meet the beeple: teralyn dang

The team here at beeps has come a long way in reimagining on-call. Our goal of creating a modern on-call platform wouldn’t be possible without the amazing engineers that are working behind the scenes to perfect our product.  While our mission is underway, we wanted to take some time to highlight the individuals that are building beeps from the ground up.

Introducing Teralyn:

Hello from my home office in Los Angeles! I’m the product designer at beeps, caring about things like user experience and look/feel of the product. I probably think too much, especially about the meta-communication and meaning of everything… but yoga and meditation help me process it all more productively (:

Why beeps?

Since I’ve started designing, I’ve been in the developer tool space – from effx (where I first worked with Joey) to Datadog to now beeps. I’ve come to know and love this space, even though a lot of the technicalities are way over my head. The developer workflows are often hairy and filled with hidden constraints, a complex puzzle that demands constant learning and attention. But I love it because I love finding ways to untangle problems and provide a nice experience for people (I’m someone who likes to sit and straighten out tangled necklaces, so that tracks I guess).

With beeps, I don’t have to be a developer to empathize with the human struggle of being on-call. The question of “how can we help soothe the harsh (and oftentimes urgent) reality of developers putting out fires” provides a deeper purpose for me than just designing nice-looking dashboards. I see it as making the work (and life) easier for people who propel technology forward, which in turn allows more time for innovation and advancements for us all. Like I said, I probably think too much about the meaning of everything…. I’m thankful that I get the chance to exercise these thoughts and work through them with our amazing team at beeps. I see our potential –and also the amount of work that we have ahead of us – and I’m excited for it all!

How did you get started in your field?

I studied communications, and was especially interested in interpersonal and technological communications. At the time, I didn’t see UX design as a potential career because I didn’t think I was “artsy” enough. After a few years of soul searching, I finally came to admit my strong desire to do something creative that was still within my interest of communications. I also researched what UX design really meant (spoiler: it’s not just making pixels appear nice on a screen), and taught myself some foundational principles from various online resources. Then to put theory into actual practice, I went through a UX design program to get my hands on some real-life projects. Once I got my first role as a designer,  I’d say that’s when the true learning and growth actually began – and it hasn’t stopped since.

What’s your favorite part about working on a remote team?

Being remote, every form of communication is intentional and valuable. I’m encouraged to document and illustratively present ideas/information in ways that will effectively move things forward, whether that means personally messaging people to get specific feedback/buy-ins or creating a space for feedback and discussion on project details. I’m lucky to work with engineers who are not only potential users but also focused on delivering a nice user experience. It’s motivating to know that I have teammates I can rely on to help me investigate and iterate on designs quickly.

What's one technology trend that really excites you?

May be obvious, but I think human-centered design is always trendy (i.e. it’s timeless). What’s truly interesting is how that concept evolves over time, just as humans do. Tech has evolved to help us navigate the world more efficiently, allowing for a reallocation of (human) energy to build and grow in many different ways. With the rise of AI, specifically, I’m most excited for the human potential that frees up as a result of having virtual “assistants” help us save resources and uncover better synchronicities in the world.

What’s the best piece of advice you’ve ever received? How did it impact your life?

“Treat others how you want to be treated”. I’m constantly reminded to consider the impact of my outputs and inputs, and to strive for positive actions – because what goes around will come around. Also, if you constantly have the focus to create a positive impact with your actions, it just feels freaking good. That’s just a universal human truth.