hei! i'm Aino Halonen

Finnish-Latina born and raised in sunny Los Angeles. Failed astrophysicist turned product designer. I can nerd out to you in English, Suomi, Español, Française, Pусский, 日本語, and ask "are you hungry?" in 한국어.

I graduated early at 16 and had the time to dive into numerous fields from astrophysics to cybersecurity to psychology to biology back to psychology, and now in my happy place designing the future.

I was born so passionately curious that I have photos of myself working a Dell GX110 with my toes at 3. Whether it's the universe, people, tech, or why my cats jump on my stomach to wake me up, I want to know all I can.

my unique strengths

inquisitive & Innovative life/Design philosophy

End-to-End product development skills

natural Holistic & System level thinker

never settling for "IT'S good enough"

Experience

BMW Designworks 2025 – Present

Innovation Designer

  • Competitive internship focused on designing for the LA 2028 Olympics. Operating in a custom role that merges innovation strategy, team mentoring, and technical design execution.
  • Pushing the boundaries of design by introducing speculative frameworks, systems thinking, and emerging tech integration.
  • Acting technical advisor elevating design quality, ensuring cohesion, and amplifying the creative range of the team.
  • Leading innovation sprints and hands-on prototyping to shape sustainable, equitable, and future-forward solutions.

CSUDH 2025 – Present

Adjunct Professor

  • Designed and taught a 3-unit hybrid undergraduate course covering modern web tools (Figma, Webflow, Framer, WordPress, Wix Studio) and AI-assisted design.
  • Focused on accessibility, inclusion, and career equity by supporting students from diverse backgrounds in building portfolio-ready projects.
  • Mentored students in critical design practice, systems thinking, and creative confidence across synchronous and asynchronous formats.

UXD Lab 2024 – 2025

Lead product designer

  • Led end-to-end design for portfolios across AI, Web3, Telecom, Entertainment, Wellness, and other sectors; projects included Identinet, Fliggs, Cool Is Dead, and much more.
  • Shaped and shipped MVPs, SaaS platforms, and consumer sites that supported funding rounds, GTM readiness, and adoption in competitive markets.
  • Measurable results across projects include: 3560% traffic increase, 348% annual growth, 71% UX efficiency gain, and a 500% lead growth per month.

F.Y.I 2023 – 2024

product designer

  • Supported UX design for an AI-powered social platform using multi-agent LLMs for content generation, collaboration, and real-time communication.
  • Restructured system architecture and IA to support agent-based workflows, improving user efficiency by 71%.
  • Designed and led usability testing across platforms and redesigned key onboarding/conversion flows to optimize engagement and growth.

Alina LPCC 2021 – 2022

product designer

  • Positioned and developed a mental health practice site focused on neurodivergent accessibility, lead generation & conversion, and SEO performance.
  • Boosted traffic by 38% and increased monthly inquiries by 500% through UX improvements, clear messaging, and market strategy.
  • Owned full-stack brand and site development using Wix Studio and optimized structure for long-term independent operation.