Lan Johnson currently works as a Senior Product Designer at Square, having previously been a user experience designer at Tekzenit. She grew up in various international locations due to her father's military career, eventually settling in Dallas before moving to Seattle. Her journey into product design began with graphic design interests, self-taught coding, and freelance work, leading to a decade in consulting. In 2020, she transitioned to in-house roles, seeking deeper product connection.Her nomadic childhood fostered independence, resilience, and adaptability, skills honed through consulting and a small high school environment. Early career experiences at Tekzenit, Project202, and Capital One provided diverse industry exposure and insight into complex systems. At Square, she's embraced an individual contributor role, focusing on the craft of design after years in management.A current challenge is onboarding into the printer industry's specific needs, while balancing engineering costs, business priorities, and user experience. AI is integrated into her workflow for task automation and prototyping, though she finds it best as a baseline tool. When pitching designs, Lan emphasizes setting context and explaining the "why" to ensure stakeholder alignment.Her design inspiration comes from platforms like Dribbble and a resurgence of 90s aesthetics, particularly 35mm film. A significant learning experience involved setting work-life boundaries at AT&T and navigating workplace politics. When joining new teams, Lan prioritizes thorough research and building relationships with colleagues. She finds joy in personal creative pursuits like drawing and photography, which fuel her inspiration. Humility is a key quality she seeks in design leaders. Balancing business goals with design integrity involves collaboration and finding mutually beneficial solutions. Finally, she highlights learning to protect oneself in the workplace and understanding employment rights as crucial skills not typically taught in design school.