Wunderdog looks and feels like the Doggos that work at Wunderdog. We wanted them to tell you in their own words who they are and what they do!
Hi! I’m Heini, a game nerd and a UI/UX designer at Wunderdog. Besides designing UX, I do graphics and illustrations. My recent passion is boxing. That’s a good way to balance my work, which is basically sitting in front of a computer. I enjoy writing and attending to small gigs, and I once organized a mini-festival. One day I would like to finish a personal game project that has been going on for a while now. I’m originally from Middle Finland, from the tiny town of Saarijärvi.
Have you read the introduction of our Developer, Ville?
As a teenager, I decided that as soon as I can I’ll leave the town behind, go see the World and start studying media!
It might sound like a cliché, but I’ve always known that I want to do something creative for a living. As a teenager, I decided that as soon as I can I’ll leave the town behind, go see the World and start studying media!
After the adventures of studying Media and Design all around Finland, I decided to settle down in Helsinki. I first pursued a career in the gaming industry but noticed soon, that I’m more drawn to the software world. Perhaps, because I had begun to do more and more UI related projects around that time. Wunderdog caught my eye for having a very warm, cozy, and welcoming vibe. What especially convinced me, was the “Culture manifest” of Wunderdog, something I had not yet seen in other companies. They seemed to share the same values I personally did, and I got a feeling, that I would fit well into this community.
So I applied. The recruitment process was very quick and no-nonsense. Before I knew it, I was hired.
Even though I’m a consultant, the core of my work is still “basic crafts” which means that aside from meetings, I sit on my desk and draw and prototype.
Nowadays I start my Mondays off with the most important tasks of the work week. This way, the urgent things are taken care of right away. I often have more than one client project going on at the same time. Wunderdog being a very flat organization, I interact directly and effortlessly with the clients. This makes working easy and also the communication with the customer more personal. I like it that way.
I’m the boss of my own work, which gives me a lot of freedom and responsibility. When working in a team, I make sure that our coders and I speak the same language. I always try to make the design transition to development as easy as possible. Using tools like Zeplin and prototypes is very helpful. Usually, cooperation in a team is efficient, since we know each other well and everyone is committed to the open culture of communicating.
Even though I’m a consultant, the core of my work is still “basic crafts” which means that aside from meetings, I sit on my desk and draw and prototype.
Working in projects suits me perfectly. I enjoy changing environments and new challenges. Meeting a lot of people and getting to know new industries keeps the job interesting. I currently work on customer’s old software that needs re-design UX/UI-wise and lots of new features. Meaning lots of work on understanding the needs of the end-users and keeping the design as simple as possible. There are multiple users with different needs, which makes the design a challenge. I mainly use Sketch, all Adobe programs, Invision, and Pen & paper when working.
Some designers who are not working in the technology industry may have prejudices about it. A typical one that I hear is that you need to know how to code and be very tech-savvy
Some designers (at least in my circle) who are not working in the technology industry may have prejudices about it. It can feel intimidating, especially to women, since the industry is male dominant. One typical prejudice I’ve heard many times is that you need to know how to code and be very tech-savvy in order to work as a designer in a tech company. Or that developers are too introverted to even get to know. My experience is quite the opposite!
Obviously, it really helps if you know the basics of coding. However, you should not be scared of applying to technology companies just because you don’t know how to code. It is not rocket science to learn the basics of it, and it is definitely something you can learn from your colleagues along the way. Not a prerequisite.
The way work is organized at Wunderdog guarantees there’s a competent team in solving problems. Each member focuses on their own core competence but helps each other out in everything needed. There’s never a situation where you’re left alone with a problem. In addition to your team, you’ll always have the support of the 80 other doggos working at Wunderdog. An open culture, free-time activities and working in teams makes sure that one learns to know his/her colleagues. And they’re awesome!