Melbourne, July 27th, 2021

Based in Australia, Mindly Studio is a strategic design studio, creating genius brand experiences.

They work with responsible retail, service and technology brands in Australia, helping brands to stand out from the crowd and turn their customers into raving fans. Mindly combines design, strategy, marketing and technology to deliver world-class digital products. Natalia Szczypek and Daniel Bulut started Mindly Studio in early 2020, right before the pandemic.

In an interview with TIA, Szczypek explained why they decided to start their own agency and the challenges they have faced due to Covid-19. She highlighted the elements that make Mindly stand out and gave advice for women aiming for leadership position.

To kick things off, what do you love the most about your country and what’s one must-do experience in Melbourne?

People here are quite respectful of each other. Australia is one big multicultural country. Because there’s so much cultural diversity here, everyone is from somewhere. When you come from overseas, you don’t feel like a stranger, because everyone is a ‘stranger’.

I’m a big nature lover and I think Dandenong Ranges is a must see place, it’s a rainforest getaway very close to the city. In the city, I think Melbourne’s art exhibitions are essential experiences, like National Gallery of Victoria, ACMI and just Melbourne’s Alleyway Street Art.

How was the day you co-found the agency with Daniel Bulut?

We were both really inspired by the idea of starting our own business to make a positive change in the world. We took out a big notepad and brainstormed what we wanted to do, which ended up turning into our purpose and values. It motivated us and fired up a deep passionate within.

Can you tell us about your role and what you’re focusing on?

Because we’re still a small team, there are a lot of different hats I wear every day. From the client side, my main role is being a design director, where I’m focusing on executing all aspects of the projects to reach the desired outcome. I’m mostly focused on creating user interfaces and branding.

What makes Mindly stand out?

We’re not a big agency that mostly cares about profit and not much about clients. We’re a small and dedicated team that really wants to bring change to the world by helping our clients. We treat their business like our own and like the world depends on it. Both Daniel and I have diverse cultural backgrounds and life experience and we take bring this perspective and understanding of people into all our design.

In your opinion, what ingredients are key to create a successful design project?

Starting with empathy and understanding people involved in the design is essential.

User research is critical for getting insights and optics into the problems being faced. We have a human-centred approach to all our design and prioritise usability, functionality, accessibility and communication to deliver a successful outcome.

Tell us about a recent project you’ve worked on that you’re proud of. What particularly brought out the best in you?

Recently, we worked on a large news platform for an international student community in Melbourne. I’m really proud of this project because we got to uncover big challenges that international students face with human-centred design.

We designed and developed a new website platform for the community that gives international students support with what they need most.

Before performing the user research, we didn’t really realise the major struggles that international students face and by understanding this we were able to design an effective outcome.

What would be your dream design project or collaboration to be a part of?

I would like to be part of a design project that is innovative and revolutionary. Especially in the areas of climate change and human rights. I would like to be part of something big that makes a difference to people’s lives, raises awareness and creates change around big problems our society is facing.

What was the toughest challenge you faced when growing a business?

It was definitely the financial and sales side of things in the business. Neither Daniel or I had experience starting our own business before and we struggled to get clients in the beginning.

We started in early 2020, right before COVID, which caused a lot of uncertainty. Because of our lack of financial and sales experience and COVID, we were starting to question if starting our own business was the right thing to do and if we should give up. But we were persistent, and we knew what our purpose was.

We never lost our passion and belief in Mindly Studio and helping make a positive impact to the world.

What advice do you have for women aiming for leadership positions?

To never doubt your own capabilities and possibilities. There is so much abundance in life. Always aim high and don’t think something is not possible just because someone tried to put you down or because you’ve had a limiting belief for years. You can do anything you set your mind to.

Is there a question you wish people would ask you more often?

I don’t have anything in mind, but I am always open to answering any questions people have.

Can you name a fun-fact people would be surprised to learn about you?

I lived my whole life in Poland up until I was 20 years old. I came to Australia for a holiday and loved it so much that I decided to stay. After 3 years of living in Australia I started Mindly Studio with Daniel.

Thanks Natalia!

Learn more about Mindly

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BrandingDesignDiversityinsightsLeadershipMelbournePeopleprojectsUsabilityuser interfacesUser research