Sarah Akhavan

I'm Sarah Akhavan

I’m a product designer based in Toronto, ON. Currently, I am a course director of Interaction Design at York University. I am also a member of PiET lab at York University where I work under supervision of Prof. Melanie Baljko on accessibility projects with a focus on assistive technologies for people with impairments. I am originally from Iran where localizing the design guidelines to the Persian culture and language setting was a constant challenge in designing interfaces.

My Career so far

I am a Toronto-based designer with 6+ years of experience in Product Design, UI/UX Design, and UX Research. I am currently a professor of Interaction Design at York University and a member of the PiET lab at York University. After getting my Master's in Human-Computer Interaction, I am returning to the industry. Coming from a Software Engineering background, I am familiar with front-end development and implementation. I have 2+ years of experience in designing in a Persian language and cultural setting, investigating design principles and guidelines to be applied in the local language and culture, which built my knowedge in the globalization of software and incorporating cultural diversity in design.

6+ yrs of experience in Product Design, UX Design, UX Research

2+ yrs of industrial experience in desining for a different culture and language setting

4+ yrs of experience in Researching & Designing for Accessibility

2+ yrs of working in the industry as a UX/Product Designer

2+ yrs of teaching Interaction Design, working with students