Design Director & Product Designer (formerly Airbnb)
Tomoko Yates
Talk
Designing for Nervous Systems: What Motherhood Revealed About Delight
Every product decision assumes something about the state of the person on the other side — but what if they’re tired, distracted, overstimulated, mid-transition between one part of their day and the next? Through personal stories and practical product examples, Tomoko shows how motherhood reshaped her view of delight: not surprise or surface polish, but nervous-system relief — clarity during uncertainty, steadiness during transitions, less cognitive demand when energy is low. She reframes delight as emotional infrastructure: when people feel regulated, they trust; when they trust, they stay.
Profile
Tomoko is a product design leader with nearly two decades of experience building and scaling digital products globally. Most recently she was a Staff Product Designer at Airbnb in New York, leading complex cross-functional initiatives and shaping experiences used by millions.