Christian San Jose
I’m a design leader and product designer with 17 years of experience leading teams and designing world-class digital products for companies across the US and Asia.
My passion lies in helping small-business owners, building creative communities, and teaching designers how they can change the world.
Now designing at Owner.com and scaling UX+ University.
UX+ University. Founder and CEO of a UX school for career shifters, with 120+ graduates to date. Enabled students to get jobs as UX Designers in YC startups and $100M+ companies. Design, code, operations, and everything in between.
March 2021 to Present. Visit Site →
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First Circle. Head of Design at a fintech startup that empowers small to medium enterprises through non-collateral loans and credit lines. Hired, managed, and led a design team of 5 product designers and UX researchers.
March 2019 to August 2020
Edukasyon.ph. Conducted research, designed the web application, and tested the usability of an edtech startup that helps high school students find useful information about their college, strand, and course of choice.
November 2020 to March 2021
Non-Trivial. Design, code, and complete rebrand for a 8-week online Effective Altruism fellowship, providing $30K for young people to start an impactful research, policy, or entrepreneurial project.
August 2022 to January 2023. Visit Site →
Stanible. Research, product strategy, and design for the go-to platform for fans to purchase one-of-a-kind NFTs from celebrity creators: actors, influencers, athletes, singers, and more.
March to June 2022. Visit Site →
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Various Athletes. Designed, built, and launched the personal brands and official websites of the biggest athletes and celebrities in the world. Clients included Kobe Bryant, Dwyane Wade, James Harden, Usain Bolt, Usher, Big Sean, and Albert Pujols, among others.
2010 to 2016
Copy.ai. Founding designer at Copy.ai, a fast-growing startup that provides AI-driven enterprise solutions for advanced sales and marketing workflows, enhancing business processes and content creation efficiency.
February 2021 to March 2024. Visit Site →
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What people have said
CSJ is a force multiplier unlike any other. He took our design organization from 0 to 1 in less than 6 months.
Jig Young, Chief Product Officer, Expedock
Christian's been doing wonderful work with the UX community in the Philippines. Keep it up!
Don Norman, Co-founder, Nielsen Norman Group; Author, The Design of Everyday Things
From the land of jeepneys, balut, & adobo comes some of the coolest designs. Who would have thought?
Guy Kawasaki, Former Chief Evangelist, Apple; Chief Evangelist, Canva
Christian is an invaluable mentor and inspiring leader. He knows how to manage expectations for the team and does not hesitate to set high standards. His presence is inspiring, and has always given me the enthusiasm to set my sights on designing world-class products.
Alexis Collado, Chief Design Officer, Swarm
One-man creative powerhouse. Well-versed in technology & feasibility, it's been a pleasure to mentor Christian.
Harsh Sisodia, Former Global Digital Director, Nike & Jordan
I’ve grown a lot as a designer under his watch. I’ve also seen him respond to challenges well, and he's grown as both a designer and leader. He’s definitely one of the top design leaders in Asia!
Brian Tan, Co-Founder, WhiteBox Research
Get in touch
Let's discuss & design.
Co-founded and organized the largest annual UX event in Asia since 2019: UX+ Conference (over 10K attendees!)
Featured in TV, print, & online: CNN, Entrepreneur Magazine, MTV, Nickelodeon, ANC, NBC, Abduzeedo, Computer Arts, Adobe Blog, Behance, among others.
Received a $100K funding offer, from a "Shark Tank"-style TV show in 2021 (All 4 investors were "in.")
Designed Usher’s private wardrobe website, which only Usher can log-in to, to get his own clothes shipped wherever he is. #UsherProblem
Vector artwork featured in the global release of Adobe Illustrator CS5 (inside the installed app folders!)
Won $10,000 through public voting, in a t-shirt design contest by DesignByHumans in 2009. Read the story →
I sold my first company, Create.ph, in 2015, 5 years after I started it. It was acquired by the largest independent digital agency in the country.
I've taught 1,000+ design students from various in-person and online UX workshops!
Frequently speaks at UX and design conferences about career growth and building teams (and I almost always prepare my Keynote deck the night before.)
Has a UX podcast with Alexis Collado, titled “UX Almusal" on Spotify and Apple Podcasts! Listen to an episode! →
Businesses
I co-own a handful of profitable small businesses together with my fiancé.
KIJI Bakehouse →
The best croissants in Manila, baked fresh daily!
UX+ Conference →
The biggest UX event in Asia!
