I went on a business trip to Kathmandu, Nepal, in January 2024. It was great to finally meet Suyesh, the Chief Marketing Officer, and Prashant, the Studio Lead.
The Purpose:
The goal of this trip was to introduce myself as the new Daraz Regional Creative Lead, share what I have done for the pass 2 months, and explain how I can contribute to their daily tasks.
The Challenges:
- Gap between designers and stakeholders: Both designers and stakeholders had their own opinions on visuals, making it difficult to align their perspectives.
- Work outside their own field: The Nepal studio team adopted a collaborative approach where everyone contributed skills beyond their own field. For example, a video editor was doing graphic work. There was some concern about whether other team members were comfortable with this approach, as designers might receive criticism from those who are not experts in their field.
- Fine-tune the brand guidelines: Identify and resolve the issues faced by the Nepal team, review the existing guidelines, and determine if updates are needed.
Actions taken:
- Speak to the team lead: Gain a better understanding of the studio team and their pain points. Provide suggestions on their pain points and brainstorm ideas on the spot.
- Prepare a design audit presentation: Once I received feedback from the team lead, I listed areas for improvement and highlighted best industry practices.
- Conducted a workshop: Invited the branding team and designers to come together and understand each other’s roles in a project, aiming to bridge the gap between the designers and the stakeholders.
- Refined the brand guidelines: Include more real-life examples and solutions, providing better clarity to avoid similar issues happen again in the future.
- Built rapport. With more comprehensive brand guidelines, the design team and their stakeholders can consistently refer to the dos and don’ts, avoid conflicts, and streamline their daily work processes.
The view from the office was amazing! Unfortunately, I couldn’t meet Shesam, the Design Lead, because of his earlier accident.
I was very happy to finally meet Anushana in person, the offsite design lead from the studio team. I am grateful that she shared her honest feedback with me during the trip, and I was thankful to have her as my buddy while I was in Kathmandu. She took me out for lunch and gave me a ride on her motorcycle, which was my first experience on a motorcycle. I realised it was not easy to balance as a passenger while the bike moved.
People in Nepal are indeed very friendly. They will randomly say hi and introduce themselves when they see a new face. I made new connections with Amul, the Senior Brand Manager, and his teammate Prashansha. It was so nice of them to drive me to a place with an amazing rooftop view while enjoying Newari dishes.
Here is a photo of me with the branding team: Amul, Shishir, Soniya Shahi, Rashmita, and Prashansha.
Nepal has a vibrant culture with different ethnic groups living together. Therefore, it is crucial for the designers to understand what is relevant and eye-catching for the people in order to boost Daraz’s business.
I got to try one of the famous dishes in Nepal, the Momo. Unlike the Chinese dumplings I am used to, these are filled with meat and spices, creating a delicious combination. The photo next to it is a Thakali Khana set, a traditional dish from the Thakali ethnic group. They pour ghee on the rice, which gives it a taste that reminds me of cookies.
During this trip, I also realised that QR code payment is implemented in most places. However, some places have limitations for foreigners who need to pay by credit card. However, I am glad to see that the locals are utilising the digital payment system, which can make it easier for them to make purchases from Daraz.
This is a small business near the office offering great tea and childhood snacks.
After a long and intensive week, we rewarded ourselves with a good lunch and a mini visit around Durbar Square. The people here lead a slower-paced life compared to Singapore, and their digital integration is catching up. I see tremendous potential for e-commerce growth here, especially with the increasing use of digital payment and Daraz’s established presence in the market.
Here is a photo of me with the studio team. I wish them all the best in their future careers.
I am also very happy to finally make friends with Kaylene and Yi Xiu from the commercial team. Thanks for adopting me so that I didn’t have to be so alone on this trip.
Here are some other interesting photos I took in Kathmandu:
