Kiasu Design Life

What’s it really like designing digital tools you can’t talk about in Singapore’s defence tech space? Sharon and Dionne take us inside their work at CSIT, the leading cybersecurity agency in MINDEF, where they build mission-critical systems that government users rely on every day. This episode dives into the creative, complex, and surprisingly human side of designing for national security. ___ Our...

Ever wondered what it’s really like to make the leap from a UX bootcamp to a product design career in Singapore? Well, we’re about to find out! Join us for a candid, no-holds-barred chat featuring both Alicia, a recent bootcamp grad and currently a Product Designer at Open Gov Products, plus our very own Adilah! Through an unfiltered conversation, Alicia and Adilah share their honest experiences,...

📹 🔴 This is a recording of a talk we did for  the pilot meetup of "The Good Circle" back in November 2024 where we shared how simply being open thrusts ourselves towards starting something we both believe in. Hailing from different backgrounds and upbringings, hear how we embrace and turn our identities into self-empowerment. The Good Circle hopes to drive greater visibility for women, with the...

One undeniable and hard truth we all know about UX is that "the design process never linear". But what other truths exist in this realm? Today, with insights from the internet and our listeners, we're diving into that very question! ___ Timestamp: (00:00) Hello! (03:25) Topic intro (06:02) "No respect for UX" (10:00) "Advocating for UX" (15:00) "Not investing in UX" (17:46) "Design leader = QOL" (...

Heard of design thinking for kids? That's right - kids as young as 10 years old are learning coding, researching, brainstorming and even pitching in primary schools!   Get ready to meet Team GummyCare, the young innovators on a mission to advocate for healthy eating! 🥕🥦 How did they come up with their awesome idea and will they take over our jobs? 😱   Let’s get inspired by the next generation o...

Imagine this: lion dance meets active ageing! Singapore is one of the fastest ageing nations in the world, and staying active is key. But what if we take that a step further? That's what Hao Jie and Edmund from NextOfKin Creatives did by combining the vibrant rhythms of lion dance with the concept of active ageing. Listen in and get ready to redefine what staying fit and fabulous means in your gol...

Remember back in 2021 when we used to ask each other, “Have you been vaccinated?” Fast forward to 2024, and now the greeting is, “Have you found a job yet?” This year might feel like a rollercoaster of hope and rejection for many of us. In Part 2 of Kopi Chat, we dive into the real talk about job hunting after a layoff and tackle some tough topics like salary cuts! Grab your coffee and join us for...

Oh parenthood! It’s a whole new world that no manual can truly capture the essence and make you feel prepared. You will only experience the reality of it when you are in it. 😅 Heyo - we're back from a short break with a kopi chat. Come sit down with us in your singlets and FBTs, and your favourite kopi/teh. This episode is part 1 of 2 of our casual design life update focusing on being a parent AN...

🎥 The video version is available on YouTube ! 🎥 Now that we've wrapped up "My Robot Gets Me" in our book club, let's hear it straight from the author herself! Other than her journey into writing the book, we dived into her life as a educator of 4D Design at Cranbrook and how it's so closely parallel to our work as UX Designers! ___ Our guest: Carla Diana Personal Website My Robot Gets Me book __...

🎥 The video version is available on YouTube ! 🎥 Here's another chat with a local designer and content creator - Fiona Lim! With 18.5k followers and 6 years of experience under her belt, she's here to share what it takes to build and grow your personal branding. ___ Our guest: Fiona Lim Find her on Instagram Read her articles on Medium Once again, thank you Alistair and Brief for sponsoring the s...

YEEEHAWWWW! We've reached the final stretch of this book! We wrap this journey up by talking about ecosystems - how products work together to enhance your life, the difference between AI and AGI, and our responsibility as designers for social products" 📣 Also, look forward to our exclusive interview with Carla Diana, the author herself!  Timestamp: (00:00) Time flies! (01:05)  Ch7: Ecosystems! (0...

Chilli padi is back! We scoured the internet to find 6 UX portfolios worth mentioning and explained why we like it!  Portfolios we mentioned: IC Portfolios Ang Yi Xin 🇸🇬 [ Link ] Yuan Jie 🇸🇬 [ Link ] Billy Tseng [ Link ] Strategy/Manager Joel Califa [ Link ] Tarryn Lambert [ Link ] Jonny Czar [ Link ] ♥️ We're self-funding this podcast, so if you’re enjoying the episodes and want to support us, we...

Have you ever find yourself saying "Why is this person so weird?", or "Gosh this product is dumb". This 2 chapters help us to peel the layers and explain in a structured manner. And in turn, teach us how to engineer a socially smart product!   🗓️ Final chapters 7-9 discussion will release on  3 Apr 2024 📣 Also, look forward to our exclusive interview with Carla Diana, the author herself!  Timesta...

A design recruiter has joined the chat! Join us with Sangeetha as she shared insights of design job market, hiring and staying competitive in Singapore. ___ Our guest: Sangeetha Selvaraja Reach out to her on LinkedIn Dynamics of Singapore's Product Design Job Market Thank you Alistair and Brief for sponsoring the space! ♥️ ___ Timestamp: (00:00) Intro (09:02) Sangeetha's day as a recruiter (14:50)...

We're covering how products have "Presence" and "Expression". We had such fun recording this episode as we draw examples from our daily lives to illustrate the design concepts. 📚 My Robot Gets Me: Official Website Get it for free from NLB (Physical/ audiobook/ eBook) 🗓️ Chapters 5-6 discussion will release on  11 Mar 2024 ! Timestamp: (00:00) Welcome & name reveal! (02:24) Ch3: Product presence &...

Riding on (🤓) the SimplyGo drama, we put on our commuter & designer hat and review the SimplyGo app! Is this the standard of our local apps? 🫠🫠🫠 Timestamp: (00:00) Hello! (01:29) SimplyGo drama recap (05:01) Our take on this topic (10:42) SimplyGo's main workflows (16:02) Sign up & onboarding review (23:47) Dashboard review (27:37) Adding card review (30:40) Travel txn review (Hsuan's pissed)...

In this light-hearted episode, we're discussing chapters 1 & 2 of My Robot Gets Me!  We introduced 'social interactions', how that relates to product design, and how automatic doors gotta do with all these?! We also got a lil nerdy about 'affordances' & 'interactions' with the help of a framework 🤓 📚 My Robot Gets Me: Official Website Get it for free from NLB (Physical/ audiobook/ eBook) 🗓️ Chap...

This is a follow-up to our previous episode "22: Going through a layoff". We've already shared a personal story of how one of us got laid off, but today we're covering what you can do knowing you're leaving a company, some lessons learnt after a layoff andddd, how to layoff-proof yourself! MUSIC Survivor - Destiny's Child Timestamp: (00:00) Hello! (00:40) Your reactions from ep.22 (03:04) 4 reason...

Help us decide our club name by polling in Spotify and Instagram! Our first book: My Robot Gets Me - Carla Diana Official Website Check availability in NLB (Physical book/ audiobook/ eBook) 🗓️ Chapters 1-2 discussion will release on 1 Feb 2024 ! Timestamp: (00:00) New concept reveal! (01:03) Current club name  (02:25) How it works (05:47) How this will benefit you (06:39) Our first book! (10:48) W...

Happy 2024! We did it, we've tide through another year! Let's give a gentle pat on our backs. Since it's the new year, we decided to share a personal story about ____'s layoff experience (guess who). Yes we're putting the AI in "laid off" 🥁 Disclaimer: This episode is by no means disparaging or harming the reputation of any companies. Timestamp: (00:00) Hello! (03:26) Who got laid off? (06:32) Ou...

"It's not about what you know, but also who you know." LinkedIn is the perfect place to make connections, exchange ideas and even fish for career opportunities! Today, we're recommending some inspiring people who actively share golden nuggets of wisdom on LinkedIn. Who we mentioned: Design X Business Ruby Pryor John Cutler   "Hire more designers, ok?" Life as a designer Ben George Sigit A. Product...

Scams. Scams everywhere. -insert buzz lightyear meme- Do you feel like there are a lot more stories of scams nowadays? We do! Hence, we dived into the world of scams in light of the rising media coverage. Listen on to discover the uncanny similarities between the works of scammers and designers as we tried to dissect the customer journey of a scam. ____ Behind the voices: Adilah - Website | Linked...

We're recommending design podcasts in our podcast (how meta...). Here are some of our favourites for which we tune in regularly, and is evident in helping us elevate ourselves as designers. ___ What we mentioned: UIUX focused Design Details Awkward Silences Working in UX Design Design in General Paper and Pain Design Life Creative Confidence Product & Entrepreneurship  One Knight in Product How I...

We sat down with Alistair who gave us a glimpse of a story less told in Singapore - designing the living spaces of migrant workers. If they tirelessly help us build our homes, then someone ought to help them build theirs, even if it's temporal. That's where Alistair and Agency came in. It was such an eye-opening chat that we're super excited to share this with everyone else! Hope you enjoy this....

This is a follow-up to Episode 16: How Singapore’s public transports design for dementia" where we caught up with Emily Ong who was heavily involved in the designing of Find Your Way initiative. Emily, who is living with onset dementia, responded to our critics (+ knocked some sense into us), shared with us behind the scenes and how she and the team arrived at their designs, what's next in the ini...