Anna Knutson, PhD | UXR

• Deep research on digital communication, connection, and learning

Hello! Welcome to my portfolio.

Thanks for stopping by! My name is Anna Knutson, and I have been researching digital communication and learning for 14 years: 4 years in tech, 3 years as a professor, and 7 years as a graduate student.

I hold a PhD in English and Education, and I’m currently looking for roles in UX Research.

Below, I provide an overview of my domain expertise in digital communication and learning, followed by a brief research philosophy.

Please feel free to navigate to the case studies in the left sidebar to see more detailed examples of my work.

How do people use technology to communicate, connect, and learn?

This question has fueled my research across multiple industries.

Here are a few examples of projects I’ve completed demonstrating my deep curiosity about how technology shapes communication and learning:

• a study to inform the redesign of the emoji menu for the most popular keyboard app in the world (Gboard–the Google Keyboard)
• multiple connected studies to guide the launch of a consumer “groups” feature that is built using B2B infrastructure (Microsoft Teams)
• three studies exploring faculty training and student learning in a newly launched, fully online, multimedia writing program (eComp, University of New Mexico)
• a deep, longitudinal study of eight college students’ writing and learning across social media and school (doctoral dissertation, University of Michigan)

As a graduate student (7 years) and a tenure-track English professor (3 years, one of the most competitive positions in academia), I published research on digital communication, educational technology, and learning before transitioning into tech.

Although the research timelines are much shorter, I have brought my curiosity and my rigorous methodological training to tech, where I’ve spent the last 4 years embedded in product teams.

Brief Research Philosophy

Get to know the people who build and use your product by being approachable, curious, rigorous, and quick on your feet

1. Methodological rigor

I developed my methodological expertise through my PhD training, and I’ve sharpened it across 4 years embedded in product teams.

I’m skilled across the full research arc. I take pride in my ability to:

• scope efficient and relevant studies,
• build participant rapport,
• conduct deep analysis, and
• translate insights into actionable recommendations.

2. Product knowledge and cross-functional collaboration

I don’t just study users; I study contexts.

When joining a new team, I invest in understanding the product space, the prior research, the business goals, and my cross-functional partners. This contextual grounding makes my research relevant and actionable, not just rigorous.

3. Domain expertise in digital communication and learning

Across academia and industry, I’ve researched how people leverage technology to communicate and learn.

I’ve conducted research for tech companies about how people communicate using messaging, AI, social media, video chat, group features, and expressive content (e.g., emoji, GIFs, stickers).

I’ve also published research on online education, the role of multimedia texts in writing curriculum, and how people adapt their learning from social media to school and vice versa.