Hello! We are 55 Minutes.
We are a design studio dedicated to creating solutions by understanding people’s emotional, functional, and social needs.
How we started
Often, the design process is not inclusive of the end-user and decisions are made on designers’ personal preferences, finite life experiences, or limited information from the client. This leads to dissatisfaction for the end-user.
Co-founders, Han Shih and Wendy, having worked together for more than 10 years, recognized this issue and realized there had to be a better approach to design. Thus, the 55 Minutes studio was born to bring about meaningful innovation, using design effectively to solve problems.
What drives us
Our day-to-day mission is to design products and services that are a joy to use.
We are taking small steps to build a world where emotions and empathy are embedded into daily life.
“If I had an hour to solve a problem and my life depended on the solution, I would spend the first 55 minutes determining the proper question to ask, for once I know the proper question, I could solve the problem in less than five minutes.”
Behind our name
Inspired by a more effective and creative way to do design—to know who we are designing for and what their world is like—we want to dedicate the problem-framing stage the time it deserves. We feel that Albert Einstein’s quote truly captures that essence, so much so that the quote gave us our name, 55 Minutes! Did we mention that our co-founder, Han Shih, is also a fan of the infamous physicist?
Meet the team
Our team is just as important as our approach
A bunch of designers at heart, we are always curious about understanding humans.
Lee Han Shih
Co-Founder/Director
Having spent a lifetime of being misunderstood, Han Shih fully appreciates the importance of good user experience and hopes 55 Minutes will help him connect with others better (although he still doesn't exactly know why he should not keep dropping bad puns in conversations).
Wendy Wong
Co-Founder/Managing & Creative Director
The mother hen who keeps the flock together, Wendy is curious about human behaviour and passionate about using design thinking to solve problems. She often has a million things on her mind—from what could be a better UX, and tracking timelines, to attending the next Zoom call. And what to eat for lunch.
Luke Chen
UX Lead
The cool and calm nature of Luke makes him a perfect person to oversee multiple projects and communicate with different teammates. By day, he works hard at understanding different user needs, creating effective user journeys, and designing detailed wireframes. By night, he is a drummer for hire.
Adeline Kuswanto
Product Designer
With years of professional training and an innate drive for excellence, Adeline can easily spot if a margin is off by one pixel from a metre away. She is determined to create solutions that are not only aesthetically pleasing but also functionally sound. She likes challenging herself, even if it means trying 20 different ways to crack open a coconut.
Elaine Oh
UI/UX Designer
Elaine’s approach to design is to tap into what makes us human—our emotions. She believes good design involves understanding who she’s designing for and how design makes them feel. For her to be pixel perfect when creating digital interfaces on Figma, she needs a good breakfast. Coffee is a must too.
Pradnya Nirgun
UI/UX Designer
Pradnya loves a good challenge and takes care of app and website designs with an unfaltering positive energy and a can-do spirit. As a designer, she takes inspiration from everything around her, which is why her dream is to travel to all corners of the world. She also wears the hat of a burger connoisseur.
Aurelia Harjanto
UX Researcher/Designer
Aurelia is passionate about using the right research methods to collect insights about people and the problems they face. She balances integrating human needs with research data well. When she is not using her strong organisational skills to plan for and conduct research, she bakes and sends GIFs to show her love.
Min Hye Yoon
UX Researcher/Designer
Hye Yoon is relentless in her pursuit of understanding humans and taps on her empathy when planning and executing research activities. Other than methods like card sorting and body storming, Hye Yoon enjoys meeting others to learn about their behaviour through user interviews. She also tremendously enjoys bubble tea.
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