I'm Omar, a bilingual Product Designer based in Tokyo.
I'm Omar, a bilingual Product Designer based in Tokyo.
Originally from the US, I’ve spent the past 11 years living and working in Japan — building a career at the intersection of UX, research, and cross-cultural product design.
In my eleven years here, I've built a diverse resume in product design, with a focus on UX, research, and strategy.
My career
I currently lead a team of four designers at an IT consultancy that works primarily with Japanese companies and a few international companies doing business in Japan.
Throughout my seven year design career, my focus has been designing for complex, multilingual systems that require clarity and empathy — whether in health, education, or AI
I've been fortunate enough to work with many highly experienced individuals in design and development roles from whom I learned a lot. Over the years, helping businesses design sepcifically for various Japanese demographics has become a real joy for me and I take pride in my experience and knowledge of the market.
What guides me
Adaptability
Projects never go to plan, users often surprise us, and stakeholders seldom agree on a project’s goals. Adapting to whatever a project requires and limiting my “non-negotiables” has been crucial in moving projects forward. The job of a designer isn’t to be perfect (or to even necessarily be “correct”), it’s to create solutions while learning, and adaptability is at the core of the learning process. In every project I've worked on — from SaaS dashboards to dementia support apps — I’ve had to shift course midstream. My rule: prioritize learning, not pride.
Accountability
Accountability makes the world go round. Designers being accountable for their work, their decisions, and for their deadlines is crucial to creating a great product. I’ve learned over the years that I thrive most when I’m held accountable for my work, and other designers have always been more motivated when I’ve insisted on that same level of accountability in theirs.
Show, don’t tell
In my early career as a teacher, standing in front of the classroom and explaining grammar never did much to help my students. Understanding how students learn (by doing, not listening) has helped me understand how products can be designed to guide first-time users through a desired action.
