Meet Yameng Lee Thorp, Senior Interaction Designer at Google

Interviewed by Lingling Chen

Yameng’s story is full of courage, travel and colors. Coming from a Fine Arts background in South Africa, Yameng found her passion in design and bravely pursued it in the United States. She is also a great painter who gets new inspirations from drawing. Read our interview with Yameng and learn more about her adventures, her career in design and her beautiful paintings!

Q: Can you share with us your experience after college and how did you get to where you are today?

I come from a Fine Arts background and studied Painting and New Media in art school back in South Africa, and although my former passion at the time was painting, I started to develop a keen interest in animation and design. After 4 years of art school, I pretty much realized that I didn’t have what it took to make a career out of art, nevermind feeding myself. So I pivoted and went off for a year doing sound design and animation in China, then back to South Africa for some more, and before you know it, 5 years went by and it just wasn’t fun anymore.

So I got out and got lucky when I found a scholarship to study Interaction Design in Italy. I had no idea what it was about and where it would take me, except that “Animation is a good skill for this area!” was what I was told by a dear friend, and my family’s support at the time meant a lot as it gave me the courage to not be scared and try something totally new.

I sold everything and left, it was the best decision I’ve ever made.

Anyway, long story short, after graduating in 2011 I found a job at a design agency in the Bay Area and have been here ever since, so home is here, for now.

From Uber to Google, you went from software to hardware. Why did you make the transition?

Actually before Uber I worked in hardware UX design at a startup called Jawbone. I really enjoyed the multidisciplinary aspect of design it exposed me to, it was refreshing to build experiences outside of the phone and away from the apps, so when it ended I always wanted to go back to it some day. When Google pinged me about an opportunity related to hardware, I knew it was calling my name.

What are some of the most important skills that are valued in your position at Google?

You have to be willing to bend the rules a bit, be flexible and have some fun while solving problems. I love working with people who are able to get to the root of the problem before jumping to any conclusion or solution. Go at it from multiple angles.

As you look back, what are some of the biggest challenges you have overcome?

Growing up in the post-Apartheid South Africa was challenging, I think at the time I was young and had just moved, didn’t have a single idea about what race or racism even means, so learning about that through your interaction with others was inevitable, challenging, and weird. I was often confronted with issues of race, identity and belonging on a daily basis growing up, probably like many kids at the time but in a different way because I was the only Chinese kid in a complete Christian school which had just opened up it’s doors up to kids of color. I think it made me tough in the end, as I literally have no time for bullshit these days, haha!

You love painting and you paint very frequently as I can tell from your Instagram feed. What’s your painting process look like?

I just start freestyling and it turns into something eventually. I have sketchbooks scattered in different parts of my house so I can just grab whenever my hands itch.

What would be your advice to fresh graduates who are just out of the college?

“Follow your passion” is meaningless and kind of superficial if you don’t go deep and persevere. You’ve got to go deep in order to get joy out of anything.

Fun facts about yourself that most people don’t know?

I like to “butcher” the English language.

How do you find ways to relax when you are stressed?

I try to remind myself of the big picture.

What’s your favorite restaurant or cafe in the Bay Area?

Duna in San Francisco, delicious Hungarian food there!

What did you want to be growing up?

Goku from Dragon Ball. I was obsessed with the original manga series haha.

What’s your dream alternative career?

A chef of some kind or a cinematographer.