Hi, I’m Michelle Zhu

I had never imagined I would become a designer, but I'm thankful I did. My journey has been anything but smooth. Before coming to Australia, I was a Chinese/English translator and HR associate. To support myself in Australia, I worked in fundraising and hospitality. Looking back, this experience gave me a deep insight into user needs and customer experience, which I now apply to my own design work.

The decision to pursue an IT degree in Australia opened the door to a career in UX/UI design. During the first lockdown in April 2020, I found myself unemployed and hoping to make the switch. An interviewer then opened my eyes to UX/UI design, so I spent my newfound free time teaching myself the skills and practicing with projects.

Fortunately, my IT education had prepared me well; I already understood design process, design thinking, UX best practices, project management and product development methodologies. This gave me a major advantage when I started to work on real projects, as I knew how to balance design, technical constraints and business goals.

It's been an incredible journey since my first client 3 years ago, who turned out to be a scammer unfortunately. Although it was a setback, I learned a valuable lesson in freelancing and gained the confidence in my design skills. Since then, I've worked on more than 30 projects across various domains such as productivity, Fintech, logistics, video licensing marketplace, telehealth , grocery delivery and management, Saas, Web3, etc.

Nothing fills me with more joy than seeing my design come to life and making a real impact on users. I'm passionate about continuing to work on UX/UI projects and help create meaningful products. If you have an idea for a project, I'd love to be involved! Reach out to me and let's make it happen.

If you'd like to chat, feel free to connect with me on LinkedIn, Instagram, Dribbble or simply email me at hi@michellezhudesign.com.

In my free time, I have a strong passion for snapping photos with my phone while I’m out and about. I share some of these moments here if you’re interested. I enjoy whatever nature has to offer; beach sunsets, stargazing, alpaca spotting on a road trip, wildlife watching while hiking, just to name a few. Top 1 on my bucket list though, is bungy jumping in Queenstown, New Zealand.