Hi! I’m Waliyah (she/her)
I’m a UX & Service designer who turns complex problems into opportunities by leveraging user and participatory research to drive tangible insights. I love creating digital products and services that can leverage data, promote transparency and drive real behaviour change.
My Design Process
I love talking to and involving users and stakeholders in the design process. By understanding them and their needs, I can use these insights to ideate new concepts and solutions for them – through wireframes, prototypes, visuals and constantly test and iterate until the experience built is the one they love.
Portfolio
Some of the projects I’ve worked on can be found below. The recent ones all involved design processes and methods whether they were for school, hackathons or companies. My earlier work is more focused on designing and managing for online education and front-end development.
Curriculum Vitae
WORK EXPERIENCE
UX & Service Designer | Co-founder
Grape Inventory| April – present
Leading service and innovation design for the Grape Inventory app through quantitative and qualitativeuser research. Developing the UI/UX and Design System for the mobile application MVP for fall 2020 launch. Selected for the EIT Digital Venture Program 2020 pre-acceleration phase.
Business Designer Intern – Data & AI Transformation Team
Futurice| Feb – June 2020
Designed internal OurData service usingcollaborative design with employees throughsurveys, interviews, workshops and testing. Built a framework and canvas tool using privacy bydesign concepts to map data sensitivity of projectswith teams. Master’s thesis on “Co-designing the user experience and interaction of an employee MyData service”
Designer – Planet Centric Design Project
Vincit | May – Aug 2019
Developing the planet-centric design offer at Vincit which is launching in 2019. Worked for 4 months co-creating with Vincit designers, developers, sustainability experts and customers. Digital design offers developed through facilitating workshops, testing design methodology, converting insights from interactions to actionable outcomes. Created an initial tool-kit, website, project archetypes and plan for phase 2 of project to help include digitalisation include sustainability. Project was continued and is currently about to launch its pilot.
Digital Project Manager
Journalism and Media Studies Centre, University of Hong Kong | Sep 2015 – Jul 2018
Designed and launched an e-learning course with 4000 students from 127 countries. Optimised it to include four languages achieving an increased completion rate of 12.6 %. Collaborated with the Knight Centre for Journalism to help them achieve record highest Asian student enrolment in their online course. Introduced the first Hong Kong hackathon for the Global Editors’ Network’s Editors Lab series. Assisted the GEN Editor’s Lab team at the finale hackathon at the GEN Summit in Vienna (June 2016). Designed JMSC’s “Our Story” website in two weeks to commemorate our milestones over the years. Supported and mentored students to adopt digital and entrepreneurial skills in Master of Journalism courses.
Student Research Assistant
e-Learning Development Lab, University of Hong Kong | Oct – Dec 2014
Designed and developed an educational game for mathematics to use on iPads in elementary schools.
Summer Technology Analyst
J.P.Morgan Hong Kong | Jun – Aug 2014
Developed tracking dashboards and visual reports to oversee projects efficiently on the PM team.
EDUCATION
EIT Digital Double MSc in Human Computer Interaction and Design
Aalto University & University of Trento | Sep 2018 – Jul 2020
Specialisation: Cognitive Interaction, Minor in Innovation and Entrepreneurship
BEng Computer Engineering
The University of Hong Kong | Sep 2012 – Jun 2015
SKILLS
Design + Communication
Prototyping, User-Centered and Participatory Research, Creative Facilitation, Systems Thinking, Insight Generation, Design Methodology, Behaviour Change, User Journeys, Persona Creation, Scenario Building, Rapid Prototyping, Ethnographic Research, Empathy Mapping, Synthesis, Storytelling,Value Proposition and Business Modelling
Programming
JavaScript, HTML, CSS, D3.js, Python
Software
Figma, Axure, Sketch, InVision, Adobe Creative Suite (XD, Photoshop, Illustrator, InDesign, Premiere Pro), Zeplin
Languages
English (native), Urdu (native), Mandarin (basic course), Finnish (basic course)
HACKATHONS
DASH Design Hackathon 2018
Worked on behaviour design principles with mentoring from the Stanford Peace Innovation Lab.
Nordic Health Hackathon 2019 – Reykjavik
Winner of the Arion Bank prize for Best Financial Data Solution and second prize for the Digi.me challenge.
Junction 2019 – Helsinki
Developed a value-based financial app – voted second runner up in Data Economics track by peer review
HackYeah 2020 – Remote
Concept solution for community supermarket selected as finalists.
VOLUNTEERING
Slush 2018, EIT Innovation Day Finland 2018, Women for Women Workshops Finland, EIT Digital Master School Kick-off 2019
LEADERSHIP
Undergraduate Student Representative
Jockey Club Student Village III, University of Hong Kong | Sep 2013 – Jun 2015
Elected to represent resident students’ welfare in university’s policies for the student village.
Get in touch through my LinkedIn