design process itself is being reinvented, and I'm genuinely excited to be part of that shift.

 

Always happy to chat about how AI is changing how designers work.

Experience

theGuarantors ·  2025 - Present

Lead Product Designer

 

Microsoft ·  2017 - 2025

Product Designer

PowerPoint, OfficeAI, Office Search

 

Google ·  2016

Design Intern

Google Shopping

Education

University of Washington

M.S - HCDE

2017

 

University of Washington

B.A Political Science

2012

My process

📝

Understand the problem

I’m a fan of a solid PRD, but I don’t need one to get moving. I actually thrive in the "messy" phase—digging through ambiguity to figure out what the real problem is and what success actually looks like for the business. I make sure we’re aligned on the intended outcome before I even think about opening Figma.

🔬

Discovery

I get close to the problem — running user interviews, sending surveys, talking to sales/account managers, and mapping journeys. This is where assumptions get challenged and real insights surface

👨🏻‍💻

Design

This is where craft meets strategy. I design for scale, sweat the details, and prototype key interactions early — not to have all the answers, but to get the right conversations moving faster

📈

Getting Buy-in

Good ideas don't ship themselves. I bring stakeholders along through clear storytelling, well-framed trade-offs, and design that speaks to business goals — turning alignment into momentum

© 2025 Samuel Shen.

Images © Samuel Shen & respective companies

Handcrafted with Figma

🙏 Thanks for stopping by.

I've spent my career trying to make complex things feel inevitable — the kind of experience where you don't notice the design because it just works.

 

Along the way, AI has fundamentally changed how I work — and honestly, how I think about design. I am glad to be designing at a time when the whole design process itself is being reinvented, and I'm genuinely excited to be part of that shift.

 

Always happy to chat about how AI is changing how designers work.

Experience

theGuarantors ·  2025 - Present

Lead Product Designer

 

Microsoft ·  2017 - 2025

Product Designer

PowerPoint, OfficeAI, Office Search

 

Google ·  2016

Design Intern

Google Shopping

Education

University of Washington

M.S - HCDE

2017

 

University of Washington

B.A Political Science

2012

My process

📝

Understand the problem

I’m a fan of a solid PRD, but I don’t need one to get moving. I actually thrive in the "messy" phase—digging through ambiguity to figure out what the real problem is and what success actually looks like for the business. I make sure we’re aligned on the intended outcome before I even think about opening Figma.

🔬

Discovery

I get close to the problem — running user interviews, sending surveys, talking to sales/account managers, and mapping journeys. This is where assumptions get challenged and real insights surface

👨🏻‍💻

Design

This is where craft meets strategy. I design for scale, sweat the details, and prototype key interactions early — not to have all the answers, but to get the right conversations moving faster

📈

Getting Buy-in

Good ideas don't ship themselves. I bring stakeholders along through clear storytelling, well-framed trade-offs, and design that speaks to business goals — turning alignment into momentum

© 2025 Samuel Shen.

Images © Samuel Shen & respective companies

Handcrafted with Figma

🙏 Thanks for stopping by.

I've spent my career trying to make complex things feel inevitable — the kind of experience where you don't notice the design because it just works.

 

Along the way, AI has fundamentally changed how I work — and honestly, how I think about design. I am glad to be designing at a time when the whole design process itself is being reinvented, and I'm genuinely excited to be part of that shift.

 

Always happy to chat about how AI is changing how designers work.

Experience

theGuarantors ·  2025 - Present

Lead Product Designer

 

Microsoft ·  2017 - 2025

Product Designer

PowerPoint, OfficeAI, Office Search

 

Google ·  2016

Design Intern

Google Shopping

Education

University of Washington

M.S - HCDE

2017

 

University of Washington

B.A Political Science

2012

My process

📝

Understand the problem

I’m a fan of a solid PRD, but I don’t need one to get moving. I actually thrive in the "messy" phase—digging through ambiguity to figure out what the real problem is and what success actually looks like for the business. I make sure we’re aligned on the intended outcome before I even think about opening Figma.

🔬

Discovery

I get close to the problem — running user interviews, sending surveys, talking to sales/account managers, and mapping journeys. This is where assumptions get challenged and real insights surface

👨🏻‍💻

Design

This is where craft meets strategy. I design for scale, sweat the details, and prototype key interactions early — not to have all the answers, but to get the right conversations moving faster

📈

Getting Buy-in

Good ideas don't ship themselves. I bring stakeholders along through clear storytelling, well-framed trade-offs, and design that speaks to business goals — turning alignment into momentum