About me

Hi! I’m Nasim.

I’m a first-generation college graduate immigrant. I was fascinated with art and design from my childhood and I knew early on I wanted to continue my education in that field. Sadly I grew up in the bitter reality that I wasn't allowed to have higher education and pursue my passion because of my religion. As my life was not going in my desired direction, I left my home country to begin a new life in the United States. Few years after, I graduated with honors in Visual Arts/Media from the University of California San Diego.

How did I end up in the UX researcher role?

During school years I have held numerous shows of my artworks. I’d always bring a notebook with me to capture my audience's feedback. This helped me connect better with my audience. I realized that I'm more interested to know what sparks their reaction and the reasoning behind it. Little did I know that fascination throughout the years was going to transform into design research.

My experience with injustice and persecution helped me to build a deep connection with a diverse group of people and perspectives. Research became a survival strategy for me in the new country with a new language and new culture. To make the best decision for every task I needed to research history, background and new procedures. When I switched my focus into user experience, I finally had my “aha” moment and realized how I fit into a research role naturally. These experiences in my personal and professional life trained my research muscle and prepared me to feel at home in this field.

What do I do outside of work?

Education plays a huge role in my life therefore I am an advocate to raise awareness about educational opportunities discrimination that is happening around the world. I have collaborated with the “Education Is Not a Crime” campaign which focuses on education apartheid in Iran and around the world. My story has been featured in different murals in Harlem City as well as Los Angeles. I have also participated in the film “Changing the World, one Wall at the Time”.

In my free time, I love traveling to new places and immersing myself in different cultures. I also continue to create my abstract art in a variety of mediums.