MY JOURNEY
How’d we get here?
Visual merchandiser to payroll officer, farm hand to gallery attendant – when opportunity knocks, I’m curious. Thankfully, this curiosity hasn’t spelt my doom… on the contrary, it has seen me through a number of rewarding experiences! (Even the ones that had me questioning my life choices for a while— like the decision to build a tiny house on wheels… with no experience.)
The desire to understand and learn how things work has always been the driving force of my life and it’s this curiosity that is sparked when I happen upon a poorly made product or service.
Why UX/UI?
For several years, I engaged regularly with frustrated, concerned, and impatient individuals as they navigated poorly designed systems, complex EBAs, and unforgiving websites. I could often identify rational solutions that would address these frustrations, (not to mention, reduce the volume of calls and emails), but the confines of my roles restrained my ability to take action. I held hope that someday, I wouldn’t just recognise these pain points, but could actively strive towards minimising the friction that poor design was generating.
Pair this ambition with a lifelong drive to continuously level up my creative skills* and it’s no surprise that when UX/UI caught my attention, I was thoroughly intrigued. Happily, my studies with Academy Xi cemented my dedication to pursue a new career. Now, having successfully completed two student client projects (as of May 2024), I am eager to demonstrate my capabilities as both an enthusiastic learner and a committed problem solver.
(*Illustration, painting, embroidery, blogging, carpentry… wool spinning… you name it & I’ve probably given it a whirl.)
OTHER PROJECTS
Memory Lane
If you’re curious to take a peek at how I’ve spent my creative energy in the past, I’ve got some goodies for you. Happily, my past-self maintained a blog throughout my tiny house on wheels build. I wasn’t always diligent, but for me, it serves as a strong reminder of how something that feels extremely uncomfortable and outside your comfort zone, will likely be incredibly rewarding later on. Welcome wisdom in the face of undertaking a career change!
Friend of Note
Last year, I also dabbled in running an Etsy sticker shop before discovering UX/UI design. While it hasn’t been a ‘commercial success,’ it allowed me to develop significantly as a digital illustrator. The process is a great blend of digital and manual work—I digitally illustrate the images, then create the physical stickers and packages myself. Looking at my old website design through the eyes of a product designer, I see plenty of room for improvement. A re-vamp is certainly on the to-do list!
