How Yani Donato Helps Teams Create, Collaborate, and Dream Big l Women at Work

Cosmopolitan Philippines

For #CosmoWomenAtWork, Canva’s Southeast Asia Lead @yani.donato takes us inside the Canva Campus and shares how creatives can stay ahead in 2026.

Transcript

00:00Hi, I'm Yanni. I'm Southeast Asia Lead for Canva and welcome to Cosmo Women at Work.

00:19Welcome Cosmo to Canva's Ground Floor Space. Here you have Kyle, a member of our Vibe team. Hi,

00:25Kyle and the Vibe team make sure that the vibes in a ground floor space always giving really good energy

00:31and connection especially for all the different teams, communities, and guests that we invite in

00:36the space. So you'll see more later on. Let's go. So welcome to our event space. We built this space

00:47in the pandemic. It was really collaborative effort with the team and we were we had really big dreams

00:53you know like once the doors open once again we knew that we wanted a space where our team can thrive

00:59and really express their creativity. So what you see here is just one of the many modes that the space

01:05can be. So this is a lounge mode. Usually when the teams brainstorm or work together they can sit

01:12anywhere. As you can see it's also very locally inspired. There's a lot of local inspirations

01:17everywhere. We like to display and be true to our roots. So some fabric here were given to us by

01:24Ant Hill Fabric and Culture Aid Philippines. And over there maybe some of my favorite features

01:30in this space would be our shelf and the bleachers. And the shelf is really a testament to the use of

01:38this space which is very community driven and community led. So we like to display the things that

01:43we are proud of and the things that make us truly Filipino and the things that make us truly Canva.

01:53So when we think about the philosophy of work or how we want to support our teams in working we really

01:58value three things. Some give them flexibility. We understand that people are in different stages

02:03of their lives so flexibility is really important to people. They can work from home, they can work from

02:08the campus. But equally important is collaboration and connection. So we have really ambitious goals

02:14in Canva and we know that for us to achieve them we need a team that works together. And we also

02:19recognize that there are certain things that are best done together. So the team has the flexibility to

02:24choose where they work but at the same time they know that they have a responsibility to come together

02:29especially when it's a crazy big goal or a problem we've never done before. Hi! So now we are in level

02:35six. It's our dining hall space. Come in! As you can see we have a nice Kamusta mural there. Again

02:41making everybody feel very welcome in the space but also come here so that you can show, I can show

02:46you my favorite part of the mural. This part which reads as anong ulam today. And I think that's really

02:53a true testament to what the purpose of this space for. This is where we have meals together. So even in the

02:58early days of Canva from 2014 to today, eating together is a huge part of our culture. We deliberately

03:05do it. When we share meals together that's where we can have organic conversations, really good ideas,

03:10catch up with another, both on the personal and work front. So lunchtime is very sacred. They actually

03:15call it sacred lunchtime here at Canva. And in here you can see our bar. So you can make your own coffee

03:23to power you up throughout the whole day. I personally love matcha. So not a coffee drinker

03:28but an avid matcha drinker. And then we're in for a treat today for a special merienda. I believe it's

03:35DIY ramen as announced by our board right there. So usually after work around 4, 4.30 to 5,

03:43teams can come up and just grab a snack you know after a long day and just maybe take a breather

03:49after all that they've done. And I want to show you another favorite feature I have of this space.

03:53So this is our caricature wall. I like this wall because it's the caricature wall. So when you turn

04:00five years old or ten years old in Canva years, you get honored by having your own caricature there.

04:07And it's just showing you a lot of like who you are as a person and what your team thinks about you.

04:12So it's a badge of honor to to have a caricature here. So this is me. That was me.

04:19When I turned five years, I was wearing my Little Red Riding Hood costume. I think

04:24I wore it in one of our events here. And I was a new mother. So the baby on the ground is Martina,

04:31who is now four years old. So time flies.

04:38My favorite part of leading Canva Philippines would have to probably be, I'm already laughing

04:43because it will sound cliche, but we really have a special team. I believe, you know, having joined

04:49in 2015, when we were less than 50, I had grown up with a lot of our team members today. So you

04:56witness them not just as they grow in their skills and their roles. We've been through each other's big

05:03moments and hard moments in our personal lives as well. So I think the relationships we've created in

05:09Canva are, at least to me, ones that I will keep forever. And I'm a big fan of the team that we have today.

05:16Inspiration comes from anywhere to me. But a big part of who I am is I'm a mother to a very feisty

05:27four-year-old. So certainly, like, a lot of her ideas, you know, how she sees the world. It's very

05:33naive. It's very pure. So I also like to, you know, wear my full-time mom hat and really meet my daughter

05:39where she's at and how she's appreciating the world. And, you know, I shared earlier, like, that's

05:44why I was able to make a short films or short animations. It's through the stories that she

05:47tells me, the questions that she asks me. I think my biggest source of creativity that grounds me

05:53and excites me is my daughter.

05:57Food is a love language of the Filipinos. So we have a snack station here. Truly local branding with a

06:03jeepney science here. So you can take what you want and get my personal favorite, monami and

06:09chocolate. So yeah, thank you to our vibe teams for organizing this space and making it really,

06:16I think, just ready for all of us to take off our stress and eat together and get together after a long

06:22day. And welcome to the level seven space where a lot of the actual work happens. And here is my

06:28workstation. So normally when I'm at the office, this is where I stay. I like staying here because

06:33I'm close to many of the team members and access to a big meeting room. And also I really like

06:38looking at the outside too with nature. So this is my favorite spot in the office.

06:47So my typical work day usually starts around the 6, 6 in the morning. So waking up, spend a few

06:54minutes with my daughter and then I get ready. And it depends on where I am for the day. Sometimes

06:59I work from home when it's a day filled with meetings. So it's just most optimal use of my

07:03time if I'm mostly on the screen. But on a day where there's less meetings, I really like spending

07:08time on the campus. So usually two, three times a week. I'm on the campus, I come here, this is my

07:14workstation, maybe have a little matcha. And then I look at my calendar and just see what I have planned

07:19for the day. And then yeah, usually I just get through all the things that I have to do. And then by lunch,

07:24I spend time with the team eating in level 6 as we've seen. And then come back up here or it depends

07:29if we have guests or meetings with partners, we meet with them. And then usually just throughout

07:35the day, it's either meetings or focus work or externally going out of the campus. And then

07:40usually I try to end work around, if I start at 7, I try to end around 4 to 5. And then really

07:46giving my space some time to breathe and be present with my daughter.

07:55Before Canva, I was a recruiter in executive search. And I would say like I had a pretty

08:00traditional upbringing, you know, two parents in the public sector, my sister in corporate.

08:04So that was to me the norm. But being in Canva, I really felt like this was a free space where I

08:10really felt encouraged to be me and encouraged to take big steps regardless of the title that you

08:15hold. You know, before Canva, siguro yung perspective ko in life is your accolades

08:20and your titles unlock responsibility and more impact. But in Canva, it made me realize that no,

08:25it's just your skill and your attitude. No matter what your role is in the organization,

08:31as long as you're able to say yes and you're supported, you can really achieve so much. And that

08:36comes with creativity as well. Canva helped me be more creative, be more bold and set crazy big

08:41goals and make them happen, which is ironically one of our Canva goals of Canva values as well.

08:52Well, I think Gen Z's or at least the younger population are very bold today. I could see them

08:57have a lot of confidence, which actually is something I wish I had when I was younger. So I would say keep

09:03being bold, keep being authentic. And at the same time, I would say like continue to persist hard

09:09work. Nothing worth it comes easy. So continue to work hard and put your mind into things that you

09:14want to do so that you're able to achieve them in the future.

09:22You know, when I joined Canva in 2015, one of the things that really hooked me to join, and back

09:29then it was a startup, people barely knew about it. But the mission was very clear, empower the world

09:35to design. And there's also a two step plan. Step one, be one of the most valuable companies in the

09:41world. And step two, do the most good we possibly can. And I can see our founders and team really live

09:46by that. And that's one thing that really makes my time here at Canva really special. Because I feel

09:51like beyond building a product that helps many people, we also give back a lot and spend intentional

09:57time volunteering and helping in the education space. And it really does feel like you are working

10:01towards something bigger than yourself with a purpose that serves the whole world. And that makes

10:07me really feel proud to work at Canva and gives me a lot of fulfillment in the type of work that I do.

10:12And that's a wrap. Thank you for joining us in the Canva tour and getting to know me today.

10:17Hope that I was able to import something with you today and you are leaving this video inspired.

10:22Thank you, Cosmo. Goodbye. See you soon.

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