Why I'm betting on our generation of Indian designers
By a once-bitter, optimistic millennial
Originally published on juhi.co.
We are the first generation of Indian product designers to be where we are. We started out with a huge deficit compared to international designers. We were the first to gather as much exposure and learning as we were able to.
In our country, we watched our niche fought-after hobbies turn into the most sought after field. We saw the neglected user-base of our cultures become an international gold-mine. We had to reinvent ourselves again and again as the industry kept transforming in front of our eyes. In our minds, we fought imposter syndrome. In our homes, we fought to not do engineering. In our workplaces, we fought to do research. Everywhere, we fought to be taken seriously.
Some of us burned out and came back. Some of us turned bitter and never did. But some of us are still practising with the same wide-eyed passion that we started with. And we have grown up now. We are damn good at what we do.
Some of us hustled and found success in state-of-the-art design teams. Some build those teams. Some of us make original solutions for our country. Some craft delightful little things. Some nurture design communities that we never had. Some became our own bosses. Some achieve excellence for the joy of a job well done. Some make countless user lives better. Some simply do their well-paying jobs without hating it, and are blessed for it. So many of us made our teenage dreams come true.
And we are only 8–12 years into our career. At senior levels, we are now the torch-bearers of our industry. I cant wait to see what we will have done in another 5–10 years. Let’s make them proud 👊🏽