I’m Sara Gooch, a designer, researcher, and strategist with 25+ years of experience using human-centered design to understand people and create products, services, and experiences that make a meaningful difference.
My skills span designing experiences to defining strategy, leading multidisciplinary design organizations, and helping executive teams figure out what comes next.
I often find myself translating between research and design, design and technology, user needs and organizational priorities, strategy and execution. I help connect the thinking so people can make decisions and move forward together.
I’ve also spent much of my career building culture within design teams and across studios, finding ways for people to connect, share inspiration, and learn from one another.
My process centers around the human. I use research to understand needs and possibilities, then make and validate experiences with the people who will use them. I bring different perspectives together so teams can see the whole problem and make better decisions.
I use research to understand people, their behaviors, needs, motivations, and experiences. I learn from the people who will use an experience, the people building it, and analogous experiences that offer a different perspective.
I look for patterns and connections, and generally make sense of the mess. I make the complicated understandable so teams can align on what matters and prioritize what comes next.
I turn what I learn into strategies, products, and services. I make ideas tangible so they can be explored, tested, and refined into experiences that are useful, usable, and buildable.
I test new ideas and built experiences with people to understand what works, what doesn’t, and what needs to change. I evaluate accessibility to identify and remove barriers to use.
I connect people and perspectives across design, technology, and leadership. I translate between disciplines and build connections within design teams so people can learn from one another.
I’m especially interested in areas that affect people’s everyday lives, where better access, clearer experiences, and changes in behavior can lead to meaningful outcomes. These are the areas I’m most interested in putting my experience to work.
Care systems are often complicated at the moments people most need them. Design can make benefits, services, and resources easier to understand, navigate, and access.
Selected work · Early Childhood Investment Corporation, Family Mental Health Coalition, Kaiser Permanente, Merck & Co., Oracle, University of Pittsburgh CTSI, WA State DSHS
Access to food is shaped by many things, from affordability and availability to information and convenience. Design can help remove barriers and make better food more accessible.
Selected work · AeroVironment, Fresh Cut Produce Association, OpenTable, TurboChef
Access matters to learning. Design can improve how people find, understand, and engage with knowledge, resources, and learning experiences.
Selected work · McGraw-Hill Education, Harvard Business Publishing, Institute of Design at IIT, National Head Start Association (NHSA)
Many environmental challenges require changes in everyday behavior. Design can help people understand their impact and make more sustainable choices easier to make.
Selected work · Environmental Defense Fund, HP Laptops, Smart Grid Consumer Collaborative
Important programs and services work best when people understand how what they are and how to use them. Design can make them easier to access and navigate, while helping organizations better meet the needs of the people they serve.
Selected work · The Aspen Institute, Ford Foundation, Irvine Foundation, Packard Foundation, The Pew Charitable Trusts, Skoll Foundation, WA State DSHS