Hi! I'm Caroline, a UX/UI Design Student at the University of Sydney.
I’m passionate about audacious, innovative design, and I believe it all starts from listening to and understanding people. I love handling qualitative data and sinking my teeth into complex problems. I shine when it comes to thinking fluidly to unravel the stories carried into focus groups and workshops, unpacking the painful and meaningful. And what I find most exciting, is reconstituting the pieces in affinity diagrams and thematic analysis, personas and sketches, and seeing solutions germinate, then bloom into surprising solutions shaped by human voices. Seriously, it feels like Christmas.
Presenting the 'Halves' App at the Vice Chancellor's Evening in 2022.
A Passion For People
When my family moved from China to Australia, my world exploded in size. I realised the world was so much bigger than myself and I met people in Sydney from all different parts of the world, carrying their own interesting stories. Living as a migrant child also gave me insights into what it can be like to be on the fringes of society. I was so grateful for the social support that had been designed for people like my family to be cared for. Ever since, I have been passionate about giving back, doing work that drives social and environmental change with a focus on people and the future of our world. I want to design solutions that respond to real communities, and design with their voices at the table.
Skillset:
In my time studying a Bachelor of Design (Interaction Design) at the University of Sydney, I’ve worked on various projects designing end-to-end digital products and experiences. In 2021, I designed a sensory-priming museum experience to create opportunities for serendipitous museum discoveries. This is where I fell in love with qualitative data, using surveys, interviews, focus groups and co-design workshops to unravel what made experiences memorable, pleasurable and surprising. This project also embedded in me a desire to create designs that sparked wonder in people, and so I always seek to bring an element of fun to my designs. I want to create things that feel fresh and brings a sense of tingling, joyful wonder.
In the following year, I designed the ‘Halves’ app, a campus food-share system dealing with food waste, which was selected to be presented at USYD’s Vice Chancellor’s Evening in 2022, with praise for its research and concept design. Designing the UI of the app was new experience and I’ve been experimenting with Figma and UI design ever since. This is an area I have less experience with, but I’m very interested in growing in! I would love to work with others who can inspire and guide me in this field! I use tools such as Figma and Balsamiq to generate lo-fi prototypes quickly for collaborative discussions, maximising the valuable opinions of my team mates by talking through a concrete expression of the proposed design solution.
Work Experience
Having previously had the opportunity to lead a staff team as the senior barista at a local cafe, I learned a lot about working with different personalities, diffusing difficult situations with customers and directing workflow and production. Thankfully, three years of café experience equipped me with keeping calm under pressure, communicating clear and concise directions to keep production smooth. While managing my own tasks, I keep my eye on the collective, because when a team member is struggling, it is important to assist them as small issues quickly become urgent issues with delay. I’ve also learned it is always better to teach someone how to do something rather than simply doing it for them. Although this is not always easier, ultimately their success leads to team success.
Currently, I lead a team of eight volunteers to provide an engaging program for about fifty kids. It has been a wonderful opportunity to work with people from all different walks of life and learn about the unique challenges they face. This role helped me to understand the importance of communicating the vision to bring people along with you on a team. I’ve grown to see how leading a team is about much more than performance and outcomes, but also investing in the individual members of the team, hearing their stories too.
Film Junkie
I have to admit, I'm a bit of a film junkie - I love storytelling through the visual form and dialogue. It's in cinema that I feel immersed in an experience. I love the feeling of watching a new movie and seeing something that feels distinct and new - when it diverges from classic forms and uses existing film tropes to subvert genre. Likewise, when I design experiences, I want the user to feel a sense of familiarity, and while tracing that familiarity, to be surprised by what is new and innovative. And in that cycle of making and breaking, I hope to be inspired and create products and experiences that spark surprise.
WORK EXPERIENCE
SOCIAL MEDIA CONTENT PRODUCER
Two Ways Ministries - 'Launch' Team
2022-CURRENT
TUTOR/OWNER
Private English Tutoring
2020-CURRENT
SENIOR BARISTA
The Spot Cafe
2019-2021