Hi friends,
This week, I’d like to share some challenges I’ve faced at work and the changes I’ve made to overcome them. I’m also excited to announce that our non-profit organization’s website The Cat Allies Project is live—check it out!
Work-related thoughts:
Lately, my manager has challenged me to initiate new projects in different meetings. It’s to the point that it prompts me to consider what I truly want to do. I’ve proposed ideas before, but they didn’t get prioritized. So, what projects should I initiate? Likely those that are important, impactful, or aligned with team goals and metrics. I sought advice from friends and colleagues and got some suggestions:
- How to find ideas? 1.Host design workshops to collect ideas. 2. Explore ideas from Hack week projects. 3. Look into past research, data, and learning to discover new concepts.
- Why is proposing new ideas important?
It’s about making designers more visible within the team and the business. It also emphasizes the importance of user experience; we can lead, drive, and advocate for users. - What is the goal of initiating ideas?
Similar to the previous answer, it’s to gain visibility. - What ideas should we initiate?
How do we measure if an idea is impactful enough to present? It could be something aligned with senior leadership’s goals, or perhaps it’s about improving teamwork. - Why does my manager keep emphasizing this?
My colleagues suggested that maybe it’s because senior leadership needs to know what the team is doing, even if they’re not directly involved in the work. The manager needs to be accountable to the higher-ups.
It’s been insightful to ask around and get different perspectives. As for me, I did an audit of the app and identified two small issues that could be addressed. The next step is to create mockups, find out data, and socialize these ideas.
Design projects not work-related:
The Cat Allies Project: https://www.catalliesproject.com/
The Cat Allies Project website is now live! My friends and I co-founded this non-profit, mainly because my husband is deeply passionate about helping stray cats in Jersey City and Harrison, New Jersey areas. He’s worked closely with many local elderly people who dedicate themselves to rescuing cats. As the younger generation, we leverage social media to find forever homes or foster homes for friendly cats. That’s why we founded this non-profit—not just to help stray cats but also to support those who are on the front lines of rescue work. Even though social media is our primary tool for finding adopters, foster homes, and funding, we launched a website to make our organization more legitimate. We know there’s still much to improve, and we’re committed to making it better.
Interesting find of the week:
Tokyo Mom: https://kasan.tokyo/okasan-list/
My friend in Japan shared this with me: a “Tokyo Mom” helper website. You can hire a Tokyo Mom to help with chores, teach you how to clean and organize your home, and more. Moms can describe their personalities in their profiles, like whether they are the nagging type or the fashion-forward type. I really want to learn how to clean the bathroom properly; different materials need different cleansers, and I’m super worried about ruining the bathroom floor. I could definitely use some help from a Tokyo Mom!
Long
嗨，讀者朋友們，
這週我想和大家分享一些工作上遇到的挑戰，以及我在面對這些挑戰時所做的改變。另外，我也很興奮地告訴大家，我們的慈善組織網站The Cat Allies Project 已經正式上線了！
工作相關想法：
最近設計主管在各種會議中一再強調，要求大家要主動發想並向上提案，讓設計團隊的影響力被更多人看到。每次與她1:1的時候，她都會問我：「你真正想做的是什麼呢？這對你的職涯發展很重要…」
之前我也提議過各種設計改動，但都不了了之。到底什麼案子是他想要的呢？我猜是要有影響力的案子或者要跟商業目標對應的案子吧。決定去問問朋友的意見，以下是他們的建議：
- 怎麼收集想法？1.可以舉辦幾個工作坊來收集想法。 2. 在Hackweek中尋找可以運用的想法。3.找過往的研究和數據去發想。
- 為什麼提案很重要？
這能提升設計團隊在公司內的知名度，也能推動使用者導向的設計，真正服務於使用者。 - 為什麼我們必須提案？
原因同上，是為了提升團隊的知名度。 - 什麼樣的提案才算有影響力？
可以從領導層今年的目標出發，看看能否找到契合的方向，或是想辦法提高團隊的工作效率。 - 為什麼主管一再強調這件事？
同事們猜測這可能是來自領導層的壓力，也許某位領導已經不再直接參與專案，但他仍然需要向上報告團隊的進展，因此主管需要更多主導權。
在將這些討論整理在一起後，我突然思路清晰了許多。經歷了這麼多次的「靈魂拷問」之後，我終於在測試中找到了一些想做的點子。下一步就是去收集數據，提出具體的提案，然後找機會向上發表。
工作以外的設計：
Cat Allies Projects: https://www.catalliesproject.com/
我與朋友一起成立的救助流浪貓的慈善組織網站已經上線了！這個項目最初是因為先生非常熱衷於救助流浪貓，他已經餵某個澤西地區的流浪貓快八年了，也因此認識許多愛媽阿姨們。這些阿姨都已經是屆齡退休，不太會用社交軟體，只是非常熱心在第一線救貓，而我們近幾年用社交媒體，為許多親人的貓咪找到永遠的家或寄養家庭。
我們建立這個非營利組織的初衷不僅是幫助流浪貓，還包括支援需要支援的愛媽阿姨們。雖然主要都是用社交軟體來宣傳跟找人，但還是需要網站讓組織看起來更加專業。在其中一位創辦人負責主視覺，大家用業餘時間東拼西湊下完成第一版網站。還有很多想加入的內容，會繼續努力的。
有趣的連結：
東京媽媽：https://kasan.tokyo/okasan-list/
這是朋友這週和我分享的「東京媽媽」，可以找媽媽們來做家事服務，教你如何整理房間、收納等。媽媽們在檔案上會自我介紹，是屬於嘮叨型還是時尚型。我很想跟媽媽學習如何清潔廁所，因為那些水垢不能隨便用清潔劑處理，要使用對應材質的清潔劑，感覺媽媽們都很會！
Long