“Thank you for getting the PAWS wireframes and requirements so clear. It removed so much confusion and helped the team be more strategically focused.”
– UX/UI Developer
Anna Kahrs
Lead UX Designer at
Skills
& Tools
I'm NN/g certified with a UX Research specialty. My work focuses on grounding decisions in real user needs through interviews, usability testing, content analysis, and evidence-driven design.
Core Skills
- User Research
- Information Architecture
- Interaction Design
- UX Writing
- Prototyping
- Survey Design
Frameworks & Methods
- Design Thinking
- Usability Testing
- Card Sorting
- Journey Mapping
- Personas
- Content Modeling
Relevant Tools
- Figma
- ChatGPT
- Adobe CC
- Zoom
- CSS
- Qualtrics
Tools I Use
Professional
Experience
December 2023 - Present
Lead UX Designer
at University of California, San Francisco (UCSF)
San Francisco, CA (Remote)
- Lead design system–level work for the enterprise Drupal platform, defining reusable patterns and standards across multiple sites.
- Guide information architecture strategy through content audits, user needs analysis, and collaborative working sessions with clients, shaping structures that stay aligned across platforms.
- Plan and run usability tests, card sorting studies, and user interviews that reveal patterns, validate design choices, and inform IA and content decisions.
- Design low and mid-fidelity wireframes and iterate based on qualitative and quantitative feedback while maintaining WCAG 2.1 accessibility requirements.
October 2018 - December 2023
Service Designer
at University of California, San Francisco (UCSF)
San Francisco, CA (Remote)
- Supported the Library’s digital and instructional teams by conducting user research to uncover needs of students, faculty, and researchers.
- Created wireframes, interface concepts, and visual design assets used in web content, presentations, and instructional materials.
- Helped clarify user needs and pain points through interviews, observations, and stakeholder conversations, informing improvements to library services and digital content.
- Contributed to the broader service design efforts by providing user-centered evidence that shaped team conversations and priorities.
August 2017 - March 2018
Information Architect UX Intern
at IU Studios – University Communications and Marketing
Bloomington, IN
- Worked on information architecture for large university sites, shaping navigation, page flows, and content structure.
- Supported workshops, stakeholder sessions, and user research that informed project direction and identified usability needs.
- Built and refined site content using Cascade CMS, turning UX and IA decisions into production-ready pages.
Recognized for Excellence
Work I contributed to has earned national recognition. The UCSF Magazine website, where I led information architecture, conducted user interviews, and shaped user-tested navigation, was awarded the CASE Gold Circle of Excellence Award.
Case Studies
Work in Practice
When 88% of users do not return after a poor experience, the stakes are real. I design with that in mind, focusing on clarity, reducing friction, and supporting real tasks. The projects below highlight how I approach that work from start to finish.
ABOUT
This is the part where I talk about myself.
I have always been drawn to the things most people never notice: the logic under the surface, the patterns that quietly guide you, the hidden decisions that make something feel “right” without announcing themselves. In another life, that meant memorizing art movement timelines and happily losing afternoons in dusty archives.
Now it means designing digital experiences that do not make you think twice. I care about the details a lot. The sort of lot you only notice when something feels unusually smooth. I like taking complex systems and giving them a shape people can actually move through. I like when a journey feels intuitive because every layer is in conversation with the next.
If something feels polished, it is because I fussed over it until it could stand on its own.
UX opinions I will defend, politely:
- Clear is better than clever
- “Learn more” is lazy
- Content is design
- Users hate scrolling = myth
- It is not about how many clicks
- UX is not graphic design
Things I enjoy:
- A thoughtful Jira ritual
- Digging in my garden
- Well written documentation
- Finding the perfect emoji
- Categorizing things
- Knitting, crocheting, and sewing
- Hunting down thrift store gold
WHAT OTHERS SAY
Voices about my work
A few things collaborators and leaders have shared after working together on research, information architecture, and product decisions.