Team Spotlight: Elaine
An active hiker and adventure seeker with wanderlust
In this Team Spotlight, we talk to Elaine Oh, a UXUI Designer who’s been with 55 Minutes since September 2020. Keep reading to learn more about why design is important to Elaine, as well as Elaine’s most impressive user experience she’s witnessed.
Q: Hi Elaine, I’d love to get to know your background. What did you study and why did you decide to join 55 Minutes?
I studied Design Communications at LASALLE. It was a lot of experimenting and learning across different fields of design, such as branding and advertising.
Prior to 55 Minutes, I was at an SME as a web designer in the e-commerce department for three years. In that role, I covered a lot of aspects of web design, including UXUI and layout designs for homepage, emailers and templates. I had to come up with marketing materials such as advertisements as well. With what I learned, I wanted to narrow it down and I decided UXUI was the path for me.
At my previous company, I didn’t have much time to touch on the foundation of UXUI, such as research, and how data informs design. Working in an SME is a little different, as we can’t reach out to customers; our UXUI process was based on online trends, desktop research, and inputs from my colleagues. Hence to really dive deeper into UXUI, I decided to go online and look for more relevant jobs, and I chanced upon 55 Minutes. A job listing I saw was a few months old, so I decided to just send an email and voila — here I am!
Q: I love that you took the initiative to reach out to 55 Minutes! Now that you’re here, can you describe your role at 55 Minutes?
I’m a UXUI Designer, so I do both UI and UX aspects when it comes to projects. However, at 55 Minutes, we don’t strictly adhere to our job scopes. For me, I can be a designer, but I also participate in research discussions. Essentially, we help each other out, and I find that it’s a more meaningful way to work, and essential for my designs, as research often informs design.
Q: What’s been your favorite part about being at 55 Minutes?
My teammates! Oddly enough, the times I’ve enjoyed the most is when we have meetings. We gather around and put our brains together in projects (and also have fun at the same time)! With teamwork, we can find out what’s best for our users instead of working in silos where you have no one to guide you and ask for opinions.
Q: Being the newest addition to the team, what is your biggest learning in the eight months that you’ve been here?
As for experiences, the one that comes to mind is when I had to participate in user research and had to interview some participants. While I was a digital designer, I wasn’t given many opportunities to conduct user interviews or work with UX researchers. So drafting out questions for users, going on the ground and interviewing them, and seeing where the flow goes and how they respond, was a whole new experience for me.
Q: Why is design important to you?
Design is important because it’s everywhere. It can be the products you see, or your shopping and retail experience when you enter a shop. It’s important because it exists in our everyday lives, and we might not notice it, but it’s design. Everything around us is designed.
Q: Where do you want to see yourself going from here?
I hope to be a more well-rounded designer so I can understand more about people and build more on being empathetic. How do I relate more to people? How do I talk to people? How do I be more empathetic?
Q: Empathy is a huge skill. So if someone is interested in design, where should they start?
Technical-wise, learn Adobe Photoshop and Illustrator; it will get you to a lot of places. After that, what’s important is not on the technical part, because you can learn technical from Youtube. Knowledge is readily available nowadays.
What’s important is to try to attend a course that teaches about user experience. It will then inform you on the foundation of user-centered design — how to understand users, their needs and their wants. It’ll help to stand out more from other applicants, because everyone has technical skills, but not everyone has the skills and the knowledge in understanding and empathizing with users. After all, we are always designing for users.
Q: Thanks for that valuable advice! What are your key challenges being a designer in this day and age? And how do you go about overcoming them?
I try not to compare myself too much to people, because when you start comparing, there is no end to it. I also try to not be bothered by how quickly I’m improving (e.g. soft skills, or job position and titles), but rather focus on myself and what I’d like to achieve. I like to always remind myself that progress is never linear, and you can define success however you want to.
Q: What is the most impressive user experience you had in your life?
This is going to be a long one…
The most recent encounter that stuck with me was at Barry’s, a popular American exercise studio. When they opened their first studio here in Singapore, I tried it to understand the hype.
When I first entered the studio and checked in, there were bobby pins and rubber bands on the counter and I was told that I could take them if I wanted to. Like hello? Of course I took them. I was then told that I could leave my belongings in the toilet locker, so I went to the toilet and I was greeted with Dyson hairdryers (what?!) on their vanity tables, and lockers with hangers in them for me to hang my clothes.
I went to the bar counter after to order a protein shake, because did you really go to Barry’s if you didn’t order a protein shake? Haha. After ordering, I realized I didn’t have my wallet with me but I was told that they could charge it to my card from my account, which was great because it’s so convenient!
I was then told that I could attend the class first and get my shake right after, which is how they would usually recommend to their customers if they wanted to order a shake. This is actually quite clever as it skips the waiting time for customers and usually that’s when people would drink a shake — right after class!
Towels were provided when we entered the class, and after the class, I was greeted with staff just outside handing out tea towels, which shocked me. The best part was they were cold and smelled like mint! It was meant to wipe myself, and the cooling and minty effect made me feel refreshed after. Upon exiting, there were protein shakes all lined up on the bar counter and I could easily find my name and grab mine and gobble it down after.
This whole experience really impressed me because I haven’t been to a studio that pays attention to details like this and notices what users really need as they reach the studio and when they step out of class hot and sweaty. I never knew an iced cooling towel would elevate the experience, but it sure did haha.
Q: I loved listening to that experience. Now for some fun questions! As a lover of bread, what type would you be and why?
I’m a sourdough. It takes some time to successfully make sourdough and I feel like that’s me because it takes time for me to open up to people and I’m always cautious of who I open up to. You’ll need time, patience, and you’ll need to make an effort before you get to know me — but it’ll definitely be worth it!
Q: Let’s say you’ve been sponsored to do whatever you want, go wherever you want, for one year, all expenses paid! Where do you go and what do you do?
A: I would go to the States because it’s a country that’s big enough that I can do a lot. I can stay in the city and go out in the suburbs. I’d upgrade my camera equipment and go on hikes, and rent an apartment in the city so I can go back to the city. I would go on road trips and visit every national park that I’d want.
Q: I hear that you wake up every morning at 6am so you can go to the gym to workout. What is the motivation that drives you to do this?
A: It’s not really a motivation… previously I always exercise at night after work, but I’d be home around 10 pm and I have no time to myself. So I tried switching to the morning so I’d have the night to spend to myself.
The goal is just to keep fit. I want to travel when I retire and I know I like hiking, so by that age, if I still continue to go to hikes, I want to be physically and mentally fit. It’s a super long term goal, but health is important, especially when you’re old.
It was a pleasure to chat with Elaine and learn about her experiences at 55 Minutes. Outside of work, you can find Elaine exercising six times a week, doing a combination of cardio, strength, and spin. And if she’s not exercising, she loves all things associated with Western breakfast — bread, cereal, oats, fruits, pancakes, and eggs.
