WON J. YOU
Rebel
Entrepreneur
Disruptor
Designer
OWN PATH
Go instead where there is no path and leave a trail.
I’m an independent designer, who fell in love with the web over 20 years ago. My career has taken many turns, as I have tried to live authentically and find happiness and fulfillment. I’ve been a consultant, a teacher, a leader, an owner, a mentor, and entrepreneur.
I’ve worked on projects for iconic brands such as Porsche, American Express, Intel, and I’ve garnered some recognition for my work along the way. But mostly, my passion for design and technology has remained the same. I enjoy using the power of design to tackle challenging business problems, and I continue to ply my craft through my design studio.
Perhaps, most importantly, I am energized by educating and mentoring the next generation of designers and creative professionals. Outside of design, I enjoy watching movies, playing bullet chess, and riding my motorcycle.
BELIEFS
I believe in having passion for one’s work. People can tell when something is made with love, care and attention. If you’re not proud of your work, then why do it.
When we stop learning, we stop growing. Embrace curiosity as it is the best way to stay engaged and to keep your mind young.
I believe it’s far better to be honest than to be indirect and kind. Sometimes the hard truths must be spoken, and I always strive to say what I mean. When you're honest, it breeds trust and creates clarity in communication with others.
I’ve found that showing is almost always better than telling. Showing stakeholders a prototype is far more powerful than a slide full of promises. I have always had a bias for action, and making and demonstrating are my way of storytelling.
I strive to be a leader who models and embodies the qualities and behaviors they wish to see in others. Actions speak louder than words.
I am results-oriented, not effort-focused. Effort is important, but if you can get to the same results more efficiently, then at the end of day, that’s better. Finding ways to maximize output through scale and leverage is key to growing and succeeding in business and in life.
Experience You Can Trust
— 20+ years of client work
Over my career, I have been fortunate enough to work for some amazing brands and teams across many industries. These are a few of the companies that I’ve had the pleasure to do work for.
“Won was a true partner in our efforts and anyone who is fortunate enough to work with Won will greatly benefit from his passion to develop experience...that meets the highest standard of excellence.”
"Working with Won was a pleasure—he's hyper-generative, both at the level of product strategy and dev-ready design."
“Won made an incredibly big splash at Kin to scale our design org, innovate on design systems and provide tremendous alignment on our vision going forward.”
“If you want to build a market leading product or service, Won is the best person to lead the charge.”