Background and Interests

My name is Viiu (‘VEE-you’) Katariina Messier. I’m Estonian by heritage, which is where my name comes from.

I’m passionate about translating complex systems into intuitive, human-centered experiences—especially in products where language, logic, and workflow design intersect. My work sits at the crossroads of AI, linguistics, and UX, with a focus on making sophisticated tools feel natural, predictable, and deeply usable.

Professional Background

I have over ten years of experience in linguistics, with the last several years dedicated to AI systems, workflow-heavy products, and designing internal tools. I hold a BA in Philosophy and an MA in Linguistics, both of which shaped my ability to analyze complex information, understand human meaning-making, and communicate with clarity.

Across my tech career, I’ve specialized in turning messy, rule-heavy processes into clear, approachable experiences:

• At E2F, I redesigned large-scale data workflows, improved complex linguistic annotation tools, and built detailed Figma prototypes that clarified system behavior for engineering. Much of my work involved modeling logic, constraints, and content structures so that both specialists and non-specialists could succeed inside the tools.

• At Gyan AI, I served as a Product Designer for an AI-powered research and retrieval platform. I led UX efforts across complex system flows, designed interaction patterns that made the model’s reasoning more visible, and created demos that communicated the product’s value to technical and non-technical audiences. My work focused on aligning design, engineering, and product strategy around a clearer, more accessible user experience.

Today, I bring together systems thinking, interaction design, and language expertise to create products that make complexity feel intuitive, visual, and navigable.

Approach

I’m both creative and analytical—a systems thinker who loves clarity, structure, and narrative. I thrive on:

• mapping workflows and model constraints

• designing interaction patterns for complex and internal tools

• translating technical logic into intuitive UI behavior

• collaborating deeply with engineering, data, QA, and product teams

• making abstract or algorithmic behavior visible, meaningful, and trustworthy

At my core, I’m passionate about designing AI-assisted tools and complex systems that are powerful, thoughtful, and genuinely helpful. I believe the best products don’t hide complexity—they make it understandable.