Designing in Southeast Asia: Challenges & Opportunities
This article is the second in a series of blog posts where we will be covering different topics regarding how our team has adapted to the region with a Silicon-Valley-like mindset. Through this series, we tackle topics such as:
- The design ecosystem.
- Challenges for digital consulting companies.
- Strategies for a successful business engagement.
- Perspectives on the digital environment that should be considered when working in the Asia-Pacific (APAC) region — specifically southeast Asian countries such as Vietnam and Thailand.
We wanted to gather a variety of opinions to obtain a broader view and a diversity of perspectives. We approached our peers from Wizeline Vietnam and design members from different parts of the world who have traveled to meet our customers in Southeast Asia or relocated to the region.
Design impacts the ecosystem in which it is applied, changing users’ behaviors and expectations while being influenced by cultural and societal practices. In this blog post, we will focus on the most common challenges related to a designer position in Southeast Asia, providing a perspective of the current ecosystem, as well as the opportunities designers can take to make an impact in their organizations and level up design to the strategic sphere.
1. Design relegated to aesthetics while maturity is surfacing
The first thing we observed is that the concept of UX seems relatively new to the region. In terms of awareness, customers are not as familiar with the design process; methods like design thinking and design sprints seem novel compared to our clients in Europe or the Americas.
As designers being in touch with customers in early conversations about projects, we quickly realize how the primary perception of our craft is just aesthetic. When we come up with a methodology and deliverables, mainly Western clients understand the purpose and value of going through a user-centered process to achieve their goals; however, in the Southeast Asia region, prospects are more likely to discuss the look and feel of the solution we can provide.
Nevertheless, like Joel, our former design director, mentioned:
“Customers in APAC are open to trying new things because they look up to the Silicon Valley model.”
Despite the low design maturity, customers have references demonstrating how design can be a game-changer for their business, encouraging us to gather speed and drive forward across the organization. We, designers, have our chance to show them the backstage of a “wow” solution and demonstrate the benefits of integrating UX within the organization processes beyond the product itself.
Today, successful cases like Grab have empowered our discipline within an organization. Having a diverse design team composed of different profiles (researchers, designers, writers, illustrators, and engineers) and openly communicating about their methodologies in virtual events created for the design community, Grab contributes to spreading the real power of design over the region.
2. Low design influence while there’s a need to grow the design workforce
When building a design team in APAC, Aditi, our design manager involved in the hiring process, observed how most designers worked closely with product managers, often reporting to them because the role of a design leader or manager was missed.
This acts as a consequence of point 1. In organizations with limited UX maturity, where there’s no official UX recognition; design is often conceived as a purely aesthetic contribution, and designers are relegated to executing ideas as part of the product development team.
When they are working in silos and isolated from other designers within the company, it’s even more challenging for designers being in this role to sustain a UX process effectively and shape a UX mindset to level up the discipline. This scenario has its consequences on practitioners who have lots of expertise in execution but not in strategy or leadership.
Ivonne, a former senior UX designer on our team involved in the hiring process for APAC, agrees:
“There is more expertise on digital design or UI, but candidates do not have much experience on business savvy or UX design or the whole product design. There is a lack of leadership. They are aware of that missing skill, and some of the youngest people are trying to be the leader.”
Luckily, we also observed the emergence of UX in organizations that scale and evolve. They recognize the value of the discipline and they feel the need to strengthen user-centered design approaches through leadership and the workforce. It is common to see job offers to cover positions like UX specialist, team leader, or manager. Unfortunately, since UX is a very young career concept in the region and design is not mature in organizations, it is not easy to find that seniority or this leadership, so hiring companies often target overseas profiles to fulfill these needs.
Since designers’ roles are increasing in organizations, it’s time to unify strengths and grow the number of people who understand what UX is by showcasing the work process and benefits through UX wins and case studies.
3. Research is in short supply while designers need to raise UX awareness
As an after-effect, designers seem to have little voice when it comes to guiding organizational, product, and methodology decisions which prevent them, among other matters, from going into the discovery stage or product iteration.
As mentioned in our previous blog post, the hierarchy seems to weigh in here. Since design is mainly business-driven, it creates a significant separation between design and strategy, a big handoff barrier for UX to prosper.
If most designers in Southeast Asia are experts in executing design, it is because the first phases of understanding and validating are put aside most of the time. Before arriving at the solution, the previous steps are hard to squeeze in with customers or stakeholders.
When UX is unknown, or there is hostility towards the concept of adopting UX practices, it might be because of the lack of benefits awareness but also motivated by the time and budget required to implement the process. When the idea has been already found, sometimes coming from leadership, clients are more likely to believe that UX is unnecessary and go straight to execution.
Joel from his experience working for customers in Australia says:
“It is a bit similar in Mexico; customers think they already have the solution. There’s not enough culture around research, and all the time goes into exploring the predetermined solution. We start doing 3–4 workshops with the client, but they never go to the next stage. They are open but never reach the point to do it.”
Hoa, project manager, working with Southeast Asian clients, adds:
“Normally, clients are comfortable, but some of them do not understand the role when a UXer joins the team. They are happy with the work, but it is a position that’s hard to sell. They do not care about research or testing; they think it is too much of an investment, so we need to educate.”
Being conscious of this challenge, at Wizeline, we worked on a document showcasing case studies to explain from a business perspective the added value of design, the benefits of validation, and why it’s important to talk to users early in the process. One of the most significant friction points when bringing research to the table is time-consuming, so reassuring the client about our capacity to adapt to their deadlines, including research, was crucial for reaching an agreement.
4. A need to grow soft skills while companies seek English proficiency and leadership
Like the fish that bites its own tail, if designers are less exposed to customers, stakeholders, users, or simply to interaction, it is harder to develop some soft skills related to negotiation, advocacy, facilitation, or public speaking. Ivonne explains the issues she found out:
“I saw a lot of visually amazing portfolios from applicants that lacked communication, presentation, and business savvy. We need to focus on boosting candidates’ soft skills rather than just the technical ones.”
Moreover, when it comes to hiring for international companies, language proficiency seems to be the Achilles’ heel of the region. Thanh Vo, our talent ambassador, observed that Thailand and Vietnam need to improve their English to speak fluently in daily communication. Regarding other countries in APAC, she says:
“English proficiency has stopped us from reaching out to UX candidates from Japan and Korea. Those candidates who are good at English often look for job opportunities in the USA, Singapore, or the EU where they can have better cultural diversity and pay ranges. Others want to stay in their home country seeking a stable life, so they don’t want to move or try in other cultures.”
This fact pushes international companies to seek profiles with experience abroad or perhaps candidates from surrounding countries or even Western countries. Knowing the appeal of Southern Asia and the spot to take in the design ecosystem, it is common to see expatriates (expats) working as senior UX designers, leaders, or even design managers.
A community looking to learn and develop
Despite obstacles that designers in Southeast Asia might find nowadays, there is a vast amount of promising talent for the future of the discipline in the region. The portfolios we have reviewed show excellent graphic skills and an eagerness to evolve and learn new approaches and expertise.
According to Thanh Vo:
“Candidates are very aggressive in a good way, eager to work in the full approach, or to try different things especially to gain new skills, experience and training themselves.”
We can observe designers’ willingness when attending events like the Savvy UX Summit or the UXVN festival organized by the UX community in Vietnam. These initiatives are essential to strengthen UX awareness and practice across Asia-Pacific businesses, organizations, and design professionals. Empowered by local and internationally experienced lecturers, the younger generation can receive proper guidance on successfully building a design career roadmap and learning more about their improvement areas.
Some lecturers have moved to other countries, developed their careers, and returned to their home countries, bringing all the insights learned. Others stay and take advantage of being part of a diverse multidisciplinary design team to develop their skills. We also have some expats that strive to spread the word of design, adapting Western approaches to the APAC context.
There is a lot of UX advocacy to be done, a culture to shape, and a bridge to cross from design to strategy. Now is the moment for Southeast Asia designers to pivot from the execution level to the position of a thought leader and problem-solver.your team, finding allies, and gaining the trust of customers will be vital in raising awareness about the value of design beyond the product.
Conclusion
A revolution is coming, pushed by all the talented and fast learning designers who are conscious of their potential and the impact they can make in the business world. The game-changer will be fostered by those organizations that have already accelerated their mindset and opened their departments to the voice of users and advocates integrating UX methods across the organizational processes to achieve valuable results.
If you want to work in APAC as a designer, be ready to be immersed in a very diverse community. Understanding the specificities of your team, finding allies, and gaining the trust of customers will be vital in raising awareness about the value of design beyond the product.
Author’s note
Two years ago, I joined the Wizeline Vietnam office as a UX designer. Although I am currently back in Europe, I am very grateful for having had the chance to be part of a small team and grow by facing practical challenges. I realized how little I knew about how we design on that side of the world, and somehow I took an ethnocentric approach expecting things to be done like in Western countries. As in UX, understanding the culture, the context, and adapting to it is essential to make a meaningful impact on your team, customers, and the entire community.
With this blog post, I wanted to wrap up my experience in Vietnam, providing a perspective of the design sector by showcasing the issues my colleagues and I faced, but also the possibilities for moving forward.
Special thanks
This blog post is made from my experience and the considerable contribution of Cristina Vazquez, an inspiring and generous designer who was my mentor during my early time at Wizeline Vietnam and who hands me over the reins of this writing exercise. Thank you for your support conducting the interviews that have shaped these words.
Thanks to our contributors Adam, Aditi, Brenn, Dany, Hoa, Ivonne, Joel, Manuel, Monde, Nhi Mai, and Regie.
Finally, special thanks to Sayuri, March, Cris and Scott for providing me valuable feedback to improve this writing. Also, a big kudos to Jose Pablo for these amazing illustrations.
Further reading
This article follows the one written by my peer Cristina Vazquez where she deciphers The 6 tips you need to succeed in APAC. Check it out!
References
The 6 Levels of UX Maturity
https://www.nngroup.com/articles/ux-maturity-model/
