Don’t like public speaking? It’s ok, I got your back! I love presenting and have given over a dozen lectures and workshops on scientific communication throughout the world. Here I am at the Doherty Institute of Infection and Immunity in Melbourne, Australia, giving sleepy researchers a 9am pep talk on schematics.
Nice to meet you!
I’m Yvonne Blanco, a end-to-end Product Designer and UX Strategist based in Somerville, MA.
Over the past decade, I’ve designed experiences for scientific research, healthtech, SaaS, and publishing. Notable clients and collaborators include Microsoft, Verily, the National Institutes of Health, Thermo Scientific, MilliporeSigma, and Scripps Research Institute.
My favorite problems to solve are rooted in high ambiguity, answering the question: are we building the right thing? Whether it’s a growth or revenue initiative, I connect strategy, user insights, and design craft to build solutions that remove obstacles.
When I’m not designing, you’ll find me painting at my studio in SOWA, grinning like a fool at sludge metal shows, and lounging with my cat, Meatball.
Experience
Broad Institute
Cambridge, MA
Cell Press/Elsevier
Cambridge, MA
Freelance
Somerville, MA + Atlanta, GA
2023-2026
2020-2022
2019-2020
2016-2018
2014-2016
Lead UX/UI Designer, DepMap
Senior UX/UI Designer, DUOS and Terra
Senior Multimedia Designer, Terra
2010-2014
2010-2026
Program Manager, Illustration and Design
Senior Manager, Illustration and Design
Senior Scientific Illustrator/Designer
Clients include Georgia Tech, Emory University, University of Copenhagen, University of Tennessee, University of Oregon, and Axon Leadership
What People Are Saying
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Yvonne is smart, driven, and fun. She doesn’t shy away from challenges – even if they are slightly above her skill set. She simply treats them as opportunities to learn. This has been demonstrated many times as she executes various pieces of work which often require collaboration with genetic scientists and computational researchers.
— Eric Karofsky, former Director of User Experience at Broad Institute
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The DepMap portal looks incredible and is so much more functional for our users because of you and your designs!
— Sam Stokes, Program Manager for DepMap at the Broad Institute
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Yvonne has shown an excellent ability to work with a wide range of people, content, and products. In each interaction, Yvonne brings a thoughtful, can-do attitude to the table that her diverse set of teammates universally appreciate.
— Heather Jankins, Data Sciences Platform Leadership, Broad Institute