Introducing Annie Kuang, Qwilr’s animator turned Designer
For our second post in our meet-the-team series, we’re introducing Annie Kuang, the newest member on Qwilr’s Design team.
As a Designer, Annie brings a varied skill set to iterate interesting design problems into pleasant and surprising product experiences. Her passion for great food led her on a three month trip around Asia before joining the team, and now she’s ready to take on new challenges from defining spacing systems, to creating and validating new features.
Tell us about yourself…
Growing up, I’ve always had a flair for the creative whether it be drawing doodles on my notes in class, messing around with images in Photoshop, or baking cakes for my friends in school. I studied Graphic Design and Animation at UNSW Art & Design with the intention of going into some sort of graphic design role after I graduated but instead found myself in a UX/UI design internship at a small creative agency. Before working there, I had heard the term ‘UX/UI’ being thrown around but never really understood what it was. The more I learned, the more I found myself loving the challenge of solving problems and appreciating the nuances that go into creating a great user experience. I wanted to be a part of creating something special that makes someone stop to think, “wow, that was really cool.” I first heard about Qwilr through my friend Mike, a software engineer at Qwilr, who always spoke very highly of the company, the work, and the culture. When I was leaving my previous role, Mike hooked me up with Qwilr’s Design Lead Dom and we started chatting which eventually resulted in me joining the awesome Qwilr team.
What’s a core value you like to practice in your work?
I always try to strive for continual learning and upskilling to help make my own and my team’s workflow more efficient.
Horcruxs are a Qwilr team tradition, and live on our desks wherever in the world we are. Each one aims to symbolise a memory, experience, or value we care about. What’s your Horcrux, and what does it symbolise?
Out of the many things I’ve collected over the years, I’ve given the honourable title of Horcrux to my Val d’Isère pin. I came across this trinket while I was in France at the incredible slopes of Val d’Isère for my first snowboarding trip overseas, and only the third time snowboarding in my life. The trip was filled with many firsts and many falls for me, but my biggest achievement was teaching myself to snowboard toeside successfully (most of the time). Not only does this pin represent the gruelling yet adrenaline-filled fun I had, but it’s also a reminder to always challenge and push myself in all aspects of my life (cue cliché cheesiness).
What’s in your personal toolkit?
Keyboard shortcuts and Spotify keep me sane on a day to day basis. I love browsing Muzli as well to get my creative juices flowing.
Where are you based?
The HQ office in Sydney.
What do you like to get up to outside of Qwilr?
Eating good food, watching Netflix, hitting the gym, and playing ball sports with friends. I also love to cook and bake when I have time to and can convince myself that the washing up afterward is worth it.
What are you most looking forward to working on at Qwilr?
I enjoy the challenge of building a good scalable design system, so I’m keen to learn more about Kaleidoscope. I’m also looking forward to using Figma which I haven’t used before, and I’ve heard only good things about it so far.
What advice would you give to someone who wants to do what you do?
Be fierce but understanding in everything you do. Open up your mind to people and you’ll find yourself understanding the world around a bit better.
Got any questions for Annie? Get in touch or find more of her here.
As a growing team, we’re always on the search for thinkers, creators, and people ready to make a difference. Take a peek into life at Qwilr and explore our open roles ✨
