 Hi, my name is Nupur and I work at Nelenso as a designer today I will be talking about things that I wish I knew as a newbie designer Something that's been very close to me and something that I've gotten a bit of perspective on as I have progressed into my work life so yeah So going back into college days, which is where this picture is from and you can see me there and This is from a small assignment that we did as a part of our exercise This was from color theory and we were studying universal design and color theory. So while studying this One of our teachers gave us a small lecture and after the lecture got over they gave us this B4 size sheet and a bunch of colors to create a color palette and For creating the color palette the kind of requirements that were given or the brief that was given was that Just create a palette. It doesn't have to make feel like anything or it doesn't have to give certain kind of It wasn't specific to a product or anything like that. So we were left pretty much open about how do we go about making this palette and We had to use three colors. So this is what we ended up making and This was after the end of the lecture where we were standing There was an interesting observation which was made right after this picture Which was that the colors that all of us had used in our palettes were Either the colors that we were wearing or the colors that anyone else in the room was wearing We were sitting in a white room and there was nothing around and we had all the time and Absolutely no restrictions about what kind of a palette we had to make but we still ended up picking colors Which was just around us So there was one takeaway from this incident and which is why I also have come back with a lot is that we are affected by What our surroundings are and our personalities and our surroundings they get into our work and That happens very unconsciously so today I will be taking you through the journey of Me from my design school time to where I am now and The steps through this journey would be sort of talking about who is a newbie designer The mental model that a newbie designer comes with when they enter the industry Then we will talking about a couple of experiences and stories that I've had while I was doing the work and A couple of takeaways for us that we might just be able to relate to So who is a newbie a newbie can be a person who is new into the design field fresh out of college They have spent time trying to polish their skills learning design concepts with for faculty and their peers as guide and it could also be someone who's Tried to get into this new domain. So they have looked up things on the internet They have tried to follow up good designers and tried to work their way through things and they've taken feedback from Only specific people whom they know and that's how they proceed so Interesting thing is how do they actually feel when they enter the industry? They kind of feel like Calvin they go a little existential at one point, but Just to Look at somewhat real points Yeah, they are really passionate people They are very passionate about the domain that they have gotten in they have figured out some Specific reason why they like the work that they're doing and they're very willing to learn because of this They have their own process so while doing the work that they're Trying to learn and while trying to polish their skills They figure out a process of their own which they know will take them forward while they are also working So the process is something that is very close to them and that is something they know they Will be using and that's the something they come from as they enter the industry They care about users so again The work that we do is very close to users you need to empathize with the users you need to think about what are the You need to think out of the preconceived notions that people have when you do design So they have to try to step into the user shoes and try to think about different kind of solutions that might just work for a user They're thinkers so like anyone in a creative industry where people do a lot of thinking They are also thinkers they need to switch into different roles since they don't have Real people around in terms of clients and stuff So they need to do a lot of thinking and because of that they are quite close to Thinking by themselves. So they are the one who are thinking and they're alone in that They want to improve so All the time that they spend learning design skills and other aspects of design They know that they want to get better at things. They know when they enter the industry They also feel like they should be able to implement these things So and the way they're implementing these things is also how they are going to learn eventually And there's no way to learn design apart from the thing that you're actually doing it And they're scared and maybe a little intimidated as well because you know We all enter the industry with this notion that okay things will be like this But you are with new people and they don't understand you and you don't understand them and you're just scared And there are people who are fairly experienced in the industry and you know You have looked up to them while you're doing the work and For all you know you don't want to end up looking like a fool in front of them So yeah you are intimidated So there's another thing that comes up while you're in the industry is the kind of new people that you end up working with Which is business owners and other stakeholders This is the aspect that you're not easily able to touch upon while you're learning design And this is the place where you are able to see and these are the people whom they know will help them make better designs So they are definitely looking up for that Another group of people that comes to them is peers and other team members These peers can be designers, they can be developers, they can be QA people who are experts in their own domain So they have a lot of things and trying to get to the details of those new domains that they had never even thought about So now I will be talking about a couple of stories which will be pretty much personal experiences And the reason that a lot of these stories and experiences make sense is because in hindsight So I can actually start talking to you about first story which is when I was told that you're not doing any work And so this was one of the first projects that I started with and the client was super interesting They had met us and in a couple of hours we were on board on the project I was taking to the client place in a day and we got requirements And it was a start-up and they had not done anything before till then So we had to make our own requirements And so we sat down with the team, we tried to figure out more and more details about the project And at a point I think at the end of the discussion we had good enough content for us to take back to our officers and start working on things There were also other people in the team, there were two more designers in the team that I was working with Which was great because you know those people and you know that they are So you have some sense of mentorship also in that sense And that was great for me And one of the things that I was looking forward to in this particular project was that you know this is like this perfect opportunity for me to be able to showcase my skills And so what really happened? So after going back we started working I picked up one task, made a lot of variations, made a lot of different kind of things because I also wanted to show my skill And took feedback, so gave it to the, shared it with the client, got good feedback from them Eventually also started hydrating on things And as I got a good enough idea of what the final design might look like We had a final, I ended up sharing with the client and I picked up new tasks So while all this was going on two, three weeks down the line I was called in a separate room with a couple of my colleagues And they told me that you know the client feels that you're not actually doing any work And that was a bit of a shock Like I was taken aback, I didn't realize what's going on And there were a couple of other thoughts going on in my head I was wondering as to like I was being accused of doing my own job That's the thing that I'm hired for and they're saying that I'm not doing any work Then another thought that came to my head was that maybe I'm just being compared So you know there are so many people in the team and they are more experienced They definitely have a lot of knowledge that they come with So yeah maybe I'm not able to match to them so yeah I'm being compared Or maybe I just sucked as a designer So this was like hitting the rock bottom thinking that okay you are terrible as a person Another bad thought that came to my head while doing this was say maybe they just don't like me So I'm sort of a different personality, I don't talk too much I am quiet, I don't make jokes like every other person in the team who try to Maybe make the situation better by making jokes and laughing And I don't do that so maybe they just don't like me And while all this was going on there were parts that I was realizing that okay I know that I've made mistakes, they have been told to me as well And the thing is that I accept those mistakes but the last thing anyone should be saying to me right now is that I'm not doing any work because the work is pretty much out there So what was actually happening and this project got over, we moved on I think I spent each and every day or each and every hour of my time after the project to figure out what was going on And it didn't seem very clear to me till I was very much distant from the problem itself So to get things from the other side What I was doing was I wasn't sharing ideas So while I was working on concepts, while I was making different variations for the product I wasn't actually sharing it with the client and even with the team Till the time I was able to come to a final outcome, I didn't actually share it with them And they felt that maybe they're not a part of the process in that sense So yeah, it kept hitting me like that I look like a black box, so while I was working on these designs I never actually ended up communicating enough about them I didn't tell people what stage I was in Even if I don't make a lot of progress, if I'm doing a lot of research I didn't actually end up sharing with them And because of that, I ended up looking like a black box I accepted feedback with an okay So while you get feedback on designs Or while you were getting any feedback about how you were working on things I accepted feedback and said okay, this is I know something that I need to work upon And I just left it there I didn't tell that why I feel that I need to work on this I didn't tell how am I going to improve And when, when I come back and tell them that okay This thing is actually done I didn't communicate delays So since I was already stuck in the loop of making a lot of variations Trying to do different type of work And the design was progressing in my head And I didn't call out the delays in the project And the last thing which is probably one of the most important things Is I didn't close things So while you're doing work After one task got over, I took up new things I didn't make sure that the thing that I closed was in a state That someone else can actually take it up and start implementing them Or confirm with the client that okay This design doesn't need any more work And someone can take it up from here So I didn't do any of those things And now that I look back All these things are pretty evident It might just have looked to a business person That I'm not doing any work So take away from this is that Design collaboration is really, really hard It's not an easy job It's not something that even people After a couple of years in their life are able to try to solve So communicating more is the thing that you need to do here Communicating as much as you can possibly do Telling people small, small aspects of things Talking about the nuances that you come across Because that is what will probably take you closer to Having some collaboration Another story that I can talk about right now Is when I was told that I was not accepting any feedback So this was an interesting thing Because after the project got over The work went very well And after the project We were sitting and having a small discussion with the clients And they started talking about what went well And what is something that I probably need to work upon And in the discussion They gave like three kinds of feedback Which was sort of more constructive And something that I had to work upon First type was in which they gave their perception of things Saying that you know you did this And we don't really feel that okay You were trying to make effort here And I didn't exactly get what they meant there So I asked them more questions about it The second one that they spoke about was Telling me things that I know that I needed to work upon So I accepted it I said that yeah You know I'm not computing it enough And I said that yeah I know that I'm not good at it And I know I need to work upon it And I left it there And the third kind was where I got some pretty strong statements And those were mainly based upon Maybe that I said or something that I did And they were kind of terrifying Because you know you don't see yourself as that sort of a person So my reaction to that was pretty much emotional I either turned into a shell or I reacted a bit maybe emotionally And the discussion which started in a very good note Ended up becoming something completely different And while this was going on Someone just said that okay you don't really know how to take feedback And I was thinking that wait You know I want to know what I did wrong I want to know I want to improve I want to understand exactly what was happening Then I accept I accepted my mistakes I accept that you know I'm not the perfect person So you need to help me to improve And the things which were strong Were hitting me back and back saying that you know wait I can't really be this person And another thing that was there was that You know I'm sitting here and listening to you I'm actually asking you more questions So why do you feel that I'm not listening So again these things didn't make sense at that point Looking back, thinking from their perspective A couple of months down the line Is when I probably got to a point where There was some clarity on what happened in that one Small 30 minutes meeting So I ended up looking defensive And I asked people questions Maybe they were not formed in the right sense Maybe that was not the right time to ask those questions Maybe they wanted me to go back home And absorb the feedback and then come back Asking more details about it But since my reaction was right away They felt like okay I'm actually not listening And maybe I'm just being defensive at this place They had another worse understanding of things Which is I ended up looking a person Who's sort of having superficial understanding So when I said that okay I accept this They thought that they might have thought that You know this person doesn't really realize Why is communication important And when I say that I accept it I didn't tell them why is it important to me And how am I already trying So they could have realized that this person is Making effort into trying to make things work for us But they didn't really come across And I didn't come across clear about that point And the worst was say reacting emotionally So yeah reacting emotionally was Something that we can Do very easily when someone says something to us And it was feedback and I think they didn't In a sense that okay you know you did this wrong So you need to improve on it But yeah I realized that later on that okay This is something I need to sort of control And try to improve on these aspects So the learning from here mainly was To discuss feedback I think even whatever clarity I got about this was Discussing it more and more with my peers And discussing it more and more even in my head You know what actually happened and That's when you get to the actual facets of things That's when you realize small small things That might just trigger emotional Response in someone else where they end up saying That okay you know you don't really accept feedback So that kind of a strong reaction will come If you don't realize what you're saying So this kind of a feedback I think all of us Are used to make that rounded rectangle rounder Or similar things like make the logo bigger It's not a wow factor Just you know make it shine It's not fun Or even like very critical things Saying that make that text In this point size using this typeface And in this particular color And especially when you're starting out This kind of feedback can be scary Because you know that you're trying to improve And you know that you're working But when someone says this Gives this kind of feedback you feel very undervalued So this story is sort of related to that So since I had all the previous learnings I made sure that I'm sharing everything with the client I made sure that I'm going in a good direction I kept checking within over and over again I got regular feedback And took their inputs I iterated on things and shared First-Cut version of things so I had clarity And at the end of it When I was showcasing the designs I hear such feedback So what do you really feel When you hear such sort of feedback Your first reaction is just why Like what is going on That doesn't make any sense Why should I do this? It doesn't make any sense You feel that you're not a tool You are not sitting there as a designer Trying to implement exactly what someone is saying You are trying to put thought Into each and everything that you've done So why are you giving me feedback like that? Then another negative loop That you will get into is that Did I do something wrong to deserve this? Like what did I actually do wrong That this is happening to me? So again How I reacted to this was Interestingly since All these things are something that you react to Eventually like right away So one of the things was that I went My way anyway There were discussions where A lot of times what the client was saying Or what someone else was saying Was not making a lot of sense Or maybe it felt like There being very dictatorship Sort of a very dictator person About giving this sort of feedback So I went my way and I thought that The kind of changes that they are seeing Is going to disturb the designs So I went ahead Second thing I did was explain I tried to give my Version of things I tried to tell them How I thought into some things And what they are saying is Usable at certain places And why it doesn't work in this context So I tried to reason those things out Another type of reaction that I've had In dealing with such experiences Is Being over them So when there is too much Back and forth You know that the design is not progressing Is just having this argument Of saying your word against mine And you realize that it's a one way street Someone, the people are not Listening to you So you give in and you eventually make Those changes So Things here might just come out To be very different and it feels Like these are the right things to do But the only right thing to do is Explaining and trying to reason What you are doing and the others In different different context but They can come out to be in a very Different way so if you look At things from a business perspective You might end up coming out Closed so when you are Going your way You are You just end up looking like this shell Who doesn't want to listen to what others are saying You don't even want to understand So you end up looking very Closed You don't understand business perspective So it might just happen That someone who is giving you such Strong feedback or such feedback Saying that make this green greener Or make the box bigger Or something like that they are probably Not able to articulate what they want to say Maybe they have different constraints Maybe they have business timelines that they are working with Because of which they are saying things So how do you really Deal with such situations One is To not panic To not react emotionally Because when you react emotionally You also give space to other people To be able to have Their emotional reaction and If they are a little bit on the top In terms of hierarchy with you You will not go ahead Change your perspective so Try to step away from The design try to think about why Someone else is giving this kind Of a suggestion Try to ask them Questions about why do you think That whatever they are saying is more Important and this Will help you sort of Come to a common ground and your design Will not suffer Then pick your battles So this comic is actually titled Duty calls and Really it doesn't matter If you are right or wrong it really doesn't Matter you just need to pick your battles You can ignore A lot of things that sometimes People are saying because they don't actually Mean those things So the take away from here is that Stakeholders Perspectives are really really important They make you realize The other side Of things which you are normally Not aware of and They Take you a long way in terms of learning How product works and how design works And the place of design in different Different places So this last story Is actually quite Close to me and This is thinking about All the different learnings that you've had again Right so you know that you need to communicate You know that you should be taking Feedback you know how to react To certain kind of design feedback And then You are at a place where you have taken A design Which Is sort of a big task It has bigger timelines And you realize that okay You know this design needs more Thought and it needs more time As compared to the timelines that we are working with Then you don't feel very motivated Because you know it's not going In the right direction And there are a lot of aspects that are bothering you About it so you are getting blocked On ideas you are not able to proceed And There might just be other things that maybe There are personal things that are bothering you Overall you are not able to work And This has happened in the past and this happens to I think all of us at any point in time That we get blocked So how does it look To the other side right like it looks like Okay you are not working iteratively You are not meeting deadlines Because you are obviously stuck on ideas You are obviously not able to get out of Whatever emotions state you are in And you look like a black box So now we are back to square one That you know all these learnings that you have had In the past How are they actually helping you So Thinking about all these things that Okay design collaboration And Knowing these aspects is all that enough And the more I think about it I have read books I have discussed Things with people try to get more and more feedback And It doesn't sink in sometimes it doesn't sink In so how do you Actually make things work because when you are actually In this situation You are not able to react you are not able to react Sensibly and maybe an hour later You will realize wait I should not have Done that So Cut yourself some slack Take a break cut yourself some slack You like every other person needs a break Try to communicate about this okay you know This is blocking me out too much And I am not in a state To be able to work on this So now that we know All these processes exist And these are the important aspects Of things There are a couple of processes that I can talk about Which have helped me And which I have been able to figure out with my team To Be able to get things forward And to be able to react to things in a nicer Manor and Even when you are in bad situations You will be able to work So one is using progress tracking Tools so While you are working very closely With the product with the users And you are thinking a lot On the design aspect you somehow End up not realizing Kind of progress you are making And we have used say time tracking tools We have used Even project management tools for that Matter using something like Trello also works But even a simple thing like Making lists so make a list of things That you want to do make Write like 10 things that you know That you need to do in the day and This list will be very useful say for example you have stand-ups You can reprioritize them based on You know what is the things that you need to get done Like today itself Another thing that helps is doing design showcases So This So in longer projects in bigger Projects where the timelines are Very shrink and You know the person you are probably Reporting to is dealing with more than one aspect Than the other. Then you Don't really realize how At what place Will they be able to observe your progress Or what place they will be able to observe your Work. So visibility Is what design showcases will get you And we have tried to do it Every bi-weekly or Even weekly if needed And This makes sure That other people realize that you know That you are doing work And Even if they are not able to attend these meetings They know that you will probably end up sending up an email Or you are doing it religiously no matter what Then structured feedback Having more A drill down process About how you are getting feedback Will make sure that we don't end up getting The kind of vague feedback A lot of times end up coming to us So Say doing feedback sessions In a manner where You have almost all the business people talking about What they like and what they don't Like about designs And since everyone's individual opinion Is about both The good and the bad You can discuss them objectively and then You will be able to come to a good point where You have good designs and even People agreeing upon what the final solution Is Doing estimations So we have started doing estimations based on The agile process trying to Understand the problem Trying to break it down into smaller chunks To see that we don't miss out on any aspects And these things are important But another important aspect Of estimation is that You also realize that Business priorities Are existing and they Effect how The product will proceed and since They are involved in these estimations They will help you prioritize and you know That you are on the same page as them Then having retrospectives So after almost Every long project that we have had We have made sure that We look back We look back trying to discuss what went well What compromises we made That we don't want to make in the future What things didn't go too well and We Discussed them based on what feels most important And The interesting thing is that we have gotten into the detail Of like even conversations That you know this is something that might just have triggered The emotional reaction or some reaction Throughout the next project Or throughout the project that you are working on So those specific Reasons they help you Those specific incidents they will help you Getting out of The block that you might just be having While When you take up new projects So looking back We know that design collaboration is hard So Discommunicate more as much as possible To discuss design feedback Because The more you discuss design feedback the better You also Can convey to the other client Or the other person that you are actually listening And The fact that you both on the same page is very important Stakeholder Perspectives are important that You need to incorporate that To know that these are real things You can't keep working in those situations Where you feel that okay Like you want to finish this design in 30 days But what you really have is maybe 3 days So there are design There are Stakeholder perspective which are really important For certain things And then cut yourself some slack Figure out what you really need Talk to people about it if you need a break Take a break If you think that you are not able to Ask then Tell someone in your team that okay Maybe you can Ask someone to share that responsibility with you Because if you are working in this Mental model then you wouldn't be able To proceed and you will end up looking like A terrible designer So This is how Whatever I have been trying to say That how well we communicate is not Actually determined by how well we say Things but how well are we Understood and this is kind of the crux Of How Design in the industry finds their place And that's kind of Where we are So I would like to say thank you For being such a patient audience after dinner And It was really nice It's kind of introspect you What you did but I want to Hear the other side of the story You already mentioned few things Can you tell like your seniors Or your guide How they helped you To come up this stage So After Getting such strong feedback from people One of the things that Helped me a lot was Actually communicating with the people Who were there as a part of my team So discussing with them Realizing that Since it's such a strong feedback Can you realize the impact of it You also feel bad and they The best thing that they did was To tell me that you know don't feel bad It's fine everyone goes through this And they shared their experiences They told me that you know when I started out I also did these things And that also helped me open up And eventually I was able to share Things with them at every level Discussing small small aspects Then you get to situations right So when you're comfortable then you start Understanding that you know You're not always talking in your head There's someone else listening to you Realizing small small things like that Was by a lot of conversations And a lot of very strong feedback So my first year I think at the company was Just getting really really strong feedback And I would just listen That okay you know what is going on And so yeah That kind of feedback that close reviews That we have that is what Has helped us and we have a very strong Review process at our company So yeah Thank you Hi it was Hello, yeah it was a nice talk So basically what happens This said that first image is the last Image what you make So whatever is your first image Does matters So in this kind of situation Particularly some will make a pre-defined image of yours This particular person is in this way Yeah So how would you act in this way So that that image of that particular person Which has made of yours You would like to change it So I think The only way that the image can be changed Is by working with people And if someone is Making a first image of you I think it's a little It's obvious that they will make a first image of you And I know that it can be very unforgiving sometimes And this is something that has come up to me a lot But I think it's okay I think it's fine that I as a person feel that if I'm not able to Learn and if I'm not able to proceed It's It's kind of blocking and people will have perceptions People will have images but The more you work with them the more you realize that The more they will also realize that You are not the same person anymore Even having say Normal discussions with them and Say if they had an image of you You can go back and talk about it to them Just try to understand that you know Now I realize that something that you said at that point Made a lot of sense And I have actually done this to a lot of people I have done it with my previous clients That I said okay This thing you said that time I realize the importance of it now And thank you so much for saying that That changes your image a little They realize that you are actually listening And that helps So yeah Hi Nupur Hi I could relate to many of the experiences that you shared Because I might have gone through the same things So here's one question to you Say today or tomorrow You become a design manager And you have an intern or a newbie designer working under you And who probably isn't performing To the best of his potential So how long would you wait Or how long would you give that person Before you give such a strong feedback Or would you take a different approach altogether That actually is a very good question And So there's one thing that We have tried to do is Talk to people about as much as Expectations that you are having and In what kind of time you are maybe looking At them to improve And if you think about how much Are you willing to wait For some person to improve I think that timeline can be Infinite But there are certain things that you would want immediate improvement on There are some things that you know would not Come overnight So learning communication wouldn't come overnight You know that one day Someone will wake up and tell you that you have not become Better at it So it actually happened with me that one of my mentors While I was While I knew that I am not communicating very well This one day he just came up to me and said Oh man you have improved on your communication a lot I just loved the way you gave stand-ups today You were so articulate about everything you said And I was surprised And he said Yeah you have improved And I just realized at that moment That I had improved So it will happen very spontaneously And I think you can try to set Sort of realistic timelines So know what is important to you Know for which things Are you open to spending a bit more Time on and looking at It from even their perspective So it's difficult To be able to understand the importance of these things When you come up from a different mental model And from a very different background So yeah Thank you If you have any more questions Please take it to her offstage