Work Placement

A Different Product, A Different Mindset This week was my first full week working on Globaly.io, and honestly, it felt like stepping into a completely different environment compared to Orderlay. Orderlay mainly focused on restaurant staff and operational workflows, but Globaly.io involves students, education agents, and university administrators all using the same platform in different ways. Because of that, the product feels much more layered and complex. Most of this week was spent trying to understand the product properly before jumping into active design work. I went through existing Figma files, reviewed documentation, and studied the user flows already mapped out by the Product Manager. The more I explored, the more I realized how interconnected everything is. A small decision for one user type can easily affect the experience for another. Another thing I had to adjust to was working within a design system that had already been built by the senior designer. Instead of immediately...

A Sudden Shift in Direction This week brought a major shift in my role. The CEO announced that I would be transitioning from Orderlay to Globaly.io. Since Orderlay already had two designers covering the work including me, the decision was made to move me to Globaly.io, which is still in its pre-launch stage and needed additional design support alongside a senior designer. At first, the transition felt sudden, but the reasoning behind it was clear from a company perspective. It helped me understand that product decisions are often driven by broader business needs rather than individual project timelines. Learning to step back and see that bigger picture became an important part of my reflection this week. This change also tested my flexibility as a designer. I’ve often identified myself as someone who thinks strategically, but this situation made me question how well I can actually adapt when priorities shift quickly. It pushed me to think about how fast I can adjust and still contribut...

Learning to Design Together without Losing Consistency This week involved a lot of collaboration with the mid-level designer I work with on Orderlay. We both ended up working on the same component, but with slightly different approaches, which led to several back-and-forth discussions to realign the design direction. This experience made me realize how easily inconsistency can appear when ownership is shared but direction is not clearly documented or agreed upon early. Even small differences in structure or logic can affect how unified the final product feels. A key part of this week was learning how design systems actually function in practice. I started seeing them less as static files and more as shared agreements between designers. When those agreements are not followed consistently, the entire product starts to feel fragmented. Another important learning was around documentation. I realized that when design decisions are not clearly recorded with reasoning, the same discussions...

Learning When to Step Back in Design This week I focused on refining interaction details in the Orderlay restaurant management interface. Since Orderlay is a POS and restaurant management system, the design needs to be extremely practical and fast to use. The users are usually cashiers and kitchen staff, so every extra second of confusion in the interface actually affects real service speed. While working on these refinements, I started thinking more about how design decisions directly impact real-world situations like order handling during a busy lunch rush. It made me realize that designing for such systems is less about visual perfection and more about clarity, speed, and instinctive use. A major personal challenge this week was my tendency toward perfectionism. I found myself revisiting the same screen multiple times, even when it was already functional and approved in earlier feedback rounds. Key Learnings & Insights Designing for POS systems requires extreme simplicity a...

Finding My Rhythm in the Project This week was mainly about getting familiar with the Orderlay product and understanding how the workflow moves from planning to design. I spent time going through existing processes, catching up on backlog tasks, and getting a clearer sense of how product decisions are made before they reach the design stage. A significant part of the week involved discussions around user flows with the Product Manager. Instead of working only with finalized instructions, I was included in early-stage conversations where we explored user actions, approval steps, and possible edge cases. This helped me understand how much planning and reasoning happens before any actual UI design begins. Working alongside multiple designers also made me more aware of the importance of consistency. Even small variations in spacing, components, or layout can affect the overall product experience, so I focused more on aligning my work with existing patterns and maintaining uniformity. ...