Wan Dee Brown

At a glance

• 9+ years designing enterprise products and workflows
• Workflow and interaction design for manufacturing, scheduling, shipping, and safety
• Microsoft 365 and Power Platform: Power Apps, Power Automate, SharePoint, Forms, Teams
• Design systems: built and governed a 30+ component system across 6 internal apps
• Research through prototype: surveys, interviews, personas, journey maps, interactive prototypes
• 2026 performance rating: 5.00/5.00, Superior
• BA in English Literature, University of Minnesota
• Google UX Design coursework
• NC State Women in Tech Leadership executive program
• Bilingual: English and Hmong

Experience

What people I've worked with say

• "She doesn't simply execute requirements; she asks insightful questions, challenges assumptions respectfully, and works to ensure we're solving the right problem before designing a solution."

  I had the pleasure of managing Wan Dee on our UI/UX team at Whirlwind Steel Buildings, and I've had the opportunity to watch her grow into an exceptional UX professional. Over the past few years, she has evolved from a talented designer into a strategic thinker who helps shape solutions by balancing user needs with business objectives.

  What sets Wan Dee apart is her curiosity and commitment to continuous improvement. She doesn't simply execute requirements; she asks insightful questions, challenges assumptions respectfully, and works to ensure we're solving the right problem before designing a solution. Her willingness to learn new tools and techniques, including AI-assisted prototyping, has helped our team improve collaboration with stakeholders and accelerate the design process.

  Beyond her technical skills, Wan Dee is an outstanding teammate. She communicates clearly, welcomes feedback, takes ownership of her work, and genuinely cares about helping others succeed. She brings positivity, creativity, and professionalism to every project and has become a trusted partner to both our team and our business stakeholders.

  On a personal note, Wan Dee is also known for keeping our team smiling with her legendary dad jokes. She has a knack for creating moments of connection that make the workplace more enjoyable, and that positivity is just one more reason she's such a valued teammate.

  Any organization would be fortunate to have Wan Dee on their team. I highly recommend her to anyone looking for a UX professional who combines creativity, strategic thinking, attention to detail, and genuine care for both people and the work they do.

  Melanie Morgan · Senior Manager of Digital Products, Whirlwind Steel · Wan Dee's manager on the UI/UX team

  Read the full recommendation from Melanie Morgan

• "…one of the most talented designers I've worked with. … Any team looking for a UI/UX designer who can turn ambiguous requirements into clear, high-quality, testable designs would be lucky to have her."

  I had the pleasure of working with Wan Dee as a UI/UX designer on several custom application builds and I can say without hesitation that she is one of the most talented designers I've worked with.

  As the Sr Project Manager for the projects, I relied on Wan Dee to translate our business team's requirements into a website design that was both functional and genuinely well-crafted. Her attention to detail and design instincts consistently elevated what could have been a purely functional interface into prototypes that let our business stakeholders actually experience and interact with what IT intended to build — long before code was written. That single step saved us countless rounds of rework, caught misalignments early, and gave everyone (business and IT alike) real confidence that we were building the right thing.

  Wan Dee has a rare combination of design craft and practical judgment about how design decisions affect real users and real business outcomes. Any team looking for a UI/UX designer who can turn ambiguous requirements into clear, high-quality, testable designs would be lucky to have her.

  Katherine Cohen · AI Adoption and Enablement Lead · Senior project manager on projects Wan Dee designed

  Read the full recommendation from Katherine Cohen

• "Wan Dee is naturally curious and a self-starter. She wasn't someone who waited to be told exactly what to do."

  I had the opportunity to work with Wan Dee on my team during her time at Whirlwind Steel Buildings, and she was someone who brought more than just strong UI/UX skills to the team.

  Wan Dee is naturally curious and a self-starter. She wasn't someone who waited to be told exactly what to do. She would dig into a problem, ask questions, seek to understand the bigger picture, and look for opportunities to make things better. That curiosity, combined with her willingness to take initiative, made her a valuable contributor to our digital product efforts.

  She also brought a personality all her own. Wan Dee has a unique sense of humor that made working with her fun, and she wasn't afraid to be herself. She was a go getter who cared about her work, welcomed feedback, and continually looked for ways to learn and improve.

  What I appreciated most was that she genuinely wanted to understand the people she was designing for, not simply produce a polished interface. She cared about solving the right problem and creating something that worked for both the user and the business.

  Wan Dee made a meaningful impact during her time at Whirlwind, and I would gladly work with her again. She brings a strong combination of curiosity, initiative, creativity, and talent to her work, and any team would be lucky to have her.

  Clare Cooper · Senior Director, Project Management Office (PMO), Whirlwind Steel · Wan Dee worked on her team

  Read the full recommendation from Clare Cooper

• "Her interactive prototypes were especially valuable. They made it much easier to discuss complex flows with stakeholders and align on the solution before development started."

  I worked with Wan Dee at Whirlwind Steel Buildings, where we were both part of the design team.

  She was always thoughtful in the way she approached her work and good at getting to the root of a problem before moving into solutions. I especially appreciated that she asked clear questions, challenged things when they didn't make sense, and was never afraid to dig deeper into requirements.

  She was always someone I could rely on when I needed help understanding the product, business requirements, or how certain processes worked. This was especially valuable when I first joined the project and had no previous experience with the metal building manufacturing industry. She was always willing to explain the context, share what she knew, and help me get up to speed.

  Later, as I became familiar with the product and the industry, we could openly discuss ideas, give each other feedback, and work through design problems together without overcomplicating things. Wan Dee was always very easy to collaborate with.

  Her interactive prototypes were especially valuable. They made it much easier to discuss complex flows with stakeholders and align on the solution before development started.

  I really enjoyed working with her and would be happy to work with her again.

  Valentina Pashentsava · Senior Product Designer, Whirlwind Steel · Worked with Wan Dee on the design team

  Read the full recommendation from Valentina Pashentsava