Team Spotlight: Sharmaine, Product Designer
This is the first post in a new Team Spotlight series on our StashAway Product & Design blog to introduce our designers and product managers.
Get to know Sharmaine Sie
Sharmaine’s our longest-serving Product Designer, who joined the team in late 2019. Working with her is awesome because she’s warm, supportive and articulate. As a designer, she has the best interests of the user at heart, and the feedback she offers is always thoughtful and genuine. She’s incredibly open to trying new things and incorporating feedback into her own design iterations, and she also makes effortlessly calming video tutorials that deserve a much bigger audience than her team 😄
Luckily for StashAway, Sharmaine is one of those people who are just really interesting to talk to in general. Just ask her about her weekend and you’ll get quirky stories about giant art pieces that she moved into (and out of) her home, or casual sporting endeavours from kayaking to bouldering and more. We’re so glad to have you on the team Sharms!
How did you get into product design?
S: By accident. It’s probably a mix of curiosity and a leap of faith that got me started. The people I’ve met along the way made me stay. What happened in between is a lot of luck and opportunities.
I’ve always been inclined towards creative pursuits, but never had the courage to go further into it. I was randomly chatting with a friend one day and the topic of design came up, and he told me to “just go for it”. So I did. I had no knowledge or formal practice in any design discipline; I took a leave of absence and applied for an internship. I was just eager to get exposure to design practices in the real world. It’s been almost 7 years since that conversation that nudged me forward.
What do you enjoy most about PM/PD?
- Making it a habit to unlearn and re-learn things Sometimes part of the design process requires me to throw away my assumptions, or re-evaluate them. I find it refreshing to have other subject matter experts help me see things in a new perspective.
- Enabling people to see, do and/or experience things differently Design opens up possibilities which is exciting. It’s also rewarding to see users discover new ways to do something, or experience something positively. It’s probably why i’m keen to work on products that bring a paradigm shift to old industries, legacy systems and the like.
- The community The product design community is very supportive. I feel like no matter which stage i’m at in my career, I’ll always be surrounded by people who are learning from each other and finding ways to improve. It feels great to have access to that as a resource, and to be surrounded by peers who are continuously sharing and learning.
Do you have a design philosophy?
It’s not really a philosophy per se haha but I do like how this comic puts across the idea that creativity and design is a process; it’s not just an output.
What do you wish you knew one year ago?
Create a lot and share often even if it sucks, it helps you get better. To be honest I still struggle with this. It’s just a nice reminder to help fight through the dissatisfaction between what I create and what I have in mind, and daring to put it out there.
What’s one unique thing about you that you bring to the role?
I’m curious about different disciplines and how it shapes the way people perceive and approach problems, so naturally I’d encourage participation or seek different perspectives throughout my process, especially from people don’t identify as “designers”. I do strongly believe that non-designers should be involved in the design process.
StashAway is hiring! Visit our Careers page for a sense of what it’s like to work with us, or check out open positions.
