Get to Know Kelly!

October 19, 2020

Read all about the awesome members of our team and get to know the different personalities that work every day to make sure our customers and farmers always have a smile on their face. 

Like many others, we are a small business run by people who could very well be your neighbours! Meet Kelly, she’s in charge of designing everything you interact with on NIKU’s website!

Tell us a little about yourself! 

Born and raised in Vancouver, B.C., I’m a self-taught designer studying Business Management at the University of Western Ontario. My parents are from Malaysia and Brunei, so I’ve also travelled to Malaysia several times throughout my life and consider it a second home. 

Business has always been something I’ve enjoyed, but after attending some hackathons, doing side-projects, and interning for NIKU this past year, I began to really fall in love with the product design space! 

Do you have any hobbies, interests?

My hobbies and interests pretty much overlap with what I do for work and what I would like to do as a career! Product design is a huge interest of mine, but I also enjoy motion graphics and animation and love video editing. Other than design, I’m super interested in minimalism and sustainability, and I’m overall passionate about helping our environment. 

What are some things you like to do outside of work?

I’m currently a design lead for a biztech club at my school, and currently designing for and organizing a student hackathon as well. Outside of those extracurriculars, work, and school, I like to attend hackathons, play ultimate-frisbee and spikeball, and binge Korean dramas. 

What are some of the responsibilities you take on for NIKU Farms?

My role as a UX/UI designer revolves around researching, conceptualizing, and creating a smooth user experience for all our customers that interact with our web products such as the website, shop experience, and customer portal. I also communicate with and collect feedback from customers to then design and prototype website mockups for the dev-team to implement. Having a business background has proved pretty helpful, as it allows me to think about problems from both a business and user perspective and shape solutions holistically!

Can you walk us through what a day at work (from home) looks like for you? 

I joined NIKU in late April after classes were cancelled in March, and have been working and studying from home in Vancouver ever since! I’m not a huge coffee drinker, so my day usually starts with a cup of tea instead. I tend to find myself slightly more productive at night, so a typical day for me might look like communicating priorities in the morning, and after finishing my studies for the day I’ll crack down on work in the evenings or whenever I find spare time between classes. 

I also like to take frequent breaks throughout the day such as stepping out on my porch for some fresh air, and occasionally going on walks with my grandma. 

Why do you like working at NIKU Farms? How does NIKU’s values of sustainability, ethical meat, and/or local support align with you? 

When I first started working at NIKU, I didn’t really know what to expect because it was my first startup experience as well as being my first internship. However, I soon began to really enjoy working with the people on our team, and getting to work on projects that make a direct impact on our customers! NIKU’s values really resonate with me because sustainability and the environment has been a huge part of my life since i was 14, which is when I started to double down on my habits and live a more conscious lifestyle. It’s so great to see the progress we’re making and I’m happy to be able to design for a company that is so passionate about doing social and environmental good! 

If you could pick one song to play when you walk into a room – what would it be and why?

As it’s one of my current favourites, I would choose “Aloha” by Cho Jung Seok. It’s a Korean song from the soundtrack of a Korean drama called “Hospital Playlist”, and it just puts me in a good mood and reminds me to be present and live life with no regrets!