Hi, I'm Danielle (I also go by my legal first name, Yelin [yeh-rin]), based in Brooklyn, New York. I’m a Product Design Researcher at Ralph Lauren, working at the intersection of user insights and product strategy.

Most recently, I was a UX Researcher at Starbucks, where I led research across customer experiences and partner (internal tools) experiences. I surfaced behavioral insights that informed design decisions, improved operational efficiency for partners (baristas and marketers), and supported meaningful revenue impact.

Before Starbucks, I worked as a User Researcher at Cruise, partnering with product and engineering teams to improve autonomous vehicle usability and safety workflows in real-world deployments. Prior to that, I was at Sendbird as a User Experience Researcher, where I redesigned the developer experience and influenced product direction for chat, voice, and video API and SDK integrations used across global platforms.

I received my master’s degree in Human-Centered Design & Engineering from the University of Washington in Seattle. Before entering the UX world, I was an educator at international schools and co-founder of a fashion brand; a foundation for my curiosity about how people learn, adapt, and interact with systems.

I was raised as a third culture kid living in five countries: South Korea, Malaysia, Singapore, Germany, and the United States. I’ve traveled to 36 countries (and counting!), and that global lens shapes how I think about culture, accessibility, and inclusion in technology.

Outside of work, you’ll likely find me exploring cafés, discovering emerging technologies, filming travel clips, or wandering through museums.

I truly believe thoughtful research can reveal the hidden friction points within products and services, creating space for more inclusive, human-centered experiences.

Thanks for stopping by, and don’t hesitate to reach out.

I’d love to connect ♥