“Ning builds design organizations that scale — through strong standards, thoughtful leadership, and a culture of collaboration. Any organization would benefit from her ability to shape both product direction and design maturity.”
— Engineer ManagerAbout Ning
I’m a product design leader who builds organizations and ships products at scale. Here’s what the people I’ve worked with have to say.
What people are saying
Adam M.
AI Researcher, Design leader
“I've had the pleasure of witnessing Ning's exceptional journey at Wattpad, where she has not only elevated the product design landscape but also fostered a culture of innovation and collaboration.
Ning stands out as a design leader, not just for her ability to translate complex user needs into seamless product experiences, but also for her transformative leadership style. She builds and mentors high-impact teams with a focus on empowerment, encouraging each member to explore innovative solutions while ensuring alignment with strategic business goals.
Ning's leadership extends beyond team management; she's a visionary who sets the direction for Wattpad's core experience and fan ecosystem, consistently delivering results that resonate deeply with users and stakeholders alike. Her approachable and inclusive leadership style, combined with her deep expertise in UX/UI design, makes Ning a role model and a cornerstone of the tech and design communities.”
Arighna M.
Engineering Manager
“I had the pleasure of working closely with Ning during her time as Design Director at Wattpad, partnering across several key initiatives while I was managing the Android team.
Ning is a deeply passionate and enthusiastic design leader who drove major redesigns across core user journeys, including Home, Browse, Onboarding and Story Details. These efforts not only increased user traffic but also meaningfully reduced friction across the overall user experience. She brought a strong sense of craft and clarity to design reviews—challenging thinking, maintaining high quality, and ensuring design intent remained intact as products scaled.
What truly set Ning apart was her ability to balance research-driven design, business priorities, and execution realities. She listened carefully to engineering feedback and navigated constraints thoughtfully, without diluting the user experience. She also enabled her team to collaborate more effectively across disciplines, embedding research as a foundation rather than an afterthought.
From my perspective, I especially valued working with Ning on evolving the design system under limited resources, introducing Design QA practices, and advocating for reusable, scalable components. Her systems-thinking mindset ensured that design impact extended far beyond individual launches.
Ning builds design organizations that scale—through strong standards, thoughtful leadership, and a culture of collaboration. Any organization would benefit from her ability to shape both product direction and design maturity.”
Describe Ning's characteristics and behaviours when Ning was at her best.
People leader - Ning is an extremely inspiring person that her team loves to follow her and has a lot of respect for her.
Mentorship - Ning spends time challenging her peers and reports and I can see the passion in her when she was leading the team. She was always looking out for the best of her team in getting the training, pushing them to do a project together that would also benefit the company, and spending time with them.
Humility - She celebrates success while working in the background (that I've seen behind the scenes with her team) all with her team together.
Fun - you know it's always such a great time when she's around with that infectious smile of hers.
— Kenneth, PM
How did Ning shape and influence you?
“Ning has shaped and influenced my career and my life outside of work in many ways. Her constant support and encouragement have given me the strength and confidence to be a better designer and a better storyteller. She shared her passion with me which encouraged me to want to be a better leader. She was also the type of boss to allow for questions but never gave you the answer. She would help you where needed and encouraged you to go out and try things on your own. ”
— Chrissy, Senior Product Designer
How did Ning bring out the best from other individuals and institutions?
“Ning is a very thoughtful and very empathetic person who is always very aware of the needs of those around her and this was very clear in watching her manage her team. This makes her very adaptable when it comes to bringing out the best from others, she’s very aware of exactly who needs an arm around the shoulder and who needs to be given a push. I know her team all loved working under her for this reason and it showed in the quality of work that would be produced.”
— Jamie, PM
What strengths and advantages did Ning offer?
“Ning's strength is the energetic presence, which is motivating and positive. It's something that not many leaders have. Ning is also patient and nurturing. She encourages you to find your own answer and believe in your design. In doing so, she is patient with her approach and is always kind with her feedback. This speaks to her being naturally empathetic and kind, which is essential for a UX professional and also a leader in general. She also has tons of experience in the field and you get a sense that she's done it all so she has leadership in knowledge and again she's an advocate on educating others.”
— Haze, Product Designer