#MonkTalk with Kayla Chia, UX|UI Designer: "A reed in the wind lives on, while mighty oaks do fall."

The 7th #MonkTalk guest takes a very special place in our hearts. Kayla is a UX/UI Designer in the Singapore office of MediaMonks who took the same path as us as she graduated Hyper Island then joined the Monastery. In Kayla's story, you'll find a pearl of wisdom that'll equip you with a confident inner voice when you feel small. Let us unfold her story of growth and mastering soft skills that will change your vision on work life.

Kayla! It feels so special to meet a fellow Hyper Island alumni and we are thrilled to hear what you have to say. Please tell us a little bit about yourself and what you do at MediaMonks.

Yes! I’m Kayla Chia and previously worked in advertising as an Art Director for three years. Then I wanted to try something new and challenge myself so I decided to study at Hyper Island and see what happens. I did the Design Lead program which is a one-year course and graduated a year ago. 

Now in MediaMonks, my role technically is a UI/UX designer. However, I do a bit of everything because my background is in art direction and it has helped me with campaigns and different design works. But I’d like to be flexible and get away from a fixed role so that I’m not in a box. 

Initially, I wanted the UX/UI designer title because there was something I wanted to move into. But then, now having a taste of it, maybe I want to be more of a generalist or so-called T-shaped person. In sum, I'm still exploring what it could be. But yeah, it’s a journey that never stops. 

Totally agree. Now that we’re here to hone our skill in strategy and concept yet we still try to figure out what we love the most and what makes us bring out our 200%. Since you’re the first monk from Singapore that we’re talking to, could you tell us about the Singapore office?

In Singapore, we're growing very quickly so almost running out of office space even with the flexible work-from-home situation! And that's even with 2 different office spaces. We're pretty tight-knit as a bunch so looking to preserve that as new people join us :)

How did you find your path after graduating from Hyper Island? How did you land MediaMonks as a UI/UX designer?

I actually tried really hard to stay in Stockholm initially. Applied to a couple of different places but lack of visa brought me back home—reluctantly! But since I'm back I thought I would make the best of the situation.

Then I met a couple of ex-colleagues turned friends who are working at MediaMonks. They actually told me about the job opening and to go for it, didn't need to take much convincing for me to since I've heard a lot about MediaMonks already.

You briefly explained to us about your background as an art director then the transition you made by incorporating UX design in your work. What do you find fascinating about this new area?

The stuff that I've been doing before was creative works in art direction. And in terms of selling and advertising, there is always some sort of strategy behind it, but it's sometimes retrofitted to fit the creative work. But I've always been interested in why people actually buy the product and how you target them and make sense of it. Advertisement is something that consumers are already avoiding, so I was intrigued to figure out what the core essence is and what makes it worthwhile. As you know, at hyper it's built such an environment that it fosters you to look into the ‘Why’ and it naturally made me even more curious to dive into it.

Actually, it is very different from how you work in Asia that consumers care most about the end product and if it’s pretty clients don’t care too much about anything else. But now that I learned the power of setting the ‘why’ at the core, I want to create something beautiful but it has to have some sort of meaning. 

Wow, that’s one of the biggest reasons that I (Ljuba) decided to tap into strategy and master this skill rather than just being a creative person who pours out ideas. Kayla, now your answer makes us wonder what your key takeaway from hyper is that you still love to apply to work at MediaMonks.

For me, the biggest learning was soft skills more than anything. Now I am very conscious about the things I see, and the reactions that I make to people. In the past, the extent I could go when empathizing with people was like, “yeah it sucks!" but now I’m more trying to ask “Why do you feel this way?”, “Why do you think like this?”, you know, applying what we learned in school to everyday life.

Do you then witness changes that, for example, people are also reacting in different ways or you feel that you're contributing to creating a more safe space?

As you guys probably experienced, if you're vulnerable and talk about your honest feelings with others, people will be more open to you back.

Meeting new people means having a chance to lay the proper foundations and build a good relationship from scratch. So far, it has been really good. For me more than anything, it’s the culture of the place which makes a big difference. I want to see these people as my friends, and some of them already are. 

That's what we try to do here as well, building personal relations and sharing fears and dreams so we connect at a deeper level with colleagues. We’re sure that you remember this that we do at Hyper Island on the first day at school, '3 things that shaped you'. What are the three things, a.k.a milestones that shaped you?

The first one, it should be Hyper Island, honestly, that is life-changing. I think you guys can relate. It’s not just about moving halfway across the world for education but the way it pushes and challenges you as a person on a core level. You will not get this sort of deep dive and bonding experience at any other school.

The second milestone is that I decided to take Art as a subject in secondary school—my beacon of light in a rigid education system—in a class of less than 10. A privilege. Ultimately I decided that’s what made me happy and led me down this path! The third one is yet to come, I’ll share with you guys when I find one, so stay tuned. 

Looking forward to it! Now we wonder who influenced you significantly in your professional life.

There’s one at the top of my head who was my mentor when I did my internship at River in Stockholm. When I started, I was still transitioning from my Art Direction background into more of a UI/UX space so it was really helpful that he was super kind and caring which made the transition smoother. He made sure that I was seen and heard, you’d check in with him all the time, he would bring me a cup of coffee. My mentor actually invited me to his class at SATS as well where he teaches kickboxing haha. So with him, I was given enough space to ask many questions and grow in a new area. 

What is your biggest revelation during your journey?

I found that I struggle a lot with impostor syndrome. On the surface level, it might seem that I'm doing well, I wouldn't say I'm not doing well, but it's just no matter how good I do, I sometimes might feel like I'm just faking it and one day someone's gonna find out that I don't know anything. 

So that leads to the biggest revelation that It actually doesn't matter. The Singapore office, at the moment, is very male-dominated and they're actively trying to have more females. Initially, I felt like oh, did they hire me because of XYZ.

Then again, it doesn't matter because my work speaks for itself. I'm already in here. If anything it says that I am worthy.

I look around and people around me are all super talented and I wouldn't say that any of them are hired based on whatever attributes, you know. It's just that your own bad voice is talking and then you just have to say, “No, they're not true.” So I think that's the biggest revelation that these little things don't really matter, don't listen to the bad voice, and focus on doing good work. That’s enough. 

I (Jieun) have felt that very often. Now, however, I try my very best to think that I’m worth being here and I just do my best to deserve it. But hey, we know that we’re all amazing and working super hard.

Exactly. Remember? Trust the process.

Kayla, we are super curious to know about how you see yourself in like five years!

Not quite sure where I'll be but hopefully will be able to travel and explore the world again.

Also, I want to find the depth of what I can be, a clear vision of what I want. So right now I have all these skill sets, but what is my vertical depth to the 'T-shaped' personality? I still haven't found it and maybe I will never find it. After Hyper Island, I was quite lost because I know all these things, about yourself and you know the market and all that but then I didn’t know what to do with all this information. But I guess you just pick one then along the way you pick up more things, right. 

What is your inspiration in your life that makes you happy and creative?

After a long day at work, I just want to switch off my brain and that's what I do to relax! I look at wholesome memes and send them to friends who live abroad that I don't see or speak to as much as I like. This makes it easy for me to bridge that gap and let them know I still think of them.

Wholesome memes do make you smile for sure :) Very sad to end this lovely interview but here’s our last question for you. What could be your piece of wisdom for someone who just started their career?

I have a favorite quote that I try to live by. It's actually something that I discovered in Hyper Island. I tend to fight change, I think most people do, when you're in your stretch zone you don’t try to go into a danger zone. So, you try to control more things. And then somehow the more you try to control the worse you feel about it. 

There's a quote by this famous poet Aesop's fable. “A reed in the wind lives on, while mighty oaks do fall” The quote basically says “Go with the flow. Even as a tiny reed, you can still withstand even in the strongest storms.”

#MonkTalk is a series of interviews with diverse talents in senior positions within MediaMonks that share different edges of the industry for young creatives who just embarked on their journey ✨✨✨