Samantha Co is an award-winning Product Designer, and very good soup maker based in SF. ⸜( *ˊᵕˋ* )⸝
End Slate Recommendations
Crunchyroll (2025)
Living Room UI
The Problem
A large share of subscribers cancelled for the same reason: "I have nothing left to watch." Fans would subscribe for a new season, finish it, then churn — and after the last episode, they hit a blank screen at the exact moment they were deciding what came next.
The Solution
Full-bleed hero art catches fans at their most engaged moment, with sparkle indicators letting them browse recommendations without breaking immersion — the intimacy of one focused suggestion, with the utility of a full carousel.
Desktop Web UI
Pagination & Wayfinding
Another key focus of mine was designing a pagination pattern that worked in harmony with licensor title art while still giving users clear wayfinding. After several rounds incorporating Crunchyroll branding and anime motifs, the result was the "Kira" pagination pattern — a small star-shaped indicator that's since been adopted platform-wide across other carousels, well beyond ESR.
Mobile UI
The resulting designs deployed across all 8 platforms, the feature drove 692M minutes watched and 34M video plays within 7 days of launch, closing a critical competitive gap against Netflix, Disney+, and Hulu.
Today, hundreds of thousands of users discover new content through ESR every month. ( ๑ ˃ᴗ˂ )ﻭ
Hime's Quest ✦
An 8-bit retro game starring Crunchyroll's mascot Hime, built with Limited Edition. Led design on a landing page that doubled as a playable browser demo for the limited-run cartridge drop.
Public Crunchylists ✦
1st Place, Crunchyroll Company-Wide AI Hackathon (2025). Shareable, public-facing watchlists designed to rebuild community and drive discovery — AI-assisted moderation kept list titles and tagging on-brand.
Zen Screen ✦
Co-founded digital wellbeing app tackling screen addiction in kids, with parent-managed schedules and "Quiet Time" sessions. Featured on TechCrunch.
Opera × Sprint Toolbar ✦
Customizable browser toolbar concept built with carrier partner Sprint — set the precedent still visible in Opera's desktop browser today.
Xiaomi × Opera Max ✦
Integrated Opera Max data-saving technology into Xiaomi's OEM ecosystem — visible, useful, and never bloatware.
Hi, I'm Samantha ₍,,𝄐 ̫𝄐,,₎
I'm a Canadian product designer based in San Francisco. I've spent 10+ years designing for startups and global platforms — most recently leading design for Crunchyroll's Anime Awards and video experience.
I built my first commissioned website at 11, earned my BA in Interaction Design from Simon Fraser University in 2012, and later lived and freelanced in Tokyo from 2017–2019.
Currently exploring my next Lead or Director-level design role.
Outside of work: anime, gaming, F1, travel, and asking to pet your dog.
Recognition
1st Place, Crunchyroll Company-Wide AI Hackathon (2025) · Zen Screen, featured on TechCrunch · Crunchyroll Anime Awards, 31M+ unique votes
Selected Companies
Crunchyroll, Opera Software, OurJamz, Zenlabs
okay bye, go pet your dog for me <3