We travel not to escape life, but to meet life in a different colour. Though it sounds clichéd to say that travel is my inspiration and has helped me become a better person, the fact is that for some, travel is not just a way of life - it is life itself! I am one of those people. Years of traveling have galvanized my thoughts and given my work a new direction.As a child, my father’s job made moving to different parts of India every couple of years a part of our family life. It would be correct to say that the seeds of the traveller and observer in me were sown early during those naïve days. Growing up in a multicultural environment helped me understand objectivity. And it all started with fond memories of exploring myriad facets of the Northeast. The rest, of course, is a passport full of stamps and a heart filled with stories.
Travelling across India and the world has made me much more intuitive to sensitivity and worldliness. It is a completely different feeling when you step out of your comfort zone to explore undiscovered places. Meeting new people, adventures, celebrating the happy and sometimes not-sohappy moments, experiencing different cultures, and listening to travel stories, opens up nothing less than a fantasy world for a traveller. I believe that personal experience; whether good or bad, translates into user experience. This is what inspires UX designers to make well-designed products that can be a part of everyday life to be used by the masses, instead of just being mere luxury.
My work has taken me to different parts of India and abroad including Goa, Mumbai, and San Francisco. Each city has its own charm. The laid-back vibe and warmth of Goa, the buzz of Mumbai which makes the city so alive, and then there’s San Francisco – dynamic and vivacious. Life in Pune was so different from that in Dhaka. Pune was complacent and easy going, while Dhaka was steeped in history and more poised. Both were like two ends of the spectrum, but yet with so much to learn! Visiting remote locations of Chhattisgarh like Baster and meeting the local tribes, was indeed an enlightening experience for me as well. I believe in catching the vibe of every place.
There is something special everywhere; it all depends on whether you want to remember the good or the bad.
Call it passion or wanderlust, but I prefer to visit new places as a traveller, and not as a tourist. Be it the pristine mountains of Ladakh, the mystical Jhansi, or the beautiful temples in Khajurao, each travel experience has taught me a lot more than my History or Geography textbook could. Travel unlocks so many stories. It enhances your observation skills, gives you perspective and you get a deeper understanding about human behaviour. All these attributes are crucial for a UX designer, and I’m glad my travel tales have helped me decipher the world; both the corporate and my personal one, in a better way.
Being a strategist and experience designer, it is imperative for me to meet people. It helps me understand altering demographics and user behaviour. I travel and pick up user context and nuances based on how they will impact the overall experience. With modesty and gratitude I can say that these experiences, coupled with my skill sets, help me design unmatched UX. Whether the destination is domestic or international, people and perspective is what matters. Every time you travel, it widens your horizon of adaptability and empathy. You can connect and relate to people at various levels. And this connection matters the most for an experience designer. I cannot design a product to appeal to the masses sitting in a posh café. Stepping out to meet people helps me understand the audience, their needs, and expectations.
