Beyond the px — Flutterwave’s Nemi Banigo on switching careers, practice, and courage
This month’s Beyond the PX takes us to Lagos, Nigeria to talk with nemi. Nemi, having previously pursued a different career, found her feet in design and isn’t looking back.
Enjoy.
Can you explain briefly who Flutterwave are and what they do?
Flutterwave is a payments solution company that enables businesses accept payments via various payment methods, and make payouts from anywhere in the world.
Currently we support over 150 currencies on our platform.
What has been your design journey up until now?
My design journey started late 2016.
Before I decided to make my career change, I used to work as a digital marketer, handling social media accounts and creating campaign strategies. It used to be fun, until it wasn’t.
I started feeling underwhelmed, and at the same time I felt I needed to learn a new skill. So I started designing the campaign flyers we used to post on social media. I did that with Photoshop, and even though it was tough, I liked it!
I started taking graphic design classes every weekend, even though I was still certain then it was a hobby.
The next year, that’s in January 2017, I branched out to UI design, and web development. It was so exciting, I honestly couldn’t fathom going back to digital marketing anymore. After I returned from my leave, I decided that I needed a career change.
At first, I laughed at myself, because I honestly didn’t think I had the courage to make such a move, but as juggling work and learning became increasingly harder, I decided to leave my job and focus fully on learning design and web development.
Four months later, I got my first job in tech.
It’s still the best move I’ve made till date.
What does your typical morning look like?
My typical morning involves saying a quick prayer, then savouring the last minutes I’ve left before I have to get up.
Normally, I’d read an article, or go through my emails, or reply messages from the previous night.
I started eating healthier, so cooking my breakfast would also happen on mornings I don’t feel too tired.
Once I get into work, I eat my breakfast, check Slack, and thus, my day begins.
What does your design tool stack look like?
Figma, Adobe AE, Slack. I really love Adobe XD, but my team don’t use it.
Do you have any design hacks?
Using HSB instead of HEX codes is one thing that’s made design a whole lot more interesting for me! It’s really simple, and quite fun to experiment with.
By adjusting the brightness and saturation of one colour, you can discover several other shades that will be complementary to the original colour.
How do you design ‘for the future’? How do you ensure you’re not being cliche?
Reading.
Doing a ton of research.
Speaking to business owners, customers and identifying their pain points, and how they interact with our products.
There’s a wealth of knowledge that comes from doing all of these that makes us always one step ahead.
Did you have a passion for the banking industry before you started with Flutterwave?
Before Flutterwave, I didn’t have an affiliation for the banking industry, although I was curious and impressed by the payment solutions that fintech companies in Nigeria were creating.
I remember the first time I used my bank card to make a payment online, and I was like holy sh*t. It was the most seamless thing I had ever used.
It does feel good to be a part of it all, designing products that make it a whole lot easier for business and individuals to pay and get paid.
What’s your team dynamic?
We are currently a team of 5 designers.
We have a team lead, whom we all report to. I work closely with my team lead mostly.
Previously, we were assigned to various product teams to work on, but we will be reverting to a centralised system soon, where everyone gets to work on any product.
We have weekly meetings, where we share our work, and give feedback to each other. I like those a lot.
What advice would you give for those interested in kick starting a career in designing for the market?
- Practice, practice, practice. You may not see it, but every day, you definitely improving.
- Take the plunge. Don’t wait until you “get better” before you start applying for design roles. Get better in in quotes because a lot of times, it’s simply fear holding you back.
- Share your work on social media platforms. Even if it is a simple sign up page, or an app icon. The more people see your design, the better it is for you. Also, you can get valuable feedback from more experienced designers who you follow.
- Read. Not just about design, but on other subjects. The best designers I follow happen to be extremely informed people.
I love how Nemi’s passion is only increasing as she develops in her career. It’s this kind of drive that I know will make her a huge success.
Her advice for juniors also struck a chord with me. With hard work, lots of practice and trying to stay on top of the industry, you are destined for success.
See you next month.
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