Learning,
made beautiful.
Designing in the space between the practical | playful | rigorous | relational
Norman Tran is a designer of many things: visuals, products, and learning experiences.
He co-founded and teaches for Relating Between the Lines, a school for relational education that teaches humans how to human. Formerly a facilitator for Stanford Graduate School of Business' legendary Touchy-Feely class, they guided MBa's through the nuances of interpersonal dynamics. Norman delights in designing learning experiences that "queer-eye" personal development, having created programs for organizations like Facebook, IDEO, and Stanford d.school.
They believe strongly that all learning happens interstitially - in the space between the practical, playful, rigorous, and relational. Norman is gay, neurospicy (2e), nonbinary, polyamorous, and laughs about the beautiful absurdity of it all.
Let's work together.
hello@normantran.com
ux / UI design | research
Shimmer - Personalizing ADHD coaching through assessments
PROJECT: Wheel of Life Assessment
ROLE: Lead Product Designer
YEAR: 2024
I joined Shimmer as a Lead Designer and led the Wheel of Life Assessment design, which helps clients get the most out of their coaching experiences through a comprehensive audit across 15 areas of their lives. I worked closely with the CEO and CTO to design and launch the feature, now a core part of our 2000+ members' coaching journeys.
UX / UI DESIGN | RESEARCH
Shimmer - De-shaming ADHD by sharing community perspectives
PROJECT: Community Polls
ROLE: Lead Designer
YEAR: 2024
I joined Shimmer as a Lead Designer and led the Community Polls design, which helps clients connect with one another beyond their 1:1 connection with coaches so that they can feel less alone and feel a sense of belonging as a community overcoming similar challenges. I worked closely with the CEO and CTO to design and launch the feature, now used daily by our 2000+ paying coaching clients.
LEARNING DESIGN | FACILITATION | branding
Relating Between the Lines - Launching an online school for relational education
PROJECT: Co-Founding RBTL
ROLE: Co-Founder, Chief Product Officer
YEAR: 2020 - 2023
As Co-Founder and Chief Product Officer, I set out to create a modern school for relational education because we all deserve to have healthy relationships regardless of our upbringing. Think Brene Brown meets Stanford d.school. Responsibilities consisted of wearing many hats, spanning brand strategy, messaging, copywriting, art direction, packaging design, UX/UI design, product development, hiring & training, sales, and content development.
LEARNING DESIGN | FACILITATION | PROGRAM MANAGEMENT | PARTNERSHIPS
Tradecraft - Helping smart people in career inflection points design their next move
PROJECT: Product Design Program Management
ROLE: Head of Design
YEAR: 2018 - 2020
As Head of Design, I was tasked with updating and managing recurring three-month in-person intensives that help professionals break into product design. Responsibilities included curriculum design for technical and soft skills, as well as managing an agency that placed participants in high-growth startup roles for real-world experience.
LEARNING DESIGN | ux / ui design
Learn with Facebook + Pathstream - Bridging the digital skills gap for front-line workers, one resume at a time
PROJECT: Online Course Redesign
ROLE: Learning Design / UX Consultant
YEAR: 2019
As a Learning / UX Consultant, I worked with education consultancy Pathstream to improve both the pedagogy as well as the UX experience for the Learn With Facebook (now Meta Blueprint) platform to better provide digital skills for frontline workers. My project focused on improving the "Boost Your Resume" module, where I brought more humanness, personalization, and practical takeaways to the responsive web experience.
LEARNING DESIGN | FACILITATION | program management
MissionU - Preparing underserved adults for the future of work
through emotional intelligence
PROJECT: Course development: Self-Awareness, Interpersonal Dynamics
ROLE: Emotional Intelligence Program Manager (Employee #5)
YEAR: 2017 - 2018
As the Emotional Intelligence Program Manager (Employee #5), I was tasked with creating a year’s worth of curriculum and collateral for a new hybrid online/in-person college for underserved adults. I developed two classes: Success by Design (self-awareness), and Interpersonal Lab (interpersonal dynamics). Students left rave reviews such as "this class alone was worth moving across the country for."
LEARNING DESIGN | FACILITATION | branding
D.tech & Stanford d.school - Creating cultures of creative experimentation in high schools
PROJECT: K12 Design Thinking Playbook
ROLE: Designer In Residence
YEAR: 2016 - 2017
Funded by a grant from Chan Zuckerberg Initiative to accelerate Design Tech High's (d.tech) implementation of new learning models, I was brought in as a Designer in Residence for 8 months to collaborate with the Stanford d.school to (1) improve d.tech's design programming for students; and (2) create various resources to help staff adopt design thinking as a change management process.
PRODUCT DESIGN
Declara - Helping knowledge workers learn faster, together
PROJECT: End-to-end Design
ROLE: Product Designer
YEAR: 2014 - 2015
Between 2014 and 2015, I designed a variety of key features for Declara, a knowledge-sharing platform, including Sign-Up, Onboarding, Insights & Discussions, Home Feed, B2B Channels, and Content Authoring.
I worked closely with the VP of product, PM's, and engineering across the entire design process, from research to design to prototype to rollout.
Don't be a stranger
Let's talk about education, design, mindfulness, or play.