A Little Bit About Me…
While you have got to know me a little through my resume, here is a bit more.
I am a human-centered designer, researcher, media professional and storyteller. I have a Master's in Media Design from Emerson College and was previously trained as a journalist. When I graduated, I realized my inclinations had always been in creation and design which are evident even in my journalism work. In my journalistic career, I was able to learn the basic principles of the media and some skills that were carried forward. Now that you have seen my work, I want to tell you about how I approach my design process, and why.
My Design Philosophy
Human First
My passions are rooted in service for people and by people. My design thinking processes incorporate values of empathy, understanding, and dialogue. My work so far is rooted in deep listening, community connection, and feedback loops. Taking from IDEO’s basic design methodology - EMPATHIZE > DEFINE > IDEATE > PROTOTYPE > TEST , I try my best to include people in every step of my process. This is why I call myself human-centered designer rather than a user experience or product designer.
Cross-Functional Teams
My projects are a result of the work and effort of people from various disciplines. I believe that good work is a result of great teams who bring a myriad of perspectives, ideologies and talents to the table. Steve Jobs once said that his work was a result of the marriage between technology and the liberal arts. I believe I have done my best work with people who came from varying jobs and skills.
Emerging Technology (AI, VR)
I am enthusiastic about technology and have used various software throughout my design work. Sometimes I like to experiment with unrelated software products to think about program and project interfaces just because of my interest in emerging technology. I think it is important for designers and storytellers to learn as many technological and media-based inventions as it can be supplemental to the work. I am currently interested in the applications of Artificial Intelligence in my work. I have used programs such as MidJourney and DALL-E as well as generative fills in Adobe for some of my interface designs. I also love immersive media, have done research and media production within VR and 360 video.
Story Based Designs
I have used the word storyteller a few times at this point but what does it mean? There is a story behind every single company, product, and intervention. That could be a story to contribute to an existing narrative (such as Uber within transportation) or to disrupt one (like Apple with smartphones and iPads). When we design, we are essentially communicating the story of the company or the product whether it is through a website, an app, or a physical intervention. In this, it is important to keep in mind what that story is- what is it that we are telling the world with our work. I have tried to build my website as a story too- a story of Riddhima as a designer. This is my design philosophy.
Accessibility
My education in journalism taught me the value of being simple, a journalist’s writing is supposed to be legible to any person with an 8th-grade education. I have carried this value over to my design methodology and aimed to make my work accessible to people with minimal digital skills. Things like language accessibility, learning accessibility and digital ease of use are some of my key considerations when working within digital forms of production. I also want to be especially considerate of cultural translations. We do not have to make our work cater to some groups when we can make our work cater to all.