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Life at Canva

How Kayi's helping shape the future of our product, through data

Written by Dani Brodie

With the official launch of our London campus (that's our word for office), we've been chatting to people in our UK team about their Canva experience. This week Dani Brodie caught up with Data Analyst, Kayi Yeung, to chat about all things data at Canva.

 

Dani Brodie: So Kayi, tell me about your role, what do you do?

Kayi Yeung: A big part of my role is collecting and using quantitative data to understand how people use our suite of tools and how we can better serve them. I'm focused on charts at the moment - understanding what features users like and what other opportunities are. I'm currently investigating when our community actually start creating charts - like, do they usually start using videos in presentations or another feature, or are they using charts at the beginning of their user journey?

 

DB: And what gets you out of bed in the morning, on those rainy days in London when you probably want to keep snoozing your alarm?!

KY: Haha, yes! It's so interesting when you look at the data and see something new. Seeing how people are using charts now and planning for how we can make it even easier for them to use, that's interesting to me. And there's always user behaviour that you don't expect to find in the data. I might have an idea about what I'm expecting to find - and I'm pretty sure about it - and then I look at the data and it's not the case. It's so fascinating!

 

Kayi with some of our amazing London team.

 

DB: So tell me, do you actually use charts to present your data back to your stakeholders?

KY: That's a great question, I actually rely really heavily on charts! When I'm talking to stakeholders there's often so much data that it can be confusing and not easy to consume, but by using charts I can communicate something much faster and more effectively.

 

DB: Amazing. I'd love to hear your insights around what data trends you're seeing emerging?

KY: A lot's changed in the last few years. Interactivity, in particular, is becoming more important than ever and more users are looking to create data visualisations that allow people to interact with and explore the data to help drive resonance with their audience. And just like AI has advanced design in many other spaces like Magic Write, it'll continue to be a trend in the data visualisation space as well. AI can save time and manual labour, reduce human error and, really importantly, make data visualisations more accessible for all users.

 

DB: Let's chat more about you. What attracted you to this role at Canva?

KY: Being able to have an impact on people's lives - that was something I'd been looking for, for a long time, because previously I'd been working for agencies and consultancies helping clients solve their problems, and you don't always get to see the impact of the work you're doing. What I love about Canva is being able to have a real impact on someone's life. I can use data to help shape the product to help people achieve something - that's really motivating.

 

Our London team celebrating achieving a crazy big goal together.

 

DB: And what's your experience been like since you joined Canva? What's surprised you?

KY: When I first started going into the office, people would always ask me, "Do you need anything? Can I put you in touch with other people in our other teams around the world who might understand more about what you're working on?" The environment is so supportive.

 

DB: What would you say someone wondering about what it's like working for a company that was founded in Australia?

KY: Yes we have a big team in Australia, but we have a great office here (in London) and offices everywhere so there are really good opportunities for you to learn from people all over the world. It's flexible and personally I like to start early in the morning, especially here in the UK, because then in winter when I finish there's still time for me to enjoy the daylight hours!

Could you see yourself thriving at Canva? Check out our open roles.

Employee portrait of Talent Brand Partner, Danielle Brodie

Dani Brodie

Biography

Dani Brodie makes talent brand magic at Canva. She lives and works on Wurundjeri land in Naarm (Melbourne), Australia.