Meet the Team: Faith Ong, Client Manager & Web Developer

Wrapping up our team spotlight series is Faith Ong, our Client Manager and Web Developer. Faith wears two hats here, keeping client relationships running smoothly while also being hands-on in the build. We asked her a few questions to help you get to know the person behind both roles.

What’s your role at UNFINISHED, and what does a typical day look like for you?

‍I’m a Client Manager and Web Developer at UNFINISHED, so my role is a mix of managing client relationships and projects while also being hands-on in building websites. On the client management side, I help communicate with clients, translate their feedback and business needs into actionable next steps, and make sure what we’re building is ultimately bringing value to them. A typical day for me HAS to start with a cup of coffee - I'm obsessed My go-to is a vanilla latte, usually from La La Land Cafe or whatever local coffee shop I’m loving at the moment. Then I’ll log on, start work, and pretty much grind for the rest of the day. Depending on the project, I’m bouncing between client calls/comms, coordinating projects and deliverables, development, QA, and solving whatever problems come up along the way. Once I’m off, you’ll usually catch me working out, hanging with friends, cooking, or going out for fooood.

‍What drew you to this kind of work in the first place?

‍I actually majored in electrical and computer engineering and started my career in a pretty traditional engineering corporate environment. I eventually realized it wasn’t where I wanted to be, so I quit my job without fully knowing what was next and spent a lot of time praying and asking God where He wanted me to go and what He created me to do career-wise.Around that same time, a friend needed a website and asked if I could build it, so even though I’ve never made a site before I said yes, figured it out as I went, and ended up realizing how much I loved it. Web design and development felt like the perfect combination of creativity and design with the technical problem-solving I loved from my engineering background.From there I just kept doing it, getting better, and slowly built a career out of it. Now I’m genuinely obsessed with design and branding, love the problem-solving that comes with development, and really value the creativity and flexibility that come with this kind of work.

‍What’s your favorite part of working with our clients?

‍I love the range of businesses within SaaS that we get to work with at UNFINISHED because I’m constantly getting to learn about businesses and industries I probably wouldn’t otherwise know much about. I also really appreciate how much our clients care about what they do. There’s something really rewarding about working with great people who are passionate about their company and then getting to help translate that into something digital that actually brings value to their business.

‍What’s one thing you wish more people knew about what you do?

‍Probably how much intentionality and problem-solving goes into a really good website. It can be easy to look at a finished site and think, “Oh, that looks nice,” without realizing how many decisions went into making it look and work that way.There’s the design and development, but there’s also user experience, responsiveness, accessibility, SEO, performance, content strategy, project management, client needs, business goals, and a million tiny decisions in between. I really love figuring out how all of those pieces work together and then seeing everything come to fruition in something that looks good and genuinely works for the client.

‍What do you do outside of work when you’re not building/managing things?

‍I like working out and playing volleyball! I also grew up in my church, so it really feels like a second family to me. I’m pretty involved there and I lead the worship team. Outside of that, I love traveling, spending time with my friends and family, and I looove movies. I’m always going to the theater, immediately rating whatever I watched on Letterboxd, and then falling down a rabbit hole of YouTube analyses afterward.

‍What’s a skill or hobby you have that has nothing to do with your job?

‍I’m pretty musical! I sing and play both acoustic guitar and piano. I taught myself guitar and now lead worship with it, but I actually took piano lessons for 10 years growing up. Also not sure if this counts as a skill, but I can bench 135 lbs

‍Who’s your dream client?

‍Probably a brand like Apple, Spotify, Nike, Figma, Starbucks/La La Land Cafe, Glossier, or Graza — basically a brand I already use or admire that has really iconic branding and is super intentional about design. I’d love getting to work on something where design is treated as such an important part of the brand and user experience, especially at that scale.

‍What’s your advice for someone just starting out in your field?

‍Don’t wait until you feel ready or until everything is perfect, just start making things and get the reps in. I’m naturally a perfectionist, and one of the biggest things I’ve had to learn is that it’s usually better to put something out there, learn from it, and keep iterating than to wait forever trying to make it perfect.Believe in yourself enough to try things you might not feel completely qualified for yet, be okay with messing up, and stay curious. A lot of getting good at something is just doing it over and over again. And I think it’s really important to genuinely love what you do! When you do, the desire to keep learning, improving, and pushing yourself comes so much more naturally.

From a career pivot that started with one favor for a friend to leading worship on the weekends, Faith brings the same intentionality to every website she touches that she brings to everything else in her life. Whether she's on a client call or deep in development, it's clear she genuinely loves what she does, and that shows in the work.