Ep 317 | UIUX Designer - 1 Day project - Anybody can become designers Confident

How to stand out being a product designer and UI UX designer while creating the projects. I'm going to be covering that in this podcast. If you implement the strategies. What I'm going to be telling you in the next few minutes, 90% of the designers are not having this formula and you're very lucky by listening this podcast if you do that steps, whatever. Exactly. I'm going to be telling you you're going to be becoming better than the 90% of the designers out there in the market. Okay? So all of you take notes and this podcast is going to go very deep into how to create project in one day and create a more experience in your interviews, in your projects, in your in your office, in your boss, in your peers and all the possible hackathons. What you're going to participate. Okay? So take a lot of notes. Let's jump into this podcast. Welcome guys. Welcome to this Design for Change. Thank you for staying tuning here in this podcast. I'm super happy to record this because many people might not really think why doing this kind of a short project is going to be very beneficial for them. Many people are not convinced. Hey Jagdish, is it really possible or not? Let me tell you guys, you are dreamers, you are doers. Okay? But today episode the way in which you're going to understand the design is going to completely have a profounding impact on your design career because I'm going to be telling you how we can do the project in even one day. You don't need a project or a studio, you don't need a classroom. You just have to go into the streets. Okay, I'll tell you why this is really matter. See, we are actually living in this age where everybody is talking about design, thinking, AI tools and everything. But most designers are very, very lazy towards going and getting into the field, talking to the customers and knowing it. They're very comfortable in doing this edit of softwares in Figma or or re editing, recoloring all these things. But they never talk to humans. Can I tell you one thing? People who talk to humans are the only designers who get hired in the core design studio jobs. According to Interaction Design foundation, almost 87% of the design students never finish their portfolio projects because they get stuck in research or paralysis or maybe imperfectionism towards their what you call the projects, what they're taking. They don't get the full depth of understanding about the real world problem because you're sitting in your desk and then you're doing the software and you're Calling that as a one day project or one big project in fix Sigma or whatever. But when you get into the field, you talk to person, you solve a problem, your confidence gets completely rewired into a whole new different way. This one day project are not a shortcuts, guys. This is going to be a complete accelerators for you. Okay? Okay. Now let me tell you why this one day project works. Okay, so so far why? The first point, what we saw is why this matters a lot. Second, why it is very important and particularly it works on this particular day. Okay? So IDEO and Stanford design schools are measured as one of the big idea. I mean what do you call big design thinking methodology frame people, okay? Their idea generation curve is very different compared to any other design studio. You know what they found? 72% of the design breakthrough ideas come with only in the first 24 hours of the design thinking process. See, that is why I also made our community members go into the field and cut short their learning curve. Or else people keep running for 90 days. Also they don't end up doing anything. Okay? Because when a time pressure is there, the way in which the brain activates is very different. When you know that that you have only few hours, the prefrontal cortex which is there in your body has put your into overthinking and it manages your entire head and makes all the noises come down. And only you tend to find out some solutions which is practically possible in the next 24 hours to be solved. The limbic system inside your brain takes charge and the creative cortex fires up. That is why when you, when you put a gun on top of the people and then you ask them in one hour, if you're not coming up with a solution, I'm going to be shooting you. People will tend to bring lot of ideas, not just one idea to idea. In one hour they will come up with 60 plus ideas. Right? That's exactly the thing. So what happens exactly? You stop worrying about perfection. You start working towards a problem. Now let me tell you the formula. How to do the one day project. Okay, listen very carefully. Step one, try to find out a place. In today's case, our students are listening to this podcast and they are in the field. Now I have given them the topic of supermarket. Okay? But you could do it for anything. You could go and solve a problem of a vendor or a street shop or a restaurant or probably something like a e commerce project, physical project, digital product, bus stop station or like let's say hospital, public park, any places the real world is your lab. Step two, observe for next one hour. Okay? Maximum minimum 15 hours to maximum 16 minutes. You need to go and understand and talk to many people. If you're standing in a park, ask hey, what is exactly the reason you've been roaming in this park? What are the good things? What are the bad things? What are the frustration? Why are you finding this as difficult? This is what is going to give you a lot of gold mine of nutshell information. What you're going to have. Third step, talk to at least three or more people. This would bring you some lot of clarity. See hospital may people are standing in queue. Supermarkets people are standing in queue. Ask them what else you can able to do for alternate. Do you think this is a real problem? Sometimes people will say hey, this is not a problem at all. Standing in queue is fine here, it's normal. Yeah. You may end up getting that insight as well, right? So you never know what kind of an insight you're going to get. So just be open. Don't bias the people, just ask questions. Minimum three plus people. If you start asking, you will try to find out. Lot of problems is there. Step four, take a notepad and write all of the insights. If you have a fast smartphone or something, you can record their audio with their permission. If somebody is really comfortable, you can record their video. Most of the shop owners will be open to give you feedbacks because you're going to help them solve their problem, right? Some of the shop owners will tell hey, get lost. Why are you coming unnecessary in my shops, right? In those case only you have to understand that your soft skills is very important to establish the relationship in a shop or maybe in a public place or let's say if you're going for a hospital, try to talk to doctors, Dean or anybody who can able to help you solve their problems by making you understand and get into the one day framework or anything. Okay? Then step five, build a small prototype. This is called a micro prototype. Okay? You can go into chat GPT or maybe you can go into Canva AI or you can go into your WhatsApp what you call meta tool, right? You can also try to find out what kind of answers and the solution you can bring them in the few minutes span of time. Right? It's. It's possible you can also put all of your insights. You can use this WhatsApp tool called Meta AI which is with llama4, right? So you have tool right in front of you. Don't tell that I need fancy tool, I need fancy training. I need A three months of course. Guys, stop all these things. If you think about all these things, you won't be able to solve a problem like a human. All this design, methodology and all, you can do it later. Okay, you are in the field. You know that the real problem is burning. Now comes real solution. Now comes real challenge for you. Your mind will tell, hey, is this really a problem? Another mind wise you will think, even if I solve, what kind of an impact it's going to come? Third, your mind will say, okay, I'm going to be solving it. Is it really going to be useful for any people? Is anybody going to really turn back? Fourth, even if I make this solution, can I use it in my portfolio or something to get the job? Throw away all this poor thought process. Maximum. You will get this thought process only if you're not getting this four thought process, probably you are not entering this project at all. You are still thinking whether to do the project or not. You are in the fifth category. This podcast is not for you. You can stop this podcast and you can leave for the day. Okay, if you're there in this four points first, I told you, you are in the right track. Now you need to start creating some kind of a sketches, wireframes, something like a small ideas. Hey, if people are standing here, how can I make this thing like a SaaS dashboard where people can go and build their products here? Hey, if people are going to stand in the queue in a hospital, how can I make their booking appointments very easy? Can I bring a digital solution? Can I have a physical solution like a chaos box? So don't always restrict to digital solution, always think about physical also because you are there in the space right the moment when you think about solving certain problem and bringing more ideas, you will feel very happy. You can visualize any kind of a prototype. Guys see, unless until you are not able to think about a solution or idea or prototype, you won't be able to get ahead. So whatever solution you're getting now, go into ChatGPT or maybe Canva or maybe any kind of a UI, ZOD or tool or anything what you wanted to have and start putting your voice note into it. All the AI tools now has a voice note. Put that voice note and your insights and the pictures on the text and whatever you got and ask ChatGPT how I can document this as a solution. Now you will get an extraordinary output from there. You open Figma, you open Miro, you start building some basic wireframes and concept. If you want to build a real Time prototype also no problem. Build it into a wireframes. There is an option inside figma which is called prototype. You can create wireframes and you can create some kind of a prototype into it and take your laptop or mobile phone and show it into your shop owner. Hey, I'm going to be creating something like a solution for your users. Do you think it will help them in fastening up their bill payment? Do you think this solution will work out? Sometimes a simple name board can also solve some problem. Sometimes a simple signage can solve the problem, right? Sometimes a visibility and the marketing branding collateral could solve the problem. So based on the problem, what you took on the field with respect to hospital park or whatever is your is your context. Try to bring a practical solution on top of it. This is where another confusion will happen. Can I complete this project before evening? I need one more day to do. No, there is no second day. Imagine that you're going to die today before end of the night. If you're not implementing the solution, nobody's going to have any benefit of you. So you tend to force yourself to try to think of a prototype or a solution to solve it before that day. Okay, I'll give you one example. One of our student, he went into the field, he understood that night glare light is coming and hitting all the faces of the people and they're not able to ride smoothly in the bikes. He went and ideated something and he got one sticker as a solution. This is no way related to UI UX design or building some FIGMA prototype or anything. Okay. But as humans we are going to solve a problem. So don't think that I need only FIGMA to solve the problem. No, he went into a shop, he got a reflecting anti glare reflecting sticker which is available for 7080 rupees. He got and stick into all the what you call vehicle passing on that particular road on that particular moment. He stopped all the vehicles, he asked for permission, he stick all the stickers and you will not believe he also recorded a video along with a police guy getting a testimony from that police guy saying hey, hey Shantilal. This glare is really reducing lot of people's opposite what you call traveling towards a particular direction. So this anti glare effect is very effective and people are now finding it very simple and easy to travel on that space. Imagine if this stickers are pasted in all of the highlight on high beams. Lot of anti glare collisions and accidents can come down in the road. Right? See it's a very very simple solution. But the Impact is very high. Yeah, a lot of people get into high leverage of accident and high impact collisions are happening because of light getting super onto the face. Some of the vehicles are speeding down. Some of their time is extending. Some of the accidents are happening. Some of the people lives are also going ahead. Right. So this guy has solved this problem and he is one of our student called Shantilal. And there is another student called Patnavati. She went into supermarket and then she solved the problem of arrangement of things inside the baskets inside the shop. And she also did a packaging labeling solution for the vendor to have a proper placing for shipping. This avoids a lot of errors and confusions while shipping. This saves more than 10 to 25% of the time while shipping is happening. See, I've just told you two examples but you can come up with any solution. Guys, step six, test the prototype what you got and get the feedback from the vendor. Record that in a video and document all these things. Even if the prototype is good or not or super or not super. Stop the project in the eight hours till the end of the day, 8pm you need to stop this book now. Collect all of your work, put it under chat GPT and try to create a full document out of it. See guys, I'll tell you the reality of it. You will not be very happy about the solution but you are very happy that you followed a process. See, doing a project in one day is not easy. Let me be very honest. It's raw, it's definitely a lot of chaotic. And the point is that is going to make you powerful. That is going to make you really, really impactful. Okay? The challenge 1 what you'll be facing is the fear of talking to stranger. That's totally good. You hesitate before talking to many shop owners and everything. Let me tell you guys, empathy starts with conversation. Smile yourself, introduce yourself and talk to the people. You will get to know a lot of things. Okay, next time if you are listening to this podcast, maybe the people who are in the future you are listening to this podcast, just keep it in mind and start telling that hey, I am a designer, I want to solve some project before end of the day. Can I ask you a few questions? 9 out of 10 times you will get a yes answer. Second problem, you will get a time pressure. By noon you'll have to complete all the ideas, right? I told you, whenever you're starting a project in the early morning, like let's say 8 o' clock to 9 o', clock, you start the project first half before you go for the lunch you should have narrowed down the problem, narrowed on the shop owner or maybe the respective stakeholders and get ready because if you're not having the time pressure, you will not complete the project. So it's good that don't aim for perfection. Prioritize one clear problem even if it's small. Something like that. Challenge three you will have lack of tools. Don't worry about your laptop is getting charged off or maybe you don't have charge in your phone or anything. No, just draw sketches in your paper. That's more than sufficient. HRS and recruiter would be more happy when you show your evolution in the process because of one set. When you have less, you invent more. How many of you don't know this? How many of you are agreeing this? Type agree in the chat box. If you're listening to this podcast in our YouTube or Spotify or anywhere. Okay, I know this podcast is going lengthy, but you need to get this learning. Challenge 4 Dealing with the real time feedback. Shopkeepers might reject your ideas. They say hey, it's not going to be very superb. Yeah, we've already tried this solution. We know all these things. No, it's totally fine. Take it personally, ask why didn't it work earlier? How can I make it even more better? Rework on it and then make it as one more solution. Yes, you can do it. Challenge 5 Energy will get crashed by the evening after 6pm you feel tired. Here are the neuroscience. Physical exhaustions can trigger alpha wave creativity. The same relaxed focus state athletes and artists really put in terms of flow. This is where you can push yourself even more better and take a short break, have a tea, coffee and come back again and sit for another two hours and implementing the feedbacks which your shop owner or somebody has said that and then your brain will start connecting all the dots from the morning. How this is a big problem, how some people cannot solve it and how you can only solve as a designer. Okay, congratulation guys. By the end of the day you would have now got lot of photos, videos, testimony, mock up solution, text, ideas, everything. You realize that the design is not about pixels. Design is in the progress. I want to mention this word called progress. Not perfection, not procrastination, not perfection, not procrastination, only progress. So design is not about perfection, it's about the progress. What you see in someone else face. You show that to the shop owner or maybe you show that hey, how is the solution compared to the morning? It's better, right? You get a real dopamine when the Guy says, yeah, it's better. One of my student called Abhinav who did a plant based solution in the pot, he created a QR solution and then he said, why don't you take this project? Many people have scanned that QR code and started helping that plant owner to also buy more plant saplings in their web pages. See, this has improved their sales as well. Abhinav is very happy. Shop owner is also very happy. See you get a dopamine hit. So you have built your confidence, not just your portfolio. You are building an impact, not just trying to impress somebody. Okay, thank you so much guys for listening to this podcast and I think you must have got a little solution or a clarity over here. So if you are just in the middle of the day listening to this podcast or something, just keep on going and complete the project before end of the day because EOD is the solution. If you procrastinate to tomorrow. I'm sorry to say this podcast is not going to be any benefit for you. Okay, maybe if you're listening to this podcast in the future. Okay, I want to tell you that the principle still stands. The same design is equal to empathy into action. You don't need permission to start guys. Just, just be curious, be creative, be very, very, very courageous and focus on this eight hours sprint. Go out next weekend, Saturday or Sunday. Talk to some of the Chai owners, talk to principals, talk to hospital doctors, talk to small vendors, talk to anybody. Guys, ask them one question. What is really making your time? Go. How can I bring the best value out of your. What do you call your shop? What waste your time the most, Mr. Shop Owner? Ask them, they will pour lot of solution. How I can increase your profit? Tell me, tell me, tell me. Many people will give you lot of lot of solution. I mean problems. Then go and solve it. That's the end of your one day project. Okay? So thank you so much guys for listening to this podcast. Now your one challenge. What I want to tell is take one problem statement in the next 24 hours, go, step out, observe, listen, try to solve it. Write one line in your journal today. What exactly I solved it. If you are able to pin it in this podcast or Instagram chat or wherever you're listening, my team will be able to send a special gift for you to join our workshop. Or you get one of the free premium kit for doing the one day project as well. Okay, so post it here guys. So remember one thing, ideas don't change the world implementation, does it? Thank you so much. This is Jagdish from Design for Change signing off. If you're liking all of this podcast, please do subscribe in Apple and Spotify if you're finding a lot of value in this podcast, give me a five star rating in Apple and Spotify so that lot of listeners can able to reach here. Thank you so much guys. Let me close this podcast by seeing 72% of the breakthrough ideas come in 24 hours. 87% of the students never complete project because they procrastinate tomorrow. So take care. I wish you all the best. Bye bye.