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Listening deeply, designing for impact.

Hi! I’m Laura Cochran, a UX designer and researcher with 15+ years of experience creating order from the chaos through human-centered, data-driven design. Let’s collaborate on something meaningful.

Laura Cochran smiling.

Featured Case Studies

Learn about my recent work, the teams I collaborated with, and our impact.

Full PortfolioContact Me
UX Researcher and Strategist
California Dept. of Technology

Making Help Easier to Find: Information Architecture for California’s Recovery Site

Our team significantly improved the findability and discoverability of critical information on the California Disaster Recovery Center website.

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Design Director
Valley Bank

Building a Leading Consumer Digital Bank

Redesigned the entire consumer retail banking onboarding experience for Valley Bank, transforming a lengthy process into a seamless, user-centered flow that tripled conversions.

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Design Director
Northwestern Mutual

Balancing Vision and Delivery: Relationships in Financial Services

This work highlights a shift in the role that digital channels have played in NM's effective relationship-based planning process.

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About me

Learn More About My Journey

Over my 15+ year career I've lived at the intersection of storytelling, technology and design.

In my role as a design leader, I foster a culture of innovation, inclusivity, and attention to detail. I have worked in various roles across media, civic tech and fintech.

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Laura empowered us to self-manage but stepped in to support us across disciplines as needed. She is very intentional and hands-on with coaching and was crucial to shaping us into a well-rounded group of UX professionals.
Photo of Brandon Mosley smiling.

Brandon Mosley

UX Design Manager

She has a vision for building impactful teams and prioritizing initiatives that add value to the customer experience. On top of that, she has empowered her team to communicate the impact of their work across the organization, which has shaped the way we approach things from UX to marketing strategy. She brings tremendous value to any organization, and is someone I truly enjoy working with.

Dan Cappello

Creative Director

Laura did our entire website including design, content, interactivity, provider interface and updates. Her body of work on our behalf has been exceptional & world class. Without her the Foundation would not have had the success it has enjoyed. We recommend her unconditionally.

Jess Wilber

Technologist, Managing Partner

Laura is an unmatched leader in her ability to put people first in both research and on her team. She has created an environment where it is easy to grow and deliver impactful work. She has built a culture of empathy and true understanding of the value of research and design at multiple stages of product development.
Michelle Ammirati smiling in a professional setting.

Michelle Ammirati

UX Researcher, Innovation Lead

Laura's talent for design, knowledge of the digital space, overall energy and passion for understanding the consumer first is why she's been so successful and will continue to have a great career moving forward.

Reggie Murphy

Research and Insights Leader

Musings on Design

You can take a writer out of the newsroom but you’ll never take the writer out of me.

An old journal.

Helping UX Researchers Grow

I understand how important it is to grow in your career, learn new skills, and become a leader that influences others.

That’s why I launched UXR.DESIGN. Learn more about this effort to empower UXers with the knowledge and confidence to succeed.

Read on Medium