Hi there,

I’m Julia Um. I’m a management-consultant-turned-market-researcher-turned-design strategist.

About me

Hi! I’m Julia, a San Francisco-based design strategist with 7+ years of experience working with executives at multiple Fortune 50 companies. As a consultant in both small boutique and global agency settings, I’ve led cross-functional teams to deliver projects worth over $2.5M in revenue annually. I approach every project with a can-do attitude, empathy, and curiosity, whether I’m developing a proposal, leading customer research, validating business models, or implementing new strategies. In short, I’m a team-oriented, strategic thinker who isn’t afraid to get my hands dirty.

The projects that mean the most to me are ones where I can use design thinking to tackle wicked problems that result in social impact. This passion is deeply personal: I am the daughter of immigrants who came to the United States as refugees from the Khmer Rouge genocide, and my brothers are both individuals with autism. I believe in the power of human-centered design as a means to improve equity - not just the bottom line.

Expertise

  • Service Design

  • Quantitative Research

  • Interview Moderation

  • Ethnographic Research

  • Business Models & Strategy

  • Customer Validation

  • Strategic Foresight

  • Workshop Facilitation

  • Social Network Analysis

Clients & partners I’ve worked with