Zainab Hassani

UX researcher and designer

My Resume

INDIANA UNIVERSITY, BLOOMINGTON
M.S. Human-Computer Interaction
August 2023 – May 2025

NORTHERN MICHIGAN UNIVERSITY
M.S. Psychology

PURDUE UNIVERSITY NORTHWEST
B.A. Psychology, History

GRADUATE RESEARCH ASSISTANT
Indiana University, Bloomington
August 2023 – August 2025

Designed and implemented a qualitative coding framework to analyze open-ended survey responses on perceptions of artificial intelligence (AI) and science fiction, uncovering key themes that informed ongoing research.
Conducted literature review on generative AI, synthesizing findings to inform thematic analysis and deepen understanding of AI’s societal impact.

User Experience Specialist
Indiana University, Bloomington
June 2021 – September 2022

Conducted heuristic evaluation and qualitative content audit, identifying 20+ usability issues and synthesizing findings into recommendations that improved usability and informed design strategy.
Collaborated with COO and marketing stakeholders to translate research insights into UX strategy, increasing conversion rates by 10% in a low UX maturity B2B environment.

Culturally Informed mHealth for Veterans with PTSD
UX researcher and UX Designer

Conducted mixed-methods research (including 3 clinician interviews, and analysis of 500+ Reddit posts), uncovering 4 systemic barriers in the experience of veterans
with PTSD.
Performed heuristic evaluation of 15 mental health applications and conducted affinity diagramming to synthesize qualitative data into 2 journey maps and 1 storyboard that revealed gaps in the care of veterans with PTSD.
Prototyped and tested 2 high-fidelity Figma prototypes, designing AI-driven progressive disclosure patterns and a veteran-identity affirming visual design system to reduce stigma and support PTSD psychoeducation.
Shared research findings on Medium, analyzing barriers to veteran care, and discussing implications for veteran-centric and stigma-aware design.

Socially Embedded Digital Solutions for People with Early-Stage Dementia
UX researcher and UX Designer

Conducted a literature review concerning individuals living with dementia to determine factors that negatively impact their quality of life.
Analyzed existing support tools designed for people with dementia to assess existing approaches to dementia care and identified gaps in the lived experience of people with dementia.
Facilitated a co-design workshop with 2 participants living with early-stage dementia to learn from their lived experiences, and synthesized findings through thematic analysis with peers to identify gaps in the experience of older adults with dementia.
Developed and tested paper prototypes through usability testing, heuristic evaluation, and guerrilla testing with peers and subject matter experts, validating the feasibility of a multi-channel, multi-device system.

Posture-Late
UX Designer

Conducted secondary research to evaluate user needs and pain points related to ergonomics to inform human-centered design decisions.
Collaborated cross-functionally with design and engineering peers align hardware requirements with device usability.
Conducted usability testing to assess functionality of posture-detecting device, gathering insights for iterative refinement of posture-detecting device.

zhassani [at] iu [dot] edu