Yian Ling Cheong
About Yian Ling Cheong
Yian Ling Cheong is the Head of Design for South East Asia at ThoughtWorks, where she has worked since 2016. She emphasizes the importance of responsible design that meets both business needs and user wants, drawing on her extensive background in user experience and interaction design.
Current Role at ThoughtWorks
Yian Ling Cheong serves as the Head of Design for South East Asia at ThoughtWorks, a position she has held since 2019. In this role, she leads design initiatives across the region, focusing on aligning digital products with both business objectives and user needs. Her leadership emphasizes the importance of responsibility in design, encouraging her team to prioritize ethical considerations over commercial interests.
Experience at ThoughtWorks
Cheong joined ThoughtWorks Singapore in 2016 as a User Experience Designer. During her tenure, she worked on public sector projects, including case management systems for social services and dashboards for enforcement agencies. She advanced to the role of Senior UI/UX Designer before becoming Head of Design. In 2020, she also took on the role of Head of Customer Experience, Product and Design in South East Asia.
Previous Work Experience
Before her time at ThoughtWorks, Cheong worked as a UI/UX Designer at PARC from 2013 to 2015, where she completed a six-month internship in 2013. She also served as a Design Researcher at A*STAR from 2010 to 2012. Her diverse experience in design roles has contributed to her expertise in shaping user-centered digital products.
Educational Background
Cheong holds a Master of Design in Interaction Design from Carnegie Mellon University, where she studied from 2012 to 2014. She also completed her Bachelor of Arts in Industrial and Product Design at the National University of Singapore from 2004 to 2008. Additionally, she participated in an exchange semester at Politecnico di Milano in 2007.
Design Philosophy
Cheong practices active listening to understand and shape digital products that meet both business and user needs. She believes that human behaviors are influenced by design decisions, emphasizing the responsibility of designers in creating products that positively impact users. Her approach reflects a commitment to ethical design practices.