I sat down on the street all suited up with a wedding cake in one hand, making decisions about my future on the phone.
We all want to create plans based on a future we can reasonably predict because our brains are geared for certainty. As a result, being at a time of great uncertainty naturally causes some level of worry. We’ve all been there…Choosing the next step in my career was such a phase where I had to take a choice that had a lot of dependencies (location, family, friends…). So, did I just make the right decision to join Bynder? Well, I can definitely say Yes! Here’s my story about setting foot into the Bynder world.
Hearing about the company
As said, I was looking for my next challenge, and that’s when I first stumbled upon Bynder. At a glance, it was just another SaaS company that makes web dashboards and apps. But after a deep dive, the culture stood out enough for me to apply. I’ve always wanted to join an organization where design is mature enough, appreciated, and given the space & freedom it requires. Designers all over the world might relate to environments where business is often prioritized over design but that’s where Bynder makes a difference — and that’s what I loved about it.
Landing the job
Like any other position, there were a bunch of interviews here too. Surprisingly enough, there was no case assignment (for non-designers — this is normally done in design interviews to analyze the creative thought process approach and finalization). I thought to myself — “is the design team at Bynder really going to bet on me from just a few talks?” Well, if you do put yourself in their shoes, it makes total sense. You can really find out if the person you’re talking to is a cultural fit and a cultural addition to the organization by spending some time talking about their interests. Skills can always be gained if you have the right person with the right mindset.
And then, one fine evening on the way to pick up my friend’s wedding cake I get a call past office hours offering me the position of Product Designer at Bynder. I’ll never forget that call — I sat down on the street all suited up with a wedding cake in one hand, making decisions about my future on the phone.
Fast forward a couple of months and I’m officially a byndie (that’s what they call each Bynder employee).
Hello Bynder
My first week as a byndie went through excitingly meeting other peers from both the design and product team, as well as engineers — really some cool people with all sorts of interests. Some played squash, others built fancy lego sets while others play video games; we went through all sorts of conversations from cultures to movies and even family. It was a gradual process of finding myself within the team like a new kid on the first day of school — making new friends and learning cool new stuff.
Learning all the (un)necessary stuff
The next was a fun-filled week of understanding how Bynder works and how all the components fit in through something called the ‘Bootcamp’. It’s essentially a week-long onboarding program given to new byndie’s in order to get an idea of what the domain is and how it connects altogether as an organization. I was thrown a lot of jargon and abbreviations that took me a while to get acclimated with, but it did give me more context on how things need to work. By the end of the week, I graduated officially as a new byndie — making a bunch of new colleagues and learning a lot about Bynder.
Hacking as a Byndie
My to-be regular third week just turned around when my teammates invited me to be part of a company-wide hackathon. I’m just two weeks in and have no clue how the product works and jumping into a hackathon — crazy, right? Well crazy enough to just make design suggestions from my experience and use the plug-and-play design system at Bynder to create some quick designs. Headphones in and hacking two days away — we finally came up with a proof of concept and I proudly presented our idea in front of the whole Bynder family. What better way to get to know people and have a load of fun. For me, it really helped in settling into the new place.
Closing the hackathon in style with other byndie’s
All is well
As I approach the end of my third month at Bynder I finally get time to explore the product, take part in meetings, and start digging up opportunities where I can start to contribute. The design team has been extremely supportive and extensively guiding me in adapting the design principles and ensuring it’s being exercised within Bynder.
Getting an oversight into how multiple layers of the product combined with various use cases made me realize how complex it can all become. I also did not expect major global brands to be Bynder customers, which got me even more excited to get my hands dirtier as soon as possible — there’s a special level of satisfaction when you know your work is going to be used by people at Spotify and Pepsi.
Today, I’m already being part of customer calls, analyzing feedback, and brainstorming on design changes for the future. Every day I come to the office and happily look at my calendar to see more discussions that will lead to impactful decisions. Looking forward to an eventful time at Bynder and being part of a design race that pushes for (product) perfection.
Bynder for life!!!
