Introducing our “Day in the Life” series! In this series, you’ll get to know some of the amazing people who make up Sun Life's global Design practice. Get an inside look into their daily activities and what they enjoy most about working in Design at Sun Life.

In this first installment, we connected with Sade Fape. Sade is a Senior Journey Design Researcher from Toronto, Canada. Read on to find out what a typical day looks like!

What is your title, and how would you describe your role?

I am a Senior Journey Design Researcher, and my role is to help amplify the voice of the customer. My role acts as a bridge between Sun Life and our Clients’ wants and needs. We try to understand the way they think and make decisions so we can respond accordingly. For example, for our wealth Clients, we consider what factors might affect the amount they put into to their investment accounts. How do they approach retirement or financial planning? Are they experiencing poverty? Are they carrying a lot of debt? What financial responsibilities are they carrying? By analyzing these questions, Senior Design Journey Researchers can help the business understand how we can best support the Client.

What is your morning routine before you start work for the day?

I am not a morning person. However, I have found a few techniques for hyping myself up for the workday. I work from home, but still force myself to get up at least an hour before my day starts. I usually start the day by going for a walk or listening to either classical music or a true crime podcast. It fascinates me to hear how criminals, and people in general, think. Which probably explains why I was drawn to a career like research! Afterwards, I usually put together my to-do list for the day.

What are some of your day-to-day tasks?

I usually distribute my focus among one to two projects at a time. Depending on the project's scope, my tasks may include:

• scheduling and conducting interviews with Sun Life members to answer specific research or business questions,
• reviewing in-house research,
• meeting with stakeholders,
• creating journey maps/blueprints,
• planning workshops for stakeholders,
• designing elements and
• developing presentations

These are just a few examples. No day is ever the same!

What is your favourite part of your role?

My favourite part of my role is giving stakeholders those “ah-ha” moments. Especially when introducing them to different perspectives they hadn’t thought of, or ones we explored on a deeper level. I also appreciate building trusting relationships with key partners, allowing the relationship to evolve into one of strategic partners.

If you never worked another day in your life, what would you be doing?

This is an easy one; I would travel. I've already been to 28-29 countries. My most recent trips including Kenya, the United Kingdom, Greece, Barbados, Taiwan, Austria and Ghana. However, Taiwan has been my favourite thus far. I’d love to visit Malta next.