Nikki was born in Valencia, California, grew up in the Philippines. After getting her bachelor’s degree in management information systems (which really started with psychology), she moved back to the States to pursue a more creative, innovative, and meaningful career.
It was during her stint as an interior designer at several architecture-based design firms, when she found herself preoccupied with usability in the form of information design and productivity problems. At around the same time, she picked up a copy of Donald Norman’s The Design of Everyday Things, which made her realize that there was an entire field based on this. And that she wanted to be a part of it.
She sees interaction design as the intersection of all her pursuits, the essence she’s been chasing in its purest form, where the human is at the forefront – an aspect she believes is present in any meaningful work.
Nikki comes to SVA in the hopes of fixing what is broken and redefining how the world should work. She hopes to one day have the opportunity to help those marginalized by mainstream design. She is fascinated with everything small and overlooked, and thinks humor makes everything better.

Past Life

BA in Management Information Systems

Selected Projects