NIKITA WASHINGTON UXD
NIKITA WASHINGTON UXD
Designing with purpose, impact, and inclusivity—I craft intuitive experiences that bridge user needs with business goals while empowering the next generation of designers.
Past Work & Clients
Ally Financial
At Ally, I led end-to-end design for a critical lending initiative that addressed a gap affecting thousands of offline borrowers. The challenge: borrowers without email or device access were unable to complete loan applications, forcing providers to seek alternative lenders.
I redesigned the Agent-Assisted Apply (3A) workflow into a compliant, hybrid experience—allowing providers to print, sign, and upload documents without relying on borrower email. This solution improved accessibility, reduced operational friction, and delivered measurable business value.
Timeline: 19 months
Role: End-to-end product design
Impact: Launched a hybrid application flow that expanded access for underserved borrowers and contributed to a 10% increase in loan volume
Hinge
As part of a cross-functional team, I helped design more inclusive experiences for marginalized daters—specifically trans and non-binary users—by addressing pain points around visibility, safety, and trust. We conducted in-depth user research, competitive analysis, and usability audits to better understand how dating platforms often fall short for LGBTQ+ users.
Our work led to solutions that gave users more control over identity expression, improved transparency before matching, and reduced harmful interactions. One of these solutions—Match Note—was shipped as a new feature that lets users privately share context with a match before starting a conversation.
Timeline: 2 months
Role: User Research, UX/UI Design, Prototyping
Impact: Contributed to the launch of Match Note, a first-of-its-kind feature designed to foster more intentional and affirming connections
Tinder
Tinder sets the standard for modern matchmaking, but even leading platforms can benefit from a closer look at user friction. In this project, I focused on identifying opportunities to improve personalization and connection quality by uncovering common pain points in the user experience.
Through research, usability testing, and iterative design, I delivered a fully functional high-fidelity prototype that explored ways to make matches feel more intentional and aligned with user preferences.
Timeline: 1 month
Role: User Research, UX/UI Design, Prototyping, Usability Testing
Impact: Delivered a high-fidelity prototype focused on improving compatibility, personalization, and user trust
