QuarkWorks: Meet the Team Series — Moy Zhong
Meet one of our amazing UX/UI Designers who has helped make one of our recent projects come to life, loves experimental design, and in her free time plays the ukulele!
Name:
Moy Zhong
Role:
UX/UI Designer
When did you join QuarkWorks and what led you to take on this position?
I joined QuarkWorks in late 2019 after visiting their booth at MU’s Arts & Science Career Fair. I didn’t even know what QuarkWorks was at the time, but I heard about it through Joy, one of our fantastic Product Designers on the team. Lucky for me, they had Designer positions open, a field I wanted to pursue. People at the table seemed really friendly, and since nothing else at the fair piqued my interest — all the other booths were farming companies — I gave Quark a shot and handed in my resume. I wasn’t expecting a callback, especially since I was just a first-year, but here I am today.
What excites and energizes you about the company?
I’m really energized by the fact that I’m doing something new! I did a lot of art and design work in high school, but nothing human-centered like UX design. It brings new challenges like accessibility, user flows, and user testing that I hadn’t dealt with before, and it’s exciting to learn and work my way through designs. I’m growing to be a more mindful designer and can apply a lot of what I learn at QuarkWorks to school and personal art and design work. I also love that I work with people who support each other’s endeavors and motivate each other along the way.
What has been your favorite project to work on or are currently working on?
I’m currently working on UX and UI design for DealTeam, one of our latest clients. I’ve been developing wireframes, user flows, high-fidelity screens, and user testing for the app for the past few months, and designing the app from the ground-up has been super exciting. It’s my first time working with a client, thus, jumping in was a bit nerve-wracking. But our partners are open-minded, willing to experiment with designs, and have been critical yet friendly with feedback, so it’s been the perfect project for me to find my footing and voice as a designer.
Advice you would give someone working at a startup?
Don’t be afraid to pitch any of your ideas, and if they stick, get ready to take the lead! When I joined, the design team was and still is quite small. I quickly learned to speak up about any design ideas, feedback, or opinions I have because although our team is small, it still takes a massive amount of thinking and brainpower needed to build our projects and design them well. The worst that could happen when you pitch ideas is that they don’t stick, and you move on — so you may as well speak your mind. But with that, anticipate that you’ll be the one to lead the charge of executing those ideas that move past the brainstorming stage, especially the experimental ones. Since joining, I’ve pitched a few off-the-wall ideas, and despite being the new hire, I took part in leading them because of our small team and because they were my ideas.
What do you enjoy doing outside of work?
I do a lot of art, it’s been my favorite hobby since I was a kid! Although recently, I’ve been missing music, so I’m trying to pick up the ukulele. I played percussion for school since the sixth grade, but stopped once I started college.
Have you ever met anyone famous?
Okay, I didn’t technically meet him, but I’ve been a few feet away from the Chinese basketball player Yao Ming before. I visited China for the first time when I was eight, and while I was there, Yao was at the dentist or doctor’s — though I can’t quite remember which one. Word got around about it, and locals and paparazzi started flooding the place. My aunt and uncle wanted to see the spectacle and took me with them. So we were part of this massive crowd that was peeking into a tiny crack in the doorway of Yao’s check-up room. But I, a foreigner and non-sports fan, had no idea who this man was or why we were invading his privacy. I tried asking my relatives, but since there were so many people around me, I had to shout, and I think I ticked off the nurses. . . They promptly shut the door in front of us. . .
