My Design Story: Discovering HCI Led Me to Product Design — Ariyike Adetimehin

What do you do?

I’m an illustrator and a product designer. Those are the two main things I do.

What other things do you do?

I used to write a lot, but I haven’t done that in a while, so I didn’t want to mention it. In addition to product design and illustration, I also dance, make craft jewelry, and do a bit of fashion designing because I can sew.

What did you study in school?

I studied Computer Science, but I’ve always been interested in design. I’ve been drawing since I was like 4 or 5. I initially wanted to study Architecture, but it wasn’t possible for me to.

What do you mean by it wasn’t possible?

The schools I wanted to go to didn’t have it as an option, and my family members also discouraged me from studying it. I decided to do the next best thing which was Computer Science because I was already kind of interested in it. It’s useful now in my professional work as a product designer.

Did you always want to be an architect?

No. Growing up, I wanted to be a doctor, and that was what I wanted to be for a long time. At some point, I changed and wanted to be an engineer.

Are you a freelancer or do you work full-time?

I do both. I have my regular 9–5 at Cellulant, and I also have a company I co-own with my friend. It’s like a freelance company. We take clients from all over the world.

What is it called?

Warble Studio.

Did your love for drawing make you wander into design?

No, that made me become an illustrator. I do that mostly as a hobby, but I’ve had a few design projects where I did the illustrations myself.

I picked up product design while studying computer science. I was still very interested in art and I knew I didn’t want to be a “tech bro” as per coder and all of that. I enjoyed it, but it wasn’t something I wanted to do.

In my second year, I took a module and discovered HCI — Human-Computer Interaction. It was this course where everything was combined nicely and it just blew my mind. It was like an intersection of everything I liked and it made sense to jump into that space. Discovering HCI and product was like an epiphany for me and I just latched onto it from that point. I took additional courses to get my skill up and did internships.

Did your parents take you doing something different well or is it all the same to them?

My mum supports pretty much everything I do as long as it looks like I’m enjoying it and doing well at it. If I tell her now that I want to switch career paths, she’ll make sure it’s something I’ve taken time to think about.

As for my dad, I’m not sure he knows exactly what I do as a product designer because I still hear him tell people that I build apps. I have to keep explaining to people that I’m not a software engineer. I guess it’s understandable because I studied computer science for 4 years and I was building apps.

What are some of the challenges you’ve faced, especially being a woman?

My manager is a woman, so it hasn’t been too difficult for me. My problems come from me being shy. I’m pretty shy, so sometimes I can’t defend my work properly.

I’m also small and I have a tiny voice, so sometimes people don’t take me seriously because in their heads I’m this tiny girl. I can be trying to make a serious point, and they’ll start making fun of my voice. Some others treat me like I’m a child.

Was getting a job easy?

Kind of. I did a lot of internships while I was in school, so that made it easier for me.

What do you think is your biggest accomplishment so far?

I can’t think of anything too big, but I think I’ll say running Warble Studio with my friend. That’s big for me because I get to work with pretty cool clients, and we exceeded our goals for 2020.