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REFAELI
MA

This is a small collection of moments that worked, stayed, or led to better questions.

📍 Based in Los Angeles, California

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DESIGN PHILOSOPHY

I design for the problem beneath the problemMost products fail not in execution, but in definition, solving the wrong thing, beautifully.

My work begins before the interface, in the tensions and misalignments no one has named yet. I don’t start with screens. I start with structure. Then I build systems that resolve what actually matters, shaping behavior until the right action feels natural, almost inevitable.
 
Good design, to me, is invisible.
Not because it lacks craft, but because it removes the need for attention. Everything works as it should: quietly, precisely, on purpose.

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9+

YEARS EXPERIENCE

40+

PRODUCTS SHIPPED

20M+

USERS IMPACTED

HOW I WORK

Design is not how it looks. It's how decisions are made.
A few principles that shape how I work, balancing structure, intuition, and the space in between.

Most work rushes to solutions. I don’t. A well-crafted answer to the wrong problem is still failure. I spend time where it matters, defining the real tension beneath the surface. When the problem is clear, the solution becomes obvious, often simpler than expected.

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Problem > Solution

The right question matters more than a fast answer

Busy work can look like progress. It rarely is. I anchor teams in outcomes, not activity, aligning every decision to a measurable objective. Process exists to support direction, not replace it. If the goal is clear, the path can stay flexible.

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Objectives > Operations

Purpose guides process

Design is full of strong opinions. Only some are right. I prioritize signals over assumptions, grounding decisions in data, behavior, and real user feedback. Not to remove intuition, but to sharpen it. Good judgment is informed, not guessed.

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Evidence > Opinion

Data aligns faster than debate

More is not better. Clarity comes from restraint. I remove what competes for attention so what matters can stand on its own. Whether in interface, system, or communication, space is what allows meaning to emerge.

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Space
Noise

Clarity lives in the pause

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MADE REAL

A selection of recent work in digital product and interaction design, focused on clarity, systems, and intelligent expereiences.

VERIZON
HOME APP

A product people only opened when something went wrong.
Low trust, low engagement, and a system that felt fragmented.
 
We reframed it.
From a reactive utility into a more proactive, intelligent experience.
One that surfaces what matters, guides action, and earns trust over time.
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ucas

BLUEJEANS
BY VERIZON

In the middle of the pandemic, a collaboration platform became something more.

A space where work, communication, and human behavior converged.

 

This was a technical chapter.

Where engineering expanded the possibilities,

and design made them legible.

 

Not just shaping interfaces,

but reshaping habits through structure and intent.

KIA NEW ERA

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Automotive HMI & Digital Interface Design | Cross-Platform Experience (Mobile App, Website, In-Car Interface) |
*Final design renderings are confidential; visuals shown are for illustrative purposes only.
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OTHER THINGS I MAKE

Not everything lives on a screen.
Some ideas take shape in materials, form, and experiments.

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LEIRA LOUNGE CHAIR

2016

Creative Director | Product Design
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CONTACT

Let's make something
worth keeping.

Whether you have a role, a project, or just want to talk design, I'm always up for a good conversation. 
Based in LA, working everywhere.

  • LinkedIn
  • Instagram
  • E-mail

Los Angeles, CA

© 2026 by Refaeli Yaofei Ma. All rights reserved.
Because lorem ipsum deserves better. 😃

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