Siyi C.

Senior Product Designer

When I started my UX career seven years ago, this job was relatively new in the market. During my time in undergraduate business school, I was fortunate to discover the opportunities of emerging business, design, and technology to solve problems and improve people's lives. This was a decade ago–  a time when even the role of UX designers didn't exist. It was during this period that I recognized my calling as a designer. I found immense joy in being empathetic, understanding people, delving into their motivations, and ultimately creating solutions that address both user and business needs. Subsequently, I dedicated myself to acquiring knowledge in various fields, including psychology, computer science, human-computer interaction, Don Norman's user-centric methodology, and design, throughout my college and master's studies. The more I learned, the deeper my passion grew. I firmly believe that I can contribute these skills and insights to society.

Since the field was so new, I had to learn all the industry practices by myself. At that time, designers were willing to share their skills, insights, and knowledge through various channels, such as conferences, meetups, and social media, as we were all exploring this emerging field within the dynamic tech world. 

I believe this culture is at the core of the UX community: giving and receiving. 

We are all enthusiastic about sharing, discussing design challenges, and learning different ideas and methodologies. I have faith in this healthy culture and find fulfillment in giving back to the community by helping others succeed.

To me, design is about humanity. UX is all about focusing on people and finding ways to make their lives easier and better. The more deeply we care about our customers, truly understand their needs and pain points, the better we can provide them with solutions infused with a hospitality mindset.

I try to steer clear of using the term 'user' because it can feel somewhat impersonal to me. Instead, I emphasize empathy because, after all, we are all human. By feeling their pain as our own and embracing their success as our own, we create a more empathetic and human-centered design approach.

One thing that’s unique about my work at Toast is that this is a traditional legacy industry with its fair share of challenges and opportunities. People in this field work tirelessly with heavy workloads, often until midnight. I firmly believe that Toast is disrupting this industry by streamlining and simplifying the experience to make their lives easier. It's one of the companies I've had the privilege to work for that genuinely listens to its customers and continuously enhances its products and services to meet their needs.

Coming full circle, as I’ve grown my career, I've provided guidance on the introduction to UX and career consultations to my LinkedIn connections and friends on numerous occasions– just as my colleagues helped me learn when I was first starting out. This sense of community is important to me, and that's why I decided to embrace mentorship as my part-time voluntary endeavor and remain committed to its long-term pursuit. It's truly rewarding to witness mentees grow and achieve their career goals. I have mentored both researchers and designers because, as a well-rounded designer, research skills are also exceptionally valuable.