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Serang, Indonesia

Salam kenal

I'm an Indonesian designer with over 5 years of experience crafting interfaces and experiences

My name is Afnizar Nur Ghifari, but people usually call me Afnizar. Currently, I reside in Serang, Indonesia. My primary focus at the moment lies at the intersection of design, code, and systems. I also have a deep interest in icon design and building things, such as Figma plugins or startups. My day-to-day activities mostly involve from the beginning to the end of the product development process.

I'm an informatics engineering graduate from Telkom University, Bandung. As a designer with an engineering background, I feel comfortable working with systems and code. That’s why I love working on design systems. Throughout my journey until now, I've come to understand that design and engineering complement each other in building better products.

When I'm not in front of a screen, I enjoy reading books, watching football, or playing video games. I'm especially interested to learn more about video games because they are fascinating type of craft. I'm also a hobbyist street photographer, and I often share my photos on my Instagram. Well, It's a lot of interests!

I also enjoy listening to dangdut, keroncong, and campursari (It’s traditional music genre from Indonesia). I started appreciating these type of music during my college years, especially after listening Didi Kempot. As a native Javanese, my cultural background is one of the reasons I’m fond of this genre, and I believe that young people today should also listen to it because it's part of our culture. I also often curate playlists on Spotify.

That's a brief introduction about me. Feel free to reach out if you're interested in discussing anything.


How I work

Start with the problems and making sure we deal with the right ones. The process sometimes it’s as linear as it looks, other times it’s a zigzag.

Observe

By observing, I believe we can develop a greater understanding of users and their needs while observing them in their environment.

Get to know users

Empathy starts with seeing people as people, not just users. I'm really like to talk to them, asking questions, and listening closely.

By putting myself in their shoes, I can truly understand their world and help them in meaningful ways.

Analytical thinking

I enjoy making informed decisions, whether or not they rely on data, as it enables us to continuously enhance our strategies for improved outcomes.

Reflect

Reflecting on our work, we should consider different perspectives and be prepared to adapt to remain true to the objectives we pursue.

Cross-functional collaboration

When I work with the team, we're all in this together. I always to try to include our team in all design process so we can discover common ground, understand each other, and value strengths while accepting our limitations.

Adaptability, evaluate, and iterate

If it doesn't work, I don't hesitate to iterate and keep pushing forward until we strike the right balance, guided by the insights we uncover.

Adaptability means embracing change to achieve success.

Make

The sooner you make, the more quickly you learn. By make, giving you the opportunity to try out new ideas.

Explore possibilities

I find immense joy in exploring numerous concepts and unlocking possibilities. My work pace is fast, and embrace a rapid design process for testing out ideas.

This approach allows me to quickly iterate and refine ideas while maintaining a keen focus on delivering quality results.

Communicate ideas

I love to share ideas quickly and effectively. Sometime using prototype or even just a sketch. This visual approach ensures that we're all on the same page, as a picture truly speaks volumes.

A short history of how I into design

I was born and raised in a small developing regency in the heart of Java, known for the warm hospitality of its people and vehicle exhaust factories. Here, design was rarely a topic of conversation, and I had never been exposed to it. That all changed when the internet started becoming accessible to the local.

A picture of a kids
Waiting
							judges to check progress in competition
Me and my family
							on graduation day

As the internet found its way into our lives, it brought with it a new possibilities and knowledge. I remember the first time I stumbled upon an online forum that have a community to design a forum signature.

From this unexpected discovery, I was eager to learn more. Despite facing obstacles like not having my own computer, my determination to learn remained strong. I would often visit internet cafes(we call it warung Internet here) to expand my knowledge. At the same time, my interest for technology and computers started to grow during my middle school years.

As I entered high school, I made a life-changing decision to pursue vocational education that far away from my hometown. This meant parting ways with my parents and friends to live independently for a while. This educational path provided the groundwork for my future and allowed me to nurture my skills in design and technology.

During my high school years, my enthusiasm for design and technology flourished. I elevate my skills by immersing myself in a web design competition such as Lomba Kompetensi Siswa (LKS). In addition to solo competition, alongside friends, I formed teams, participating in many product development competitions and hackathons. Each competition served more than just a technical challenge; it also help me learn more about working as a team together.

A picture of me when got prize when winning competition
Yes, that's me, the blurred figure

After that competition, I also start offering my services to create landing pages for websites. I priced my services at an affordable rate of only Rp200.000, which was roughly equivalent to 12 USD. Very cheap at that time. But, it was a modest beginning, and I was determined to turn it into my playground for learning.

My high school years were a interesting chapter in my story, where I not only pursued my education but also a path that would eventually lead me to a fulfilling career in the design field. The lessons I learned and the experiences I gained during those years continue to shape my journey to this day.


Career highlights

GovTech Edu

Product Designer

I help designed the Rapor Pendidikan platform for data-driven decision-making in education. I also laid the foundation for our internal design system, creating a unified UI kit and led the migration our current design to align with our design system.

Feb 2021 - Present · Jakarta, Indonesia

Bukalapak

UX Designer

I started as an intern and progressed to full-time, from taking charge of design for DANA in Bukalapak. I also created visual and interactive designs, icons, and illustrations, and facilitated design sprints. I also worked on Bukalapak within BBM and established a design system for BBM Shopping.

Jun 2017 - Jan 2021 · Bandung, Indonesia

Sixty Two

UI/UX Designer

I contributed to the redesign of a soccer team platform, enhancing its ability to find sparring opponents. This involved defining the product's workflow and main features, as well as creating wireframes, prototypes, and transitioning from low-fidelity to high-fidelity design.

May 2017 - Oct 2017 · Jakarta, Indonesia

uxmarker

UI/UX Designer

I designed an application encompassing financial services, digital payments, and an eCommerce platform. This involved making conceptual ideas, refining them through low to medium fidelity iterations, and transforming them into high-fidelity prototypes.

Apr 2017 - Jun 2017 · Bandung, Indonesia

Limakilo

UI/UX Designer

I designed an agriculture business platform enabling direct farmer-to-product transactions, overseeing the entire design process of Android and web applications from concept to high-fidelity iterations, and also creating visual, interaction designs, and prototypes.

Oct 2016 - May 2017 · Bandung, Indonesia

In between my works, I love to share and help others by speaking and run workshops

Teaching in front of student of Telkom University
Teaching Design Fundamental in front of student
View all speaking archives

Outside work

These activities serve as a way to recharge, gain new perspectives, and connect with others.

Playing a games

I like gaming on my game console, especially diving into strategy games, whether they're real-time or turn-based. Games like Disco Elysium, Shadow Tactics, or Aliens: Dark Descent are some of my favorites.

Taking a photos

Taking photos around my neighborhood is a way for me to better understand how the people here go about their lives, and it's also quite relaxing for me.

Playing with Mino and
				Mini

Playing with my cats after work is my way of recharging after a long day on the job. Let me introduce you to Mini and Mino, humans!