A General Introduction:
My name is Arun Ravi. I was born in Bangalore, a southern Indian city in Karnataka. Since I was a child, I have been intrigued by how and why things work. Over the years, I have learnt and accumulated various skills arising from my interest in academics and co-curriculars that have stood in good stead in my problem-solving ability. I believe that design is at the core of how humans interact, navigate and understand the world. I enjoy discovering user needs, understanding the relationships among stakeholders and creating a cohesive experience that combines the problem-solving aspect of design practice with deep empathy for the user.
Why Design, Technology, Business and Humanities?
In my opinion, experiences that will shape the future are situated at the intersection of design, humanities and business. I aspire to work on meaningful human-centered experiences and feed my curiosity every day. My interest in design comes from my interest and experience in people. Through my experiences, I have come to realize that people change how the world is viewed. I am intrigued by the cyclical relationship humans have with these disciplines and connecting them with design; we shape them and they, in turn, shape us.
Mindset as a Designer:
My mindset as a designer stems from research, data, ideation and strategy. Each connected by the other, my approach to design is to start from the roots by learning about the problem or topic. I then proceed to understand more about the topic, ideating to think about how new solutions or modifications to existing solutions can be formulated and then consider value creation from different aspects. My experiences and learnings have led me to one common thread when it comes to design: understanding the human experience. Focusing on the kinship between humans and design, allows for thought and imagination, which ultimately could change the way we navigate through the world.
My Cross-disciplinary Understanding:
I am actively exploring the ways in which data and creativity intersect and drive one another through effective technological and experiential design. I thrive in the cross-section of strategy, experience, and collaboration. I believe that successful, transformative solutions result from deep collaborations focused on elevating users' desires while acknowledging contextual and social constraints. The space between research and design allows me to transform ambiguity into insights to drive the conceptualization of new products, map organizational service structures, and design strategies. Collaboration and exploration across different fields has helped me to diversify my thought process and adapt to different situations. I see myself as an individual who can adapt to changes occurring across different spectrums and convert those changes into possible opportunities aimed at bringing holistic success to different sets of audiences.
Developing my Craft:
My experiences in school, college and internships have helped to guide my path toward aspiring to be a designer, focusing on value creation at the intersection of design, business and humanities. My interest in humanities developed through grades 1 to 12, wherein I came to appreciate the spectrum of fields that fall under the broad category of humanities and their interconnectedness. Moving on to pursue my Postgraduate Diploma in Interdisciplinary Studies after my undergraduate studies in Bachelor of Business Administration (Communication Management) at FLAME University, I began to truly understand how different fields can be connected to instill holistic learning and value creation. Specializing in Digital Marketing and Business Analytics helped me understand the significance of customer-centrism, customer experience, data-based decision making and strategy toward the design process. My internships, which largely focused on research and groundwork relevant to business decision-making, developed a mindset within me, of starting from the bottom and focusing on seemingly unimportant tasks in order to understand the possibilities of creating value.
Outside of Work…
When I am not devising interesting ways to communicate mundane ideas to the world, I am playing and learning new sports - my favorite being basketball, soccer and American football. Music has been a huge part of my life resulting in my being proficient in playing the Tabla, the Mridangam and vocal music within the Indian classical tradition. I enjoy watching and interacting with animals due to the peace and calm that I experience amidst nature. I love to paint and explore different textures and colours, while attempting to communicate through art. Being a foodie, I indulge in helping out in the kitchen from time to time, often ending up cooking full meals while looking for new flavours and dishes to cook and eat.
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