WEBVTT 00:00:02.960 --> 00:00:06.459 Hi, Sophie, and welcome to Think Visual with 00:00:06.459 --> 00:00:09.300 Shapeshifters. I really want to thank you for 00:00:09.300 --> 00:00:11.599 taking the time to be here with us today, and 00:00:11.599 --> 00:00:13.800 I hope we're going to just have a really cool 00:00:13.800 --> 00:00:16.980 conversation about what makes you tick and how 00:00:16.980 --> 00:00:20.079 you use visuals in your work and your life. Thank 00:00:20.079 --> 00:00:22.579 you for inviting me along to this talk. You're 00:00:22.579 --> 00:00:27.960 very welcome. So, Sophie, I understand that you've 00:00:27.960 --> 00:00:31.760 got a very eclectic background as a designer. 00:00:32.750 --> 00:00:37.649 But I'd like to find out who is Sophie and what 00:00:37.649 --> 00:00:43.890 makes you tick? So I have been a designer for 00:00:43.890 --> 00:00:49.969 about 20 years, roughly, or like, yeah, 15 plus 00:00:49.969 --> 00:00:54.000 years. And I studied... design for nine years 00:00:54.000 --> 00:00:57.759 so i'm very much aware of what the design world 00:00:57.759 --> 00:01:00.359 looks like with the different type of techniques 00:01:00.359 --> 00:01:04.219 and professions that exist out there so i've 00:01:04.219 --> 00:01:07.680 been very passionate about expressing all my 00:01:07.680 --> 00:01:10.459 suppressed emotions and what i would be usually 00:01:10.459 --> 00:01:15.439 going through through art and design wow um you 00:01:15.439 --> 00:01:18.219 said you studied design for for nine years tell 00:01:18.219 --> 00:01:21.680 me a little bit a little bit about that At the 00:01:21.680 --> 00:01:23.840 beginning, back in Hungary, when I lived there, 00:01:24.000 --> 00:01:29.340 I studied in the Arts and Crafts Secondary Art 00:01:29.340 --> 00:01:33.019 School. I was studying textile design for five 00:01:33.019 --> 00:01:35.739 years at the same time as I was doing my other 00:01:35.739 --> 00:01:40.400 subjects. And then I moved to Australia where 00:01:40.400 --> 00:01:43.879 I studied fashion design during my Bachelor of 00:01:43.879 --> 00:01:47.319 Fashion Design course for three years. And then 00:01:47.319 --> 00:01:52.790 I went. to do a career pivot and study UX UI 00:01:52.790 --> 00:01:57.590 design for like, yeah, quite a couple of weeks 00:01:57.590 --> 00:02:01.250 or for about like half year altogether. So yeah, 00:02:01.370 --> 00:02:04.989 it's been a long journey. Well, that sounds like 00:02:04.989 --> 00:02:08.789 a cool mix. I'm really I'm really interested 00:02:08.789 --> 00:02:18.150 in how you moved from from fashion into the product 00:02:18.150 --> 00:02:21.009 design and UX design now. How did that happen? 00:02:23.229 --> 00:02:29.569 When I was working in the fashion field, I sort 00:02:29.569 --> 00:02:32.990 of achieved all that I wanted. I studied fashion 00:02:32.990 --> 00:02:37.590 design for about eight years. I had a $60 ,000 00:02:37.590 --> 00:02:41.270 debt. I got into the industry to a very high 00:02:41.270 --> 00:02:44.210 -end company straight out of school. At the same 00:02:44.210 --> 00:02:47.590 time, I was running my own business where I was 00:02:47.590 --> 00:02:51.409 producing very out there couture pieces, experimenting 00:02:51.409 --> 00:02:54.650 with 3D printed techniques to produce garments, 00:02:54.990 --> 00:02:59.629 as well as laser cut techniques to create different 00:02:59.629 --> 00:03:03.030 type of garments and mixing different type of 00:03:03.030 --> 00:03:05.710 fabrications together to create like sculptural 00:03:05.710 --> 00:03:09.830 art pieces. Then I moved that into a bohemian 00:03:09.830 --> 00:03:16.159 bridal sort of business. So I was sort of successful, 00:03:16.419 --> 00:03:19.719 like I was one of the top students in the school. 00:03:19.840 --> 00:03:22.520 I got to showcase in Shanghai with my collection 00:03:22.520 --> 00:03:25.020 at the Mercedes -Benz Fashion Week in Australia. 00:03:25.560 --> 00:03:28.599 I got featured in Vogue and in several museums 00:03:28.599 --> 00:03:32.620 in Sydney. And I thought that I achieved it all. 00:03:32.800 --> 00:03:37.159 I thought that I was happy. But after I got into 00:03:37.159 --> 00:03:40.939 the industry, about two years after, I fell into 00:03:40.939 --> 00:03:46.289 depression. Because what I was doing was not 00:03:46.289 --> 00:03:51.289 aligning with my inner values. And that's what 00:03:51.289 --> 00:03:55.610 was missing. So I decided to make a career pivot 00:03:55.610 --> 00:03:59.710 because I was not earning enough so that I could 00:03:59.710 --> 00:04:03.909 even pay for the minimum amount of my school 00:04:03.909 --> 00:04:10.229 debt, uni debt. So I was not even able to start 00:04:10.229 --> 00:04:13.439 paying back. I was not able to cover my basic 00:04:13.439 --> 00:04:17.639 bills. I was struggling financially. I was struggling 00:04:17.639 --> 00:04:21.860 mentally because I felt I was not valued at that 00:04:21.860 --> 00:04:24.980 company at the time. Even though I was producing 00:04:24.980 --> 00:04:29.160 beautiful artworks, textile prints, my prints 00:04:29.160 --> 00:04:33.800 got into stores globally being sold. However, 00:04:34.100 --> 00:04:38.079 I was not happy. And that's what was missing 00:04:38.079 --> 00:04:41.569 from my life. So even though I was using my talent 00:04:41.569 --> 00:04:46.009 and someone would think that, yeah, you achieved 00:04:46.009 --> 00:04:49.610 it all, like, why are you not happy? It was because 00:04:49.610 --> 00:04:52.350 the things that I was doing were not aligning 00:04:52.350 --> 00:04:57.709 with my values. And I felt I was just producing 00:04:57.709 --> 00:05:02.250 waste through these different fabrications that 00:05:02.250 --> 00:05:05.949 I produced, which wealthy women wore only for 00:05:05.949 --> 00:05:07.930 a couple of times and then they ended up in the 00:05:07.930 --> 00:05:13.870 bin. I felt I was contributing, making a negative 00:05:13.870 --> 00:05:18.149 impact to the world, to the environment, and 00:05:18.149 --> 00:05:21.769 I wanted to stop that. I also felt I was not 00:05:21.769 --> 00:05:25.449 using my brain. I was using only my talent, but 00:05:25.449 --> 00:05:29.250 I was not properly using my analytical side of 00:05:29.250 --> 00:05:34.050 my brain. And I was not solving problems. I was 00:05:34.050 --> 00:05:39.220 creating problems in the world. So that's what 00:05:39.220 --> 00:05:42.420 made me realize that I'm not on the right path 00:05:42.420 --> 00:05:49.060 in my life and I must change. Wow. There was 00:05:49.060 --> 00:05:52.779 a lot to take in. That was incredible. Can I 00:05:52.779 --> 00:05:56.660 ask a little bit about your values? And kind 00:05:56.660 --> 00:05:59.819 of connected to that, I'd like to understand 00:05:59.819 --> 00:06:04.100 a little bit about possibly the sustainability 00:06:04.100 --> 00:06:09.509 piece. What are your values and is sustainability 00:06:09.509 --> 00:06:15.069 important? Yeah, so one of my values is minimalism 00:06:15.069 --> 00:06:18.949 and sustainability. So I'm trying to leave that 00:06:18.949 --> 00:06:23.009 type of lifestyle myself, a very healthy, sustainable 00:06:23.009 --> 00:06:26.649 lifestyle, even with what I eat every day, what 00:06:26.649 --> 00:06:30.029 I wear every day. I'm trying to buy clothes which 00:06:30.029 --> 00:06:33.709 I can wear for a very long time other than for 00:06:33.709 --> 00:06:38.160 a short time. For me, it's very important to 00:06:38.160 --> 00:06:41.220 be surrounded by people who are very positive 00:06:41.220 --> 00:06:44.800 and who are lifting me up and who are energizing 00:06:44.800 --> 00:06:48.000 me, who are motivating me, and who are grounded, 00:06:48.160 --> 00:06:52.040 nice people. I felt when I was working in the 00:06:52.040 --> 00:06:55.860 fashion design field, there was a lot of materialism, 00:06:55.980 --> 00:07:00.259 there was a lot of selfishness, a lot of showiness, 00:07:00.339 --> 00:07:06.060 and that was not me. I was exactly the opposite. 00:07:07.579 --> 00:07:11.360 So yeah, that was also very important to me to 00:07:11.360 --> 00:07:15.720 land in a design field where I don't have to 00:07:15.720 --> 00:07:21.259 express myself through these expensive garments 00:07:21.259 --> 00:07:26.519 and tell the truth of who I am, but expressing 00:07:26.519 --> 00:07:29.939 who I am through the personality of myself and 00:07:29.939 --> 00:07:34.759 being and reflecting that truth. speaking that 00:07:34.759 --> 00:07:38.319 truth and and like acting with my true person 00:07:38.319 --> 00:07:41.819 personality other than bringing up this curse 00:07:41.819 --> 00:07:46.139 and pretending to be to be someone who I'm not 00:07:46.139 --> 00:07:51.660 gotta say it takes a lot of courage to do what 00:07:51.660 --> 00:07:57.160 you do and to be able to firstly understand and 00:07:57.160 --> 00:08:00.420 identify what is important to you, but then make 00:08:00.420 --> 00:08:02.519 a move towards that. It's not easy. It's really 00:08:02.519 --> 00:08:07.220 not easy. I thoroughly empathize. I've worked 00:08:07.220 --> 00:08:11.879 in film for a very long time, and it was very 00:08:11.879 --> 00:08:14.720 hard for me to step away from being a filmmaker. 00:08:14.899 --> 00:08:18.699 So I understand the shift, but I'd like to know 00:08:18.699 --> 00:08:21.899 a little bit more about that shift, because to 00:08:21.899 --> 00:08:26.199 my understanding, you were in fashion for quite 00:08:26.199 --> 00:08:29.519 some time. Then you made this kind of almost 00:08:29.519 --> 00:08:33.220 miraculous leap into UX design and product design. 00:08:33.440 --> 00:08:35.039 Can you tell me a little bit about that leap? 00:08:35.500 --> 00:08:39.440 Yeah, sure. So why I got attracted to UX, UI 00:08:39.440 --> 00:08:41.960 design, and product design, it was because I 00:08:41.960 --> 00:08:44.899 felt that if I'm going to get into that industry, 00:08:45.120 --> 00:08:48.820 I'll be able to solve real -world problems. Not 00:08:48.820 --> 00:08:51.299 to create real -world problems, but to solve 00:08:51.299 --> 00:08:54.000 people's problems, everyday problems. And that 00:08:54.000 --> 00:08:58.289 really excited me. Now, there was something which 00:08:58.289 --> 00:09:02.570 I very much feared of, and that was speaking, 00:09:02.769 --> 00:09:08.269 doing UX research, speaking to strangers, and 00:09:08.269 --> 00:09:13.909 presenting. Now, you may have not noticed, but 00:09:13.909 --> 00:09:17.309 I actually have a stutter, and I had a very bad 00:09:17.309 --> 00:09:22.259 stutter just up until about four years ago. I 00:09:22.259 --> 00:09:24.799 was really scared about moving into the field 00:09:24.799 --> 00:09:26.779 because I knew that I have to speak to so many 00:09:26.779 --> 00:09:33.139 people and I remember I started my UX course 00:09:33.139 --> 00:09:38.820 at Academy XI and after the first class I went 00:09:38.820 --> 00:09:42.259 up to my teacher and I told her that if I have 00:09:42.259 --> 00:09:46.700 to present here every week I'm sorry, but I'm 00:09:46.700 --> 00:09:48.840 not going to be able to do that. And I might 00:09:48.840 --> 00:09:52.419 have to just quit from this course. And probably 00:09:52.419 --> 00:09:56.539 UX design is not for me. And then I went home 00:09:56.539 --> 00:10:00.120 and I just cried. And I was like, what the hell 00:10:00.120 --> 00:10:02.919 am I doing? Nothing is good for me. Nothing is 00:10:02.919 --> 00:10:05.440 working out. So what sort of design should I 00:10:05.440 --> 00:10:10.320 get into? But then I took a big breath and I 00:10:10.320 --> 00:10:14.460 was like, I can do this. I can do this and I 00:10:14.460 --> 00:10:17.879 was so proud of myself on the last day of the 00:10:17.879 --> 00:10:20.600 course when I was presenting for like 10 -15 00:10:20.600 --> 00:10:23.679 minutes so confidently and I didn't block and 00:10:23.679 --> 00:10:27.480 I was so happy that I got through it and I successfully 00:10:27.480 --> 00:10:32.399 got into the product and UX UI field yeah so 00:10:32.399 --> 00:10:35.809 yeah I was like it was a journey but i was very 00:10:35.809 --> 00:10:38.570 excited about it because i knew that i don't 00:10:38.570 --> 00:10:41.269 have to also have so many different type of stuff 00:10:41.269 --> 00:10:44.710 around me like how i was working in the fashion 00:10:44.710 --> 00:10:47.809 field even working on my pieces for my label 00:10:47.809 --> 00:10:52.509 having little pins everywhere which my husband 00:10:52.509 --> 00:10:57.909 stepped into or I set into. I didn't have that. 00:10:57.950 --> 00:11:00.990 I just needed a laptop in front of me and then 00:11:00.990 --> 00:11:05.230 just do what I needed. Something that was missing 00:11:05.230 --> 00:11:10.549 from my life beforehand, it was also, such as 00:11:10.549 --> 00:11:14.330 I mentioned, using my analytical part of my brain. 00:11:14.870 --> 00:11:18.629 So as an artist or, yeah, more like artist or 00:11:18.629 --> 00:11:21.710 designer in the fashion field or some of the 00:11:21.710 --> 00:11:24.659 other ones or in graphic design, You just use 00:11:24.659 --> 00:11:27.940 your talent, you use your imagination, you use 00:11:27.940 --> 00:11:30.960 your feelings to express, to tell the story. 00:11:31.399 --> 00:11:35.320 But in UX, UI design, you've got to think through 00:11:35.320 --> 00:11:38.360 what problem you are solving. Who are you solving 00:11:38.360 --> 00:11:42.159 for? Why is it important? There's so much thinking 00:11:42.159 --> 00:11:45.860 that goes into it. There's so much data that 00:11:45.860 --> 00:11:48.179 you have to have a look at the impact that you 00:11:48.179 --> 00:11:53.009 are making. I was very excited to finally be 00:11:53.009 --> 00:11:56.529 able to do that. And I actually have a problem 00:11:56.529 --> 00:12:00.970 in my life, which is remembering for things and 00:12:00.970 --> 00:12:05.250 processing information. And that was because 00:12:05.250 --> 00:12:08.789 I had sort of a traumatic, difficult childhood 00:12:08.789 --> 00:12:14.250 where I was not able to just even process what 00:12:14.250 --> 00:12:16.549 happened throughout the day with me because everything 00:12:16.549 --> 00:12:20.210 happened so quick. So I was also very scared 00:12:20.210 --> 00:12:22.809 of that. And even though it sometimes affects 00:12:22.809 --> 00:12:28.129 me, and even though I was very, very feared of 00:12:28.129 --> 00:12:31.570 speaking, it's been fantastic. And I've been 00:12:31.570 --> 00:12:34.870 so happy that I'm now in it. And I can say that 00:12:34.870 --> 00:12:38.769 I'm growing, learning, thriving, and I'm finally 00:12:38.769 --> 00:12:43.429 very happy. Wow. I'm delighted to hear that. 00:12:44.629 --> 00:12:48.539 I've got to say, I can... kind of empathize with 00:12:48.539 --> 00:12:52.799 the inability to process things. I found that 00:12:52.799 --> 00:12:55.980 as a kid, I struggled a lot and it took me a 00:12:55.980 --> 00:13:00.019 while to understand that I might be thinking 00:13:00.019 --> 00:13:03.200 in a way that is slightly different than, let's 00:13:03.200 --> 00:13:06.399 say, the other kids around me. I think very visually. 00:13:07.879 --> 00:13:11.039 Surprise, surprise, right? But to a point where 00:13:11.039 --> 00:13:14.080 sometimes I feel like I find it hard to listen 00:13:14.080 --> 00:13:18.190 without a pen in my hand. And, you know, it might 00:13:18.190 --> 00:13:21.490 be just some kind of a tick or something, but 00:13:21.490 --> 00:13:27.210 I think as a kid I really struggled to understand 00:13:27.210 --> 00:13:30.250 what people were saying unless I was drawing 00:13:30.250 --> 00:13:34.549 something out. So that was kind of rough as a 00:13:34.549 --> 00:13:39.129 kid because I know that in the 80s... The teachers 00:13:39.129 --> 00:13:41.409 that were around me, one in particular, they 00:13:41.409 --> 00:13:45.269 were just not happy for me to be drawing in class. 00:13:45.429 --> 00:13:49.190 They saw it as a waste of time. There was a little 00:13:49.190 --> 00:13:56.350 bit of fear as a kid because I would get in trouble 00:13:56.350 --> 00:14:01.980 for it. That fear and maybe part of the pain 00:14:01.980 --> 00:14:04.840 kind of translated into something quite different 00:14:04.840 --> 00:14:08.419 as I kind of evolved as a designer, as an illustrator, 00:14:08.539 --> 00:14:13.460 as an artist. I'm interested now then, and only 00:14:13.460 --> 00:14:15.620 if you're okay to talk a little bit about it, 00:14:15.720 --> 00:14:23.120 is like did the trauma that you've experienced, 00:14:23.320 --> 00:14:33.230 do you think it had some... some part to play 00:14:33.230 --> 00:14:37.909 in the process that you kind of go through now 00:14:37.909 --> 00:14:41.710 the way you communicate now does that have a 00:14:41.710 --> 00:14:47.970 role to play and you know have you kind of worked 00:14:47.970 --> 00:14:51.490 through it because of that or you know are you 00:14:51.490 --> 00:14:54.549 are you still kind of is it still that ongoing 00:14:54.549 --> 00:14:59.240 journey yeah well thank you for asking that actually 00:14:59.240 --> 00:15:06.080 this is a topic that i want to create some future 00:15:06.080 --> 00:15:09.659 talks on and motivate others and inspire others 00:15:09.659 --> 00:15:13.000 and give them hope that that there is a way to 00:15:13.000 --> 00:15:18.419 change and for a better life now in my life i 00:15:18.419 --> 00:15:22.820 was always an artist and a designer when i was 00:15:22.820 --> 00:15:27.179 young i used to cut up my or chop up my mom's 00:15:27.179 --> 00:15:33.500 clothing and create my own clothing now we didn't 00:15:33.500 --> 00:15:36.840 have much money so i didn't really get any new 00:15:36.840 --> 00:15:38.899 clothes i was always getting clothes from my 00:15:38.899 --> 00:15:44.940 classmates or from friends friends so when there 00:15:44.940 --> 00:15:48.100 was a chance to have a new clothing then i was 00:15:48.100 --> 00:15:51.700 making a new clothing so that's where it all 00:15:51.700 --> 00:15:56.220 started I was drawing a lot I was doing a lot 00:15:56.220 --> 00:15:59.799 of different type of montages even back in daycare 00:15:59.799 --> 00:16:02.879 I remember when I was sitting there in daycare 00:16:02.879 --> 00:16:06.000 I was only a couple of years old and I remember 00:16:06.000 --> 00:16:09.059 where there were these multiple different type 00:16:09.059 --> 00:16:13.240 of gardening magazines and I was just cutting 00:16:13.240 --> 00:16:15.980 each of those flowers out and like creating my 00:16:15.980 --> 00:16:21.659 own visionary pieces of where my happy place 00:16:21.659 --> 00:16:25.620 is or where I want it to be one day where I can 00:16:25.620 --> 00:16:29.860 just go into in my dreams and just walk there 00:16:29.860 --> 00:16:33.059 in this beautiful gardens which was giving me 00:16:33.059 --> 00:16:40.139 a lot of peace and happiness um then I was creating 00:16:40.139 --> 00:16:44.659 it was very interesting so I've been reading 00:16:44.659 --> 00:16:51.460 uh writing I've been writing a diary for 20 something 00:16:51.460 --> 00:16:54.860 years. So since I was eight years old, I started 00:16:54.860 --> 00:16:57.820 to write a diary and it has so many stickers 00:16:57.820 --> 00:17:02.460 and little drawings, little paintings. And yeah, 00:17:02.519 --> 00:17:05.059 stories about my life where I was trying to express 00:17:05.059 --> 00:17:10.140 all those pain that I was going through. I recently 00:17:10.140 --> 00:17:14.420 looked at some of my other bigger drawings where 00:17:14.420 --> 00:17:19.130 I was drawing sort of half dead angels. So I've 00:17:19.130 --> 00:17:21.829 had that period of time where I was drawing quite 00:17:21.829 --> 00:17:27.190 depressing drawings. Then I was getting into 00:17:27.190 --> 00:17:29.490 fashion design and then I moved to Australia. 00:17:29.630 --> 00:17:35.710 And for my final graduate collection that I launched 00:17:35.710 --> 00:17:43.170 at my uni, that was that true moment for me when 00:17:43.170 --> 00:17:47.480 I'm producing those pieces to express. all that 00:17:47.480 --> 00:17:50.440 I went through in my life. So this collection 00:17:50.440 --> 00:17:56.099 had eight to 12 pieces, like it had a shorter 00:17:56.099 --> 00:18:00.259 and then an extended collection. And it had colors 00:18:00.259 --> 00:18:04.079 from white to black, if they are considered colors. 00:18:04.319 --> 00:18:09.140 And it had just a little bit of light pink, little 00:18:09.140 --> 00:18:14.240 bit of light purple. And I was trying to express 00:18:14.240 --> 00:18:23.680 how now I became this self -aware, clean, happy 00:18:23.680 --> 00:18:30.059 being from this really anxious, depressed little 00:18:30.059 --> 00:18:34.720 person living in darkness. So for that collection 00:18:34.720 --> 00:18:40.119 I specifically produced shapes and illustrations 00:18:40.119 --> 00:18:45.579 for the garments and then laser -cut pieces to 00:18:46.250 --> 00:18:49.609 tell the story of who I am. So for example, I 00:18:49.609 --> 00:18:55.150 drew Budapest's landscape from above on a piece 00:18:55.150 --> 00:18:58.990 of paper and then I reflected that or projected 00:18:58.990 --> 00:19:02.450 that onto a big piece of leather and then we 00:19:02.450 --> 00:19:07.609 laser cut Budapest's map onto that big piece 00:19:07.609 --> 00:19:11.529 of cow's leather which I then turned into a massive 00:19:11.529 --> 00:19:17.779 belt. Or I was creating this very big painting 00:19:17.779 --> 00:19:21.660 of this girl who is wearing this beautiful golden 00:19:21.660 --> 00:19:29.740 headpiece but this girl was crying and it was 00:19:29.740 --> 00:19:34.759 or it had like sort of like blood dropping down 00:19:34.759 --> 00:19:39.359 as like tears on her face and that was me expressing 00:19:41.289 --> 00:19:44.289 how much I've struggled throughout my whole life. 00:19:44.450 --> 00:19:47.150 And now I'm getting into fashion design, which 00:19:47.150 --> 00:19:50.210 I was not even sure about because it was sort 00:19:50.210 --> 00:19:53.150 of against my values. I knew that it's going 00:19:53.150 --> 00:19:56.569 to be materialistic, but it's going to be probably 00:19:56.569 --> 00:20:02.150 beautiful and I'm going to enjoy it. But at what 00:20:02.150 --> 00:20:07.549 cost? So that's what the story I was sort of 00:20:07.549 --> 00:20:09.529 like weaving through my graduate collection. 00:20:10.480 --> 00:20:15.119 and um and i sketch as much as i can these days 00:20:15.119 --> 00:20:18.619 still since i was really young and i've been 00:20:18.619 --> 00:20:24.039 using arts and design to bring a lot of stories 00:20:24.039 --> 00:20:27.700 or with different type of stories together not 00:20:27.700 --> 00:20:30.720 just in the two -dimensional form just sketching 00:20:30.720 --> 00:20:36.759 but then also using different type of papers 00:20:36.759 --> 00:20:44.279 and materials threads paint to create these sculptural 00:20:44.279 --> 00:20:50.980 three -dimensional artworks. Wow. So unique. 00:20:52.000 --> 00:20:55.519 It's really cool to hear about all the different 00:20:55.519 --> 00:20:59.579 ways that people can use visuals to kind of communicate. 00:21:00.299 --> 00:21:02.440 And it's great to hear that you still do it. 00:21:02.839 --> 00:21:07.039 Can you tell me a little bit about what happens 00:21:07.039 --> 00:21:11.500 these days when you use or if you use visuals 00:21:11.500 --> 00:21:15.619 to communicate in product. Do you use them? Yes, 00:21:15.619 --> 00:21:19.940 that's right, definitely. So my process in product 00:21:19.940 --> 00:21:22.880 design is that I would always start off with 00:21:22.880 --> 00:21:27.400 sketching. Sketching different type of wireframes, 00:21:27.819 --> 00:21:32.500 different type of features, the whole user journey 00:21:32.500 --> 00:21:36.700 about what it should look like, cutting pieces 00:21:36.700 --> 00:21:39.859 off. wireframes out and then moving them to different 00:21:39.859 --> 00:21:43.480 places to see if the user experience would make 00:21:43.480 --> 00:21:48.380 a little bit more sense in that way. I use mood 00:21:48.380 --> 00:21:51.779 boards. Sometimes I would create these folders 00:21:51.779 --> 00:21:55.400 for specific projects where I just bring in or 00:21:55.400 --> 00:21:58.759 pin different type of inspirational images like 00:21:58.759 --> 00:22:02.779 on Behance and Dribbble and that's what I use 00:22:02.779 --> 00:22:06.640 to get inspiration from or from other sites where 00:22:06.640 --> 00:22:10.880 there are actually real there are real projects 00:22:10.880 --> 00:22:14.000 or real apps which i can get also inspired by 00:22:14.000 --> 00:22:17.640 for specific functions features user interfaces 00:22:17.640 --> 00:22:24.119 that i might want to reference yeah so that so 00:22:24.119 --> 00:22:26.299 these are these different type of techniques 00:22:26.299 --> 00:22:30.019 that i use as well as using motion to tell the 00:22:30.019 --> 00:22:33.079 story as well through prototyping wow that's 00:22:33.079 --> 00:22:36.400 that is awesome it's such a said um such a kind 00:22:36.400 --> 00:22:41.220 of great combination of things. I can see in 00:22:41.220 --> 00:22:47.000 a lot of ways the influences of fashion on the 00:22:47.000 --> 00:22:52.140 work that you do. It's really exciting. I think 00:22:52.140 --> 00:22:56.119 in some ways it makes me reflect on the fact 00:22:56.119 --> 00:22:59.980 that some of the work that I do has It definitely 00:22:59.980 --> 00:23:02.279 has a lot of film influences and comic influences 00:23:02.279 --> 00:23:05.940 because that's kind of part of my background. 00:23:06.140 --> 00:23:10.420 But now as a designer, I kind of combine those 00:23:10.420 --> 00:23:14.119 things together. And I feel like there's kind 00:23:14.119 --> 00:23:16.559 of a great beauty of using different parts of 00:23:16.559 --> 00:23:22.140 our life to influence kind of new areas. So, 00:23:22.200 --> 00:23:26.549 yeah, I just wanted to say. It's really interesting 00:23:26.549 --> 00:23:32.210 to hear the process and to understand that it 00:23:32.210 --> 00:23:36.529 still has a very deeply rooted influence from 00:23:36.529 --> 00:23:44.109 the various experiences you've had. A final thought. 00:23:46.210 --> 00:23:50.250 This is for people who are kind of keen on using 00:23:50.250 --> 00:23:54.440 visuals or interested in visual thinking. Do 00:23:54.440 --> 00:23:58.700 you have any advice for people and do you believe 00:23:58.700 --> 00:24:03.440 that it is useful for them to use visuals to 00:24:03.440 --> 00:24:07.119 communicate, to think? Yeah, I think it's very 00:24:07.119 --> 00:24:11.799 key to our process or specifically to me. So 00:24:11.799 --> 00:24:15.319 as I've mentioned, it takes time for me to digest 00:24:15.319 --> 00:24:21.740 information and I really love how I can use visuals. 00:24:22.220 --> 00:24:26.920 writing and sketching to remember for these conversations 00:24:26.920 --> 00:24:32.359 or when I sit in meetings I would often sketch 00:24:32.359 --> 00:24:35.599 or I would often write stuff down like these 00:24:35.599 --> 00:24:39.279 most important points to remember for because 00:24:39.279 --> 00:24:46.039 visuals help to memorize the story much better 00:24:46.039 --> 00:24:49.200 and tell the story it's like when we see websites 00:24:49.200 --> 00:24:53.420 where there are images or videos and they straight 00:24:53.420 --> 00:24:56.440 away grab our attention and it's not necessary 00:24:56.440 --> 00:25:01.259 the content is what we're going to remember for 00:25:01.259 --> 00:25:06.180 but what we saw what got our attention what engaged 00:25:06.180 --> 00:25:10.839 us what attracted us so that's the same thing 00:25:10.839 --> 00:25:14.559 that if you sit at a presentation and if that's 00:25:14.559 --> 00:25:17.240 something that is important to you what the talk 00:25:17.240 --> 00:25:20.099 is about then why don't you sketch why don't 00:25:20.099 --> 00:25:23.859 you write stuff down that will help you to come 00:25:23.859 --> 00:25:28.599 back to and reference and take it away to learn 00:25:28.599 --> 00:25:32.599 something from or save it somewhere but it really 00:25:32.599 --> 00:25:36.400 helps to process the information so yeah i highly 00:25:36.400 --> 00:25:39.579 recommend it to everyone that's that's fantastic 00:25:39.579 --> 00:25:45.609 um If people want to find out a little bit more 00:25:45.609 --> 00:25:49.049 about you, where's the best place that people 00:25:49.049 --> 00:25:52.390 can kind of see your work online or get in touch 00:25:52.390 --> 00:25:54.509 with you or find out about what you're doing? 00:25:54.809 --> 00:25:58.529 Yeah, sure. Well, I'm happy to share that I've 00:25:58.529 --> 00:26:03.509 been doing design mentoring on ADP List. So I 00:26:03.509 --> 00:26:05.630 highly recommend to people to just come along, 00:26:05.930 --> 00:26:08.190 book a session with me, and then we can chat 00:26:08.190 --> 00:26:12.910 about anything. I love checking. or i love chatting 00:26:12.910 --> 00:26:17.670 about obviously mental health related areas but 00:26:17.670 --> 00:26:21.250 then also if you are an imposter or if you are 00:26:21.250 --> 00:26:24.690 an introverted designer how can you build confidence 00:26:24.690 --> 00:26:29.730 to eventually thrive i love looking at portfolios 00:26:29.730 --> 00:26:31.990 and then helping the other person to improve 00:26:31.990 --> 00:26:36.329 those case studies or help them get into interviews 00:26:36.329 --> 00:26:40.519 so feel free to book in a session If you are 00:26:40.519 --> 00:26:44.720 listening and if you want to chat with me, otherwise 00:26:44.720 --> 00:26:48.740 you can find me on LinkedIn. And yeah, message 00:26:48.740 --> 00:26:52.279 me if you want to. Fantastic. Well, we'll make 00:26:52.279 --> 00:26:55.140 sure to include that in the show notes. But thank 00:26:55.140 --> 00:26:56.740 you for your time today, Sophie. No worries.