headshot of Stephanie Zhu

Hey there, I’m Stephanie.

I'm a designer and developer at San Francisco Chronicle where I work on digital news products and interactive stories. Before that, I studied journalism, computer science and design at Northwestern University. I’ve also designed for The Boston Globe and CalMatters.

Like every person with a journalism background ever, I tell people I love telling stories. But more specifically, I want to combine research and analysis skills from journalism with technology to create experiences that are thoughtful and speak to users.

What this looks like is different day-to-day and can be confusing to explain, but at the core of it all, I just want to make cool things.

Currently:
• obsessing over Formula 1 and bright colors
• playing through Stardew Valley once again
• reading Rental House by Weike Wang and The Power Broker by Robert Caro
• perfecting my dumpling folds [so my mom doesn’t laugh at me]
eating my way through the Bay Area

See something interesting? Let’s chat! :-)

Kudos [selected]

Bronze Medal (x2)

Society for News Design • Best of News Design 46

Award of Excellence (x4)

Society for News Design • Best of News Design 46

First Place • Online Presentation

Best of the West • Newspaper, Magazine and Online Contest 2025

Winner • Excellence in Visual Digital Storytelling

Online News Association • Online Journalism Awards 2024

Winner • Topical Reporting: Race, Ethnicity, Gender and Identity

Online News Association • Online Journalism Awards 2024

Award of Excellence (x2)

Society for News Design • Best of News Design 45

Award of Excellence (x3)

Society for News Design • Best of News Design 44

Lead Developer/Designer

Was lead developer and designer for a 2022 Pulitzer finalist piece