When most people think of design, they picture interfaces like buttons, colors, and clever animations. But for Natalie Nguyen, UX Designer at UnionHub, good design is what happens when users don’t notice it at all.
“Good design should feel invisible,” she says. “It quietly empowers people to get where they need to go without ever feeling lost.”
That philosophy has guided Natalie from her days building a custom Human-Centered Design degree in college to leading UX at UnionHub, where the mission is deceptively simple: empower members and simplify complex systems.
From Computer Science to Human-Centered Design
Natalie didn’t start her career wanting to be a designer. She started in computer science until she realized she was more interested in why people used technology than in how it worked.
“I was — and still am — awful at math,” she laughs. “But I was fascinated by how people interact with technology and how it can be used as a tool.”
So she did something few undergraduates do: she worked with her professors to design her own major. The result — a blend of Computer Science, Cognitive Behavioral Neuroscience, and Design — laid the foundation for the empathetic, systems-oriented perspective that now defines her work.
Building Systems From the Ground Up
When Natalie joined UnionHub, there was no existing design system — no templates, no precedent.
“I had to build everything from scratch,” she says. “A lot of people might find that intimidating, but I was genuinely excited by it. I love learning through critique, because real growth usually comes from being a little uncomfortable.”
That openness to feedback, she explains, is crucial in environments where the problems are large and the systems are intricate. In benefits and payments, UnionHub’s core domain, every design decision has a ripple effect.
“It’s about connecting dots and finding patterns,” Natalie says. “The challenge is to make something complicated feel effortless.”
The Power of Clarity in a Complex World
UnionHub’s mission, to empower members and simplify complex systems, resonates deeply with Natalie’s personal ethos.
She likens the importance of clarity in design to a scene from Dumb and Dumber where the characters confidently drive in the wrong direction.
“It’s funny, but it’s also a reminder that confidence without clarity can still lead you off track,” she says. “In design, you want users to always know where they’re going.”
That focus on clarity doesn’t mean stripping away sophistication. It means designing systems that guide without getting in the way and experiences that empower through transparency.
Why Collaboration is a Design Superpower
Natalie’s approach to UX is as much about people as it is about pixels. Her collaborative mindset was shaped early by working on interdisciplinary projects where medical students sewed pillows for ergonomic studies and English majors soldered circuit boards.
“It taught me that communication and curiosity are just as important as technical skill,” she says. “If you can’t understand how to talk to people — or how they understand problems — it’s hard to innovate.”
At UnionHub, this cross-disciplinary thinking manifests in close partnerships with engineers, product managers, and operations teams — all speaking a shared language of problem-solving and empathy.
Thought Leadership Through Humility and Empathy
In a space where trust and clarity are non-negotiable, Natalie defines UX thought leadership not by expertise, but by empathy.
“It’s not about being the smartest person in the room,” she says. “It’s about being willing to learn, question, and care deeply about the people you’re designing for.”
Her humility is strategic. A recognition that no designer can master every regulation or edge case in the benefits landscape. But understanding people — their frustrations, goals, and contexts — that’s where lasting impact comes from.
“These systems were built by humans to serve humans,” Natalie says. “Our role is to make sure they stay that way.”
AI as a Creative Partner
Natalie is also pragmatic about the rise of AI in design. She doesn’t see it as a threat, but as a tool to expand creative capacity.
“AI doesn’t replace designers — it’s like Baymax in Big Hero 6. It doesn’t replace Hiro’s brilliance; it amplifies it.”
By automating executional tasks, AI frees designers to focus on what really matters: empathy, context, and meaning. The human parts of design.
The Future of UX Is More Human Than Ever
In the end, Natalie sums up UnionHub’s design philosophy in three words: Human. Practical. Empowering.
“We design for real people — not hypotheticals,” she says. “Our users are busy members, agents, and admins who need tools that actually make their jobs easier.”
For Natalie, great UX doesn’t demand attention, it earns trust. It doesn’t add complexity, it removes friction. And in an industry where systems often obscure humanity, she’s proving that the best design is the kind you don’t have to think about at all.
