Meet Donata, our new Designer!

What’s your working background, and how did you come to work for Newicon?

I came to the UK just over 5 years ago and started working in various places to get by as I was studying Digital Media at the University of the West of England. Towards the end of the second year of university, I landed an internship under Newicon mentorship. Afterwards, I did a couple of freelance projects for Newicon and eventually became a member of the team in December 2020! 

Fun fact, when I was looking for a placement during the second year of university and got in touch with Newicon. Nothing came out of it back then, but here I am anyway! Everything happens for a reason :)

Draw yourself!

Describe your job to a six-year-old.

I design digital things, like applications on the phone, in a way so they are simple to use and look pretty so you want to keep using it. I make sure that whoever uses them can find the information they are looking for easily and get things done without problems or putting too much thought into doing them. It is like the PLAY/PAUSE button on YouTube, everyone knows what it is and what it does.

What are you looking forward to working on the most?

I enjoy the challenge. I look forward to working on complex projects that require a lot of logical thinking. I like making people's lives easier by creating more user-friendly designs that not only look good but also work as expected, solving problems and helping achieve goals.

What excites you most about the future of design?

I would like to see AI contribution towards design processes. How it can be used to better understand people's behavioural patterns to provide better usability and personalised experience tailored to individuals needs. 

What tech breakthroughs do you think we’ll be seeing in the next ten years? 

Generally, I think we will see a lot of smaller organisations taking over bigger boys in the industry. I think we will see a lot of MR coming into our everyday life that will change our perception of normal life but also more smart cities and other solutions tackling the environmental problems.

What do you like doing outside of work, any unusual hobbies?

Nothing really unusual. I like doing makeup and experimenting in the kitchen with new recipes. A few years back I really enjoyed reading Manga and watching Anime. Maybe it's time to get back into it! 

Favourite film/TV show/podcast?
 

I’m a series lover, once I like a show I can binge-watch it in one go. 

One that I always go back to are Friends and Gilmore Girls, as for other favourite ones I would say Handmaid’s Tale, The Bold Type & Lucifer.

Do you have any hidden talents, or is there an interesting fact about you?

I always wanted to be able to sing, but it wasn't given to me...

Interesting fact… guess that I moved 1800km away from home pretty much on my own at the age of 19 when I couldn’t speak English at all! 

What book should everyone read? 

Hooked by Nir Eyal

Shielding the Flame by Hanna Krall

At Newicon we listen to a lot of music and make far too many playlists. What are your go-to songs and/or artists?

I completely love old polish songs but don't really listen to them on a daily basis. When it comes to my go-to artists my favourites  are:

Don Broco, Paramore, PVRIS, Billie Eilish, Ariana Grande, Miley Cyrus, Kiana Lede, Macklemore and lately Ashnikko. 

Share a meme that sums up you or your job 

This one seems quite accurate!

We're so excited to have Donata at Newicon! 

Keep an eye out as we continue this series and introduce more new members of our Design & Software Development team!