Moving to the UK was never part of Nadira’s plans. Growing up in Shah Alam, she had not considered living outside Malaysia. After spending two years indoors during the Covid-19 pandemic, she began to wonder about unexplored opportunities beyond Malaysia. Motivated to take risks while young, Nadira set sights on the UK, pursuing her passion for creative arts with a degree in Graphic Design from the University of the Arts London.
Love at first snap
Growing up as a quadruplet twin, Nadira felt a strong desire to prove herself different from her siblings. When one sibling showed interest in a topic, she felt determined to explore something else. As she and her friends experimented with new hobbies and unique interests, Nadira found herself enjoying the creative process. Without realising it, her life changed remarkably after a single snap of a picture. 
Nadira recounts picking up a camera for the first time and realising that taking photos and editing were something she loved doing. Since then, she’s fallen in love with film and videography, and continues to take on projects as a wedding videographer in her free time, filming over 30 weddings with her creative partner. However , a desire for a more stable job that allowed her more creative freedom led her to discover her second love: graphic design.
Creating with Malaysia in mind
Though her time in the UK has been fruitful and filled with creative opportunities, Nadira continues to draw from her Malaysian culture. She shares that some of her proudest works include projects such as Ramadan Tent, celebrating the Ramadan Festival, and Tube Sarong, which marks Malaysia Day in the UK by wearing Malaysian sarongs on the train.
Many Malaysian creatives abroad seem to draw from their roots when expressing artistically. For example, professional pianist Mei Yi, who uses traditional Malaysian soundscapes when composing, or Shirlyn Low’s integration of batik within her art. As for Nadira, plenty of her graphic design projects also include Islamic elements and designs and Malaysian batik.
Her roots as a proud Malaysian and Muslim show beautifully through her work as a creative. Though she has not yet had the chance to collaborate with Malaysians abroad in her field, she has been in touch with other Malaysians abroad such as Ayne Zarof, a children’s doctor and writer on potential collaborations.
She also keeps an eye open for opportunities with companies back in Malaysia and looks forward to being able to collaborate with more Malaysians in the future with the help of MyHeart’s Collaboration module, which allows Malaysians around the world to post their projects and find other Malaysian collaborators.
A final chance for a pencil
Nadira expresses that moving to the UK was not an easy journey for her . Without any scholarships to help her financially, Nadira had to work many jobs to make ends meet as she made her way through university. Though it was hard, she feels grateful for those jobs as it led her to creating her portfolio, meeting her current clients and getting an internship with one of her dream design agencies. A feat that was aided by a decision she made in her final year of university to take a leap – in the form of a pencil.
“The Design & Advertising (D & AD) awards are essentially this Oscar-like event where the best creatives, the best creative directors and design directors get together.” – Nadira, on D & AD awards.
The D & AD awards are highly prestigious, with over 8000 submissions from 60 countries in the year 2025. Being 24 and in her last year of university, Nadira knew it was her last chance to submit her creative works to the Graphite New Blood Pencil category – a category which honours up and coming creatives still in university or below the age of 24.
As she worked on her submission while keeping up with her university assignments and jobs, Nadira recalls hardly sleeping or eating at the time of the awards submissions. Thankfully, all her hard work prevailed when she was announced the winner of the Graphite New Blood Pencil category, making a name for herself in the creative industry and solidifying herself as a force to be reckoned with in her field.
Now, Nadira is well on her way towards becoming a household name in graphic design, while proudly showcasing her Malaysian colours on her back, staying true to her roots and collaborating with other Malaysians to do her part on putting a spotlight on Tanah Airku.
If you’d like to collaborate with talented Malaysians across the globe, like Nadira, you can do so through the MyHeart platform. Click here to register today.
