We first met/listened to Dami at a UX Lagos meetup where she was the only lady among the four panelists. The official discussion was centred on the State of Design in Nigeria, and as with most topics centered on pitting the condition of a subject matter as with the ideal, it was rather invigorating. Dami charged the atmosphere with thoughts and shared experiences of the world of Design, winning our hearts in the process.
Dami is a UX Designer and Product Manager at PayWithCapture, a mobile app to make online and offline payments in diverse ways through bank accounts, debit and credit cards. Prior to this, she worked as a design researcher at The Telegraph, and a UX designer at One-Credit and Explovia.
When we decided to create this series which focuses on Female UX designers and how they started their Design career, the image of Dami, of course, came bursting into our minds. We approached her. She agreed to chat with us, and this is the result.
Pay With Capture
For Creative Girls: We are curious, what was the first experience that drew your heart to Design?
Damisi Busari: I don’t know if there was a defining moment for me. I just knew I wanted to work with computers. My first day in uni though, I had this module about HCI and I was suddenly exposed to this world where I could solve real world problems with my computer.
I also liked asking questions and this was a new way to ask questions, to understand how people think and give them products that would make their lives easier, more fun, better. That day just made me sure I wanted to know more about HCI and I just grew on from there really.
Lol. That’s an interesting one, first day in University. What did you study?
Information Technology and Business Information Systems. Then, Human Computer Interaction at UCL for my Master’s degree.
Word Beat Designs
After that point what and where was your first actual experience designing? What event led to this first experience?
I mean Design really is just about how you think. That day in University I spoke of, I left class with an assignment to add tech to a piece of clothing.
So I suppose that could have been my first time designing anything.
Awesome! Do you have a link to that project?
Lol no. I’ve lost that hard-drive a few computers ago.
Oh wow. Bummer! So, what struggles did you encounter when you first started designing?
Self-doubt. And I still have that. But back then, I questioned everything I did. I didn’t think I was going to be able to fully explain what I was thinking, because I didn’t know enough of the methods to know how to help. There was also the fact that the world of Design doesn’t really forgive mediocrity. So yeah, I struggled for a long time with that. Until I got better and people started wanting my opinion on things, wanting to work with me in particular.
You are so correct about the unforgiving world of Design and it’s rather scary. How do you think beginners should tackle this, knowing that the world may eat you alive if they are not crazy about your work?
Just try to get better. Yes, the Design world is unforgiving. So, just accept that and work on your talent.
Also, keep asking questions. It’s OK to ask people questions, but always ask yourself questions about everything.
Explovia
How do you then define creativity?
Creativity is just another word for the ability to figure out how things could be. People that are creative are those that know how reality could be. They imagine and know, then proceed to show the rest of us what they see in their minds.
What design projects/job have you worked on in the last couple of months? And what are you working on now?
Oh, I’ve worked on a few things. I’ll start with my recent projects.
I’ve worked on optimising loan application processes, payments, a pharmaceutical concierge service, concierge delivery.
Wow!
Yep, that’s about it in the last few months.
I can’t say what I’m working on right now because I’m not done considering the process of this idea. But I’m extremely excited about it as it’s one of those really fun ones.
Lol. Not fair! Where can we find you online?
On Twitter, LinkedIn and tinkering on my Deck.