Hey, guys!
We’re excited about our upcoming AMA with Senior UX Designer, Babusi Nyoni, tomorrow. Since we’ve already done the formal introduction, we decided to ask him some personal questions to get to know him a bit more.
We already knew about his love for Kanye but it was definitely refreshing to see that growing up in Africa means we all shared some of the same experiences.
1. How would you explain your job to a 5-year-old?
Hey kiddo, my job is to make sure that people enjoy the things they use. I do this by asking them questions about it and sketching what it might look like. After that, I ask them if they think it’s something they would like to use and if it isn’t, I fix my sketch until I get it right.
2. Is what you’re doing now what you always wanted to do growing up?
This is only but half of what I wanted to become growing up. My dream was always to be visual artist/designer and also a rapper. To nurture the former, I would save pocket money and use the savings to buy office paper printed on one side from a neighbour who was running a business literally from under his mattress. On the A4 sheets, I would draw pictures of white Jesus, Mickey Mouse and portraits of my mother (which she didn’t always warm to).
And as a budding rapper, at my peak, I rewrote the lyrics of Macarena at age 10 to something edgier and “I-need-a-girl”-esque. My mother subsequently found my rhyme book and between the belt lashes and resultant snivels, I learnt that being a rapper wasn’t a thing to be in her household.
3. What’s the first thing you do as soon as you get home/close from work?
I get home and take an hour break from my laptop. I either find some light viewing on Netflix (old Michael Cera usually does it) or, on hectic days, take my longboard out and cruise the streets.
4. What would you do if your laptop crashed right now?
I would take it to IT and resort to accessing email and Twitter on my phone. Aside: remember when tablets were a thing?
5. If a genie granted you 3 wishes right now, what would you wish for?
- First-generational wealth
- A life filled with happiness and love for myself and my faves
- To be Kanye West
There you have it, guys. Join us on Radar at 2pm (GMT + 1) tomorrow, April 6th, for an interactive AMA with Babusi.
He’ll be answering all your questions about user experience design, big data, machine learning and artificial intelligence in Africa, and whether a rap career is still in the works.
