Design Values - 4 Steps to Becoming a Legendary Designer

Welcome to Design for Change. Thank you for staying tuning in with me. And through Design for Change we are impacting thousands and thousands of designers across 20 plus countries. Guys, we have touched 20 plus countries and consistently 4000 impressions are happening in Spotify. And lot of listeners are really getting benefited the way in which the engagement happens. Okay, I'm really happy. And I'm also having a very good surprise news that which I've told you in the last podcast as well, that we are actually going to release a separate special episode for real Change through design. What is going to happen in the systems? Okay, but today we have a very interesting topic to discuss. You know what, if you really understand what we are discussing today, this will flip your career in a totally 360 degree angle. You will not expect this topic from me. But let me tell you guys, having your own design values, being a designer, if you really wanted to become a legendary designer, you don't need just skill set, you don't need just mindset. You need to have a value. We'll talk about that in this podcast. Okay, so have a diary and a notepad with you because this is going to be a very, very impactful podcast. Only if you write down whatever I'm telling you in this podcast. Okay, so let's jump into this podcast. Guys. Let me tell you why it is very vital for a designer to really have a value system. Because a lot of times what happens is people really back off from this career. People do a very substandard work or because of recessions, people are thrown out of the industry and they find a different career. And people who are even getting 25 LPA, 30 LPA, 40 LPA. I've seen them flipping industries in just a span of one week or one month. It's all because of not having the skills. It's not because of job vacancy, it's not because of the recession. Let me tell you very clearly, this is all because of not having a proper value system. Yes, definitely it's true. Guys, you might not be agreeing with me, but stay till the end of this podcast, you will know why. It's not about the skill set. As I already told you again, it's not about the mindset. Also, it's beyond having your own value system of what is really driving you as a designer. People sometimes don't stop at this point. They think these are all very Baba kind of a topic or some spiritual leaders will talk about it and we don't need this. No guys, any industry. If you go very big industry, I'M saying let it be design studio, let it be any big company or design studios go to their websites and see they will have a vision, they will have a mission, they will have a value system. Why do they really do that? See, by exploring why you have a solid value system, it is a paramount importance of, of being a very successful designer in your career. Can I tell you guys, studies have shown that designers who really align their work with a set of core values tend to produce a more impactful and meaningful design rather than just completing a project and submitting it. That is the first segment of this podcast. Having a very, very strong value system. Being a designer. Please pause this podcast, write about what do you think is really important for you when you design something? It could be aesthetics, it could be functionality, it could be people, it could be impactful. What you wanted to create through design, it could be something else. Guys, I'm just giving you an example. First, take two to three minutes and write about why you really wanted to become a designer. And what is the thing which you think about design? Like what's your value? I told you, right? It could be aesthetics, functional, I mean anything. Don't get biased by what I'm saying, but just write on your own. Let me tell you guys, I hope you would have done this activity Pausing this podcast. Renowned UX designers really attribute their groundbreaking application design, website design, user centric design. They really prioritize the user needs, functionality, aesthetics, accessibility. They receive a widespread global reach for the product, what they make. They even go across countries, by the way, in which they really think about making an inclusive design. Are you getting the difference? People who don't have the value system, people who don't think about in a very deeper way, they just make some application, put some colors, put something, create some product or a solution or a service, they just send it. Not even your customer will be really happy. Maybe if they're happy, that's okay. Your product reach will be very, very small. It doesn't. I mean it will have, it will not have a big impact. So understand this guys. All this holistic perspective will come only once you start understanding your value system. Okay, let's move into the second segment of this podcast. Building your own value system. Okay, so you said jagdish, why it is important to have a value system. So how do I build it? If you have written something in your diary, first step, now expand upon these points. Like let's say if you would have written three points or maybe two points or even one point, that's okay. Expand upon what makes you really write this. Like let's say if you would have thought that design is all about creating some impactful change, maybe I'm taking an example. Maybe you should have written that. Go and retrospect yourself. What makes you really write that? Maybe some YouTube video would have inspired you. Maybe some designer would have inspired you. Maybe some places would have inspired you. Maybe some real reason. Like let's say in government there is no big change happening for poverty, education, unemployment. Maybe through your design value system. Maybe you could have addressed it or you are thinking you can address by designing some meaningful products and services or policies through which change can happen. Please go and retrospect this guy. Spot this, pause this podcast and do this. I hope you would have done. Let me tell you my own value system. Why I really wanted to become a designer. I really wanted to serve in a very honest way being a designer, you know. Can I tell you something very honestly? In my design interview, I've been asked this question. What is the one thing which you can bring being a designer? They asked you. Okay, I know this is a very deep answer. Deep, deep question. It's not like hey, I wanted to become, I wanted to make aesthetic products. I wanted to make my product usable by everybody. I did not give this obvious answer. You know what I was thinking for a moment? I was really going into myself deep. I'm not worried about what are they really going to think about. Myself, I really don't have any. What you call fear of judgment, nothing. I answered them very spontaneously. I really want to bring a honesty in my design. What I believe lot of products and service doesn't have a honesty. Sometimes it is driven towards more of a business side. Sometimes it is driven towards more of a governmental and people side. But it is not either balanced properly. So as a designer, I wanted to bring that honesty in my design. I wanted to really make a very honest design principles and I wanted to design and solve the problems. You know what? I got selected in the best design college in the country, which is nid. People don't take you for your portfolio, guys. People take you for your value system. This is a big case study. You can have my own story. Nothing else will change you. If you really wanted to check that. My director, NID's director is Praveen Nahar. He is a current NID's director. When I attended the interview, he was the head of product design. He was the one who recruited me for studying. You know how much students NID takes for each year? Just 15 students. 15 out of the 10,000 and 15,000 students they apply finally. So I also had a very big portfolio. I thought I will be selected based on the sketches, based on the rendering, based on the beautiful sketching I make and the concept and the design, what I make. No, it all comes finally to that one answer. They also flipped my portfolio, but they took only two minutes to flip my portfolio. That's it. They asked me only one question in my portfolio from where did you learn the sketching? Jagdish? I told I learned from YouTube. Okay, that's it. They closed and then they gave me the portfolio. It's like for a namesake, they did some what you call portfolio flipping because I should not get disheartened. I had a very big file, lot of drawings was there and they don't want to disappoint me for that sake. They dragged my portfolio on the table, they flipped the pages and then they moved it. But the way in which they asked and way in which they observed my answer, that really got me that particular thing. I was not knowing that at that point of time. After the interview, I told my senior, one of my senior is already a Nadi student. I told him this is what is the question they asked senior. But I was not expecting this. This seems like a very simple question, but I really understood in a more deeper way. He said that's all about Nid Jagdish. They wanted to understand what are the perspectives you can bring from your own culture, from your own way, from your own value system, what you really bring in. That is where I started seeing everything in a whole different perspective. Guys. It's not about the concept, what you make, it's not about the idea what you make. It's about the deep thinking. Where is your product design values really lying? Maybe some people will write about sustainability, some people write about eco friendly design, some people will write about aesthetics, some people will write about business values, some people will make about conscious consumption for their customers. It's fine guys. Take your own value system and then integrate it into your design principles. Let me tell you guys, if you understand the second segment of this podcast, building your own value system and expanding on the point of your first segment of your podcast, you're really going to have a blast in your career. Skies. Okay, I hope you would have done this. Now let's go to the third important segment of this podcast which is long term thinking and setting a very big goals and dreams. Let me tell you guys, beyond day to day design work, what you do have a Very long term thinking, 10 years from now, 20, 34 January, what you really wanted to become. Pause this podcast, close your eyes for a second, a minute and think where you really wanted to reach being a designer. I'll give you two options. One is you can take about 10 years. Another is you can take about 25 years, maybe 2040 where you wanted to become. Right? That's a 15 years I would say. Or maybe you can take 2050. 2050. A lot of people, you know, guys, can I tell you something? Very honestly, A lot of people don't even think that they will live up to 2050. They are deceased in their mindset. They are thinking, I have a lot of problems, I will die soon. Environment is getting polluted. I will also die soon. Please don't have this mindset, guys, think in a very positive note. In 25 years, where do you want to really become as a designer? You don't have to write it down, you can just think it down. If you feel like, okay, nobody's gonna really judge me, then you can write it down. Fine guys, 10 years or 25 years, or even 2040 or 2050, you can write, have your two things personally as well as professionally being a designer. If you feel like sharing with you, sharing with me, you can write it down in the podcast description, guys. I'll be more happy to check it down. Okay, when you are, whenever you're writing a goal, make sure it, it should be in smart format. It should be very specific. It should be measurable, it should be achievable and relevant. It should have a time bound time. I told you 2024, 2034 or 2040 or 2050. But it should be specific. Don't write I wanted to become a big designer. Don't, don't do that. I wanted to really become a designer who own at least three red dot design and I'm in the top 10 designers in Asia, right? Like that in product design, in ui, UX design, inexperienced design, whatever is your value system. I don't know like you write it down. Unwavering commitment is the only way to become innovative, guys that will propel your career in the next level and you will see the evolution of design over the years and you will be the trend rider and trend creator, guys. Not even rider, I would say trend creator because long term vision people don't have. Can I tell you something, guys? The moment if I'm talking to you, I know what Design for change is going to really do. Can I tell you something? Okay. I thought of giving you after a year. But Design for Change is going to empower a lot of women. Lot of women who are in the rural areas of India, lot of women who are not having a proper job, but they are really burying their talent because of the home commitment, because of the kids taking care, because of the economical situation, because of their livelihood is not very much into a proper city life. They are in the rural regions. I really wanted to make a big change for them. Let me tell you guys, if we tap that potential of the women, India will never be the same. India will be like super, super, super productive country. And not even any country can touch the way in which we are growing as a economic growth. But we need a system to do it. We need a process, we need a design, we need a thinking, we need a policy. We need a very good leadership who can really build that system. Once we build that system, then every people will come into it. Men, women, I'm talking for both, but more of women I would say because women are really deprived in our country a lot. The way in which I'm seeing the potential, what they have, I mean, I don't know whether others are really seeing it, but they are not given a proper platform to really uncover. There are a lot of women who don't care about all these things one or the other way they come out. Kalpana Chawla and sports women, you can say Sania Mirza and Deepika Palikal, squash player and what do you call recently one of our award winning Sindhu. Right. So a lot of people are women are getting empowered and they really show their potential. But let me tell you guys, lot of opportunities can be created through designing products and services or even creating MSME industries and startups for them to really showcase their craft and skills could be brought. So that's my vision and my long term thinking which I wanted to make it. In next two years itself, I would say, okay, in next 10 years I have a very different thinking for that. I have a space plan in next 2040 and 2050 I have a very, very different thinking which I'll be revealing you in the coming podcast. But this is what is my way in which I think I have a very strong value system. Right? Can you feel that the moment when I talk, I have a clear information, I have a specific target audience, I have a specific people to empower. I have a specific way in which I can improve. Right now you could have seen in my podcast, I'm empowering a lot of designers who are coming from a different Background freshers who are learning the skills and designers who wanted to jump into 2x3x salary growth. I'm addressing them. But Design for Change is going to address women empowerment and how we can impact through their own creativity and design thinking. Because if women started thinking in design thinking way, I'm telling you guys, hundreds and hundreds of innovative industries will come. We will be supplying to this entire world through our creativity and innovation. So don't get carried away by my own value system. But what I wanted you to do is write your own long term thinking and set your goal. I gave an example so that you can relate and get a clarity. Pause this podcast and do it. I hope you would have done this. Now let's go into a very important segment and the last segment of this podcast. Having your value system now. Now comes the role of discipline. Guys, can I tell you something? Self discipline is God. If you're believing in God, yeah. Every single day you can wake up, you will have some prayer chanting, yeah, that's fine. But people who are not having that belief, I'll tell you guys, write self discipline in your wall and stick it pray every single day. If you really think that self discipline is a God, your life will become completely in a different direction. Guys, as we explore more values, let's not forget about that self discipline. Because engine that drives your design inspiration aspiration is only discipline. If you don't have a discipline, whatever you approach, whatever you really create designs and systems and solution, it will not be consistent, it will not be high quality. That is why guys, if you are disciplined like let's say I will wake up at 4:30 in the morning, I will do one hour of fitness. I will become a very honest designer and only contribute to common perspectives which is not driven too much on business side, which is not driven too much on people or too much on government. I'll make everybody really satisfied through my user centric design, through my human centric design. I will not spoil my environment. I will not spoil the whole recreation of getting balanced. I will not cultivate a wrong product and make people addicted to it. I will make a product which will make people healthy and also business owners grow and also government become profitable and also people enjoy the product and service. If you drive that discipline in your mind and design a product, you will deliver a high class quality work. Guys. It will become more relevant, meaningful. Let me tell you, if you are following this discipline, you will become a next gen designer. There is no doubt about it. So pause this podcast, write five disciplines, whatever you wanted to bring in your system as a designer. I'll tell mine. First equality. I told you honesty. I already right. Second is having a very good sustainability balance for the products and service. Third is tapping the fullest human potential. I wanted to bring a disciplined system in this. Fourth is making a proper self disciplined life for being a human. Starting from the morning, starting from the evening, starting from eating food, starting from exercising, starting from designing your own concepts and ideas. Starting from living your entire lifestyle. Because if you really become conscious and aware of these aspects, you will live a hundred plus years of life. You will deliver a hundred percentage quality work in your human being. Being a designer. Okay, I hope you would have understood the issue importance of self discipline and why it is very, very core and vital to stand as a designer without value system. Guys, I'll tell you, recessions will come. AI is already empowering. More than AI, we have a technology called quantum computing. And more than quantum computing, something else will also come in next five or six years. But if you don't have the value system, a self discipline and a clear long term thinking and vision, vision and mission for yourself. Being a designer. Everybody will pull you guys, everybody will pull you and you will not craft your own success of your design. So that is why I asked you to write these four elements and make sure you are having a plan for it and how you imbibe as a designer moving forward in your career. Because with that I'll tell you, if you reflect on this guys, you don't need inspiration, you don't need motivation. Motivation. You don't need anything. You will have your own motivation and aspirations set to reach your highest value in your design. If you have this guys, you will not worry about any unemployment, job, startup. Even if you have a startup, even if you have a, if you are a business owner, you will make a next level product and service. Because your value system is more. Because your vision is clear. Because your mission is clear. Because your long term thinking is really really clear. Okay? So go back to any big industries and see in all of their websites they have a mission, vision, value system very clearly defined. If you do this guys, you will become a brand and you will create a biggest change of your life's impactful design. Okay, thank you so much guys and I hope this podcast would have given you clarity and give me a best star rating if you find this useful in Spotify and Apple. And if you need my mentorship support in really building your value system goals. Because I normally ask my students to write goals when it comes to starting your design career because nothing moves when you don't have a goal. Okay? So if you need my mentorship support, you can write to that email, DFC designforchangemail.com I'll be more than happy or my team will be happy to help you out to assist you in joining this program. Okay? It's only for serious people, not for everybody. And if you feel like if you wanted to refer to some people, you can write an email. We have a special referral bonus also for the people who are referring and we will help you them to become a successful designer. Okay? So thank you so much, guys. Take care. All the best. Bye. Bye.