It’s ironic that despite dealing with mountains of texts in her daily job as a lawyer, Wan Nurul Hajar Azim’s first love is actually the creative arts.
Growing up as a quiet introvert, she developed a deep appreciation for arts and visuals for their power to capture and communicate beyond words. From the realism techniques of the Renaissance period to Hayao Miyazaki’s intricately detailed portrayal of humanity, and the unorthodox genre-bending storytelling of film directors like Christopher Nolan, Wes Anderson, Tim Burton and Stanley Kubrick, Hajar’s love for art has both breadth and depth.
Despite considering a degree in architecture, Hajar ended up pursuing a Bachelor of Law at International Islamic University of Malaysia to great success. But like water flowing through a river’s carved path, her burning love for graphics and design never wavered which is how Hajar found herself at the Digital Entrepreneur programme after stumbling on Mereka’s instagram.
Prior to joining, she had tried to self-learn the ins and outs of digital marketing with the hopes of parlaying her love for visuals into freelance graphic design roles. But the vast and unvetted information available on the Internet were often perplexing and the foundations offered through the programme turned out to be exactly what she needed with its comprehensive modules.
“What helped me the most is how comprehensive and engaging the programme is. The theories taught and assigned tasks reflect the demands of the gig economy while still being beginner friendly,” shares Hajar.
Through the programme, Hajar has also identified future plans to refine her love for visual aesthetic into UI (User Interface) design. In this increasingly digital world, the ability to humanise technology through good design will definitely be a much needed 21st century skill.
“Technology is basically a bunch of code. But it is the UI & UX (user experience) designer that helps people connect and interact with technology through a human level. I want to venture more into UI because I love the psychology behind human interaction with technology and the fact that you, as a designer, are free to explore the possibilities of these interactions,” shared Hajar.
Since Hajar is currently a full-time pupil in chambers, she struggles to juggle part-time gigs. But with plans to build an established portfolio through freelance roles with friends and family, she will slowly but surely make the great leap to full gig work that better suits her task-oriented working style.
We wish Hajar all the best with her future endeavours and follow her on LinkedIn!
