Avantika Designeering Series

Creativity involves transforming ideas, imaginations, and dreams to reality, and innovation is using creativity to enhance the performance of a design process or organization. Innovation and creativity are often the keys to the success of a business, particularly when planning during strategic planning, and when designing new products and services. In this episode, we interact with a human-centered innovator, Soumitra Bhat, Director of Innovation Consulting at Salesforce. He shares his journey and experiences of being a designer, and his passion for crafting an inspiring vision, create company-wide alignment, and enabling creative collaboration. You can connect with Soumitra on twitter @soumitra_bhat. Don't forget to subscribe to our show and share your comments on [email protected].

With the increase in talks about “Experience” in recent years, the consumer’s expectations have evolved beyond “Convenience.” Be it a physical product or a digital product, consumers no longer just want to buy a product that makes their lives easier; but also interacts with them. They look for a complete experience - which keeps them involved and also gives them an opportunity to engage. This expectation of enhanced interaction has led major products and services to work on their User Experience and Customer Experience. In this episode, we get into a conversation with Jay Dutta, who leads as the Senior Vice President of User Experience Design at MakeMyTrip. He shares with us how User Experience and Customer Experience complement each other and emphasizes the importance of understanding the ‘why’ behind everything. He also talks about developing a holistic lifecycle of a product to increase the lifetime value of customers, which induces trust, enhancing the overall experience. You can connect with Jay on Twitter @jdallcaps. Don’t forget to subscribe to our show and share your comments on [email protected].

The greatest power that a human being posses is that they can choose their friends, as it is the only relationship that is not imposed on them by their previous generations. A friendship founded on business is considered better than a business founded on friendship. But what if the business founded by friendship has created an amazing success story? On this occasion of Friendship's Day, we bring to you two individuals who started out a friendship before a company. Rohit Raj and Varun Duggirala; co-founders of The Glitch. In this episode, they share with us their journey from being pals to co-founders; setting distinct friendship goals for everyone out there. They also talk about their passion for creating a zealous work environment and their adoration for creating intriguing content. Tune into this special episode cherishing friendship! You can connect with them on LinkedIn - @rohitrajkaral and @varunduggirala. Don't forget to subscribe to our show and share your comments on [email protected]

Empathy is the first step in "Design Thinking" because it is a skill that allows us to understand and share the same feelings that others feel. Multiple creative solutions with variations in design strategy result in the change of customer behavior, and so this process follows design thinking and strategic planning for better user experience. In this episode, we interact with a creative mind, Tanu Sinha, the Design Director at PepsiCo. She shares her journey and experiences of being a designer, and passion for brands and skillset development. She also talks about agility in design and the importance of practicing empathy. You can connect with Tanu on twitter @tanusinha. Don't forget to subscribe to our show and share your comments on [email protected].

Research as a tool assists companies to impart a positive customer experience. The practice of effective research enables a wider space for innovation in problem-solving. With the world moving towards a seamless experience and interaction, people demand perfection from their products and services. All of it is validated by analytical information that links the user demands to develop a change in the domain of design. In this episode, we talk to the research leader of WhatsApp Inc., Saswati Saha Mitra. She walks us through her journey from being a statistics analyzer to being a research lead. She shares the importance and benefits of using data in a complex business leading to demand generation by users. You can connect with Saswati on Twitter @SaswatiSM. Don't forget to subscribe to our show and share your comments on [email protected].

Professional Designers have always been creatively focused since the dawn of time. Being in an industry, where your portfolio speaks as much as your resume, designers are expected to be multi-skilled. Living in the Design life goes beyond acquiring mere software skills; soft skills ranging from meticulous observation to effective leadership have become some of the crucial must-haves in an individual. In this episode, we have with us Darshan Gandhi who leads as the Global Head of Design at Godrej Consumer Products Limited. A congenial personality, who firmly believes in the development of interpersonal skills along with design thinking. She talks about her journey from being an Architect to a Designer. She further shares with us her belief in design potential across diverse nations. On the occasion of World Youth Skills Day, we bring to you a conversation about soft skills that need to be viewed as a tool to transition smoothly from an amateur to a professional. You can connect with Darshan on Instagram @darshangandhiofficial. Don’t forget to subscribe to our show and share your comments on [email protected].

The world is moving towards radical experiences. The same is instituted by designers to benefit the growth of usability testing, which eventually leads to a better understanding of the interface functions. Deriving this approach across mental models and personas leads to a futuristic advancement - a step further in a meaningful experience. In this episode, we discover the radical side of building experiences with Anant Tambade. He leads as the Director of Experience at Amdocs. He speaks about the "thick and thin" of his journey from being an Architect to a User experience Designer. This episode gives us insights about user behaviour and how it varies while talking about hyper intuitive user experience, to result in exceptional customer experience. He mentions business strategies regarding user experience patterns in the world of design. You can connect with Anant on Twitter @anant_tambade. Don't forget to subscribe to our show and share your comments on [email protected]

Here is part 2 of our special episode on World Industrial Design Day with David Kusuma. In this episode, we discuss various topics like Designing with different dynamics, get answers to the questions raised by our audience, and go through a fun rapid-fire round. David talks about Tupperware working with International space stations building on the mechanism of products for proper functionality in outer space. He shares his journey on this unique collaboration, where he mentions important principles required in the working and designing for space. He explains how technology and design cover itself in harmony to create indistinctive differences in the developing world. Additionally, he expresses his concern about social responsibility in the consumption of certain products in the digital era. Stay tuned to see the questions from our listeners answered masterfully by David. You can connect with David on LinkedIn @David Kusuma, FIDSA. Don’t forget to subscribe to our show and share your comments on [email protected].

In this uproarious world becoming expressive day by day, it so happens that some of the most basic terms lose their voice to trends, buzzwords, and disruptions. One such term is Product Innovation. Every year, thousands of products are launched into the market, yet only a few of them are able to sustain the ultra-competitive market. With the need for personalization in every product, the industry needs a zealous individual, who can create a shimmer on the world of vigor to transform businesses through product innovation to haul the domain. As of this, we bring to you the first part of our special episode featuring a diligent personage David Kusuma; Vice President of Research and Product Innovation at Tupperware Brands co. His epitome of success arises as an engineer, aspiring into an Industrial Designer. He now leads as the VP at Tupperware. This episode proffers shrewdness regarding David's area of focus, design strategies in his business, and vaulting into brand designs. He mentors WDO which promotes design values envisioning designing for humanity for a better experience. In this episode, he shares with us how the future of the product innovation is going to cater to the needs of the users. He also tells us about how WDO is building a partnership with United Nations Agencies and additionally collaborating with Aerospace to advance the aspects of industrial design and set a new horizon in the domain; driven by the sustainability of the product, making it both imperishable and recyclable. You can connect with David on LinkedIn @David Kusuma, FIDSA. Don’t forget to subscribe to our show and share your comments on [email protected]

The most discernible part of brand engagement is to provoke a relationship between the brand and its customers. The same is nurtured through powerful storytelling that revolves around personal commitment, passion, nostalgia, and intimacy that lights a spark amongst the consumer’s mind. As a communication designer, the ability to empathize and build a voice and identity through visual communication is the ultimate way to not only build a relationship with your consumers but also harness business. In this episode, we got into a conversation with Mayuri Nikhumbh, who leads as the Design Director of Communication at Elephant Design. She tells us about her professional journey from starting as a visual designer to broadening her horizons as a design strategist for effective communication for various brands. She also sheds light on the philosophical side of branding, effective communication, and design strategies. Her achievements include being listed as one of the top 40 GO-Getters in the Creative Media. You can connect with Mayuri on Twitter @mayuri_. Don’t forget to subscribe to our show and share your comments on [email protected]