I was born and lived in Indonesia until I was 16. When I was 17, I studied and lived in Singapore for 3 years to complete my undergraduate study. I remember feeling so much freedom. Living in Indonesia is never associated with freedom or independence.

There is a lot of fear of safety as a young Chinese woman, or racism towards the Chinese Indonesian community. My parents were very protective of my older sister and me. So when I first moved to Singapore, it did feel like chickens being out in the cage.

And today, I have travelled a bit more and lived in three different countries in the last ten years. After my graduation in 2010, I decided to move to China. In the beginning, I was planning to study the Chinese language for a year. …

I had the opportunity to interview the end-user when we start the project of redesigning the mandatory training in my workplace. We decided to use a Human-Centred Design approach. The Design Kit from IDEO has given me a broader understanding of how to use this technique. I didn't know what I had got myself into when I first did my user interview for an e-learning project. I had a chance to do 10 end-user interviews for that project. Here are a few things I have learnt...

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1. Have realistic expectations

If you are a perfectionist like me, you will have a set of unrealistic expectation of how the interview will go. You will expect the result of the interview will be perfect, get excellent insights, you’ll be the most fantastic interviewer, and all the interviewees are going to be incredible.

‍But not all interview will go well. Maybe it will go ugly, or you don’t have any worth recorded answers. But that’s ok. You will get better as you practice. ‍

2. Do your research & prepare the questions.

If this is your first time too, it’s critical to always do research on how to do user…

A journey that I never expected!

It’s not great when you don’t like the career or a working space you are in. I felt that way about graphic design.

I was in marketing agencies designing banners, flyers, presentations, etc. Then I also freelance on menu designs, branding and logos.

But, I wasn’t happy with that. I always felt empty or resentful. I never felt an urge to wanting to grow in that space.

I have seen a lot of talented and passionate designers that made me questioned myself if maybe because I wasn’t gifted or confident enough. Or, perhaps I wasn’t happy because I didn’t get paid enough.

I remember that I wasn’t happy to be working long hours on a pitch at the agency, just to have the pitch rejected at the end. Or, feeling like I was just making pretty things without purpose.

I wonder if other people feel the same too?

A lot of designers out there…