I’m a Design Thinker and Innovation Strategist from Toronto ON, I work with businesses in advocating a ‘user-first’ culture for digital innovation, services, and for key design management initiatives. I’ve collaborated with teams at Fortune 100/500 companies on strategic innovation & UX projects.
I’ve blogged since 2002 on topics ranging from design to technology to culture and also tweeted simultaneously. I graduated in Applied Arts and worked in the interim as a graphic designer. I later realized my potential and passion for user-centric design and ever since the last decade, I’ve endeavoured in that area in various capacities. I founded Self Consulting Inc. to further my interests in design innovation & strategy.
I make use of a variety of sources, such as human-computer interaction, information sensing, navigation systems, digital strategies, mobility, information architecture, to name a few. I love all forms of research and enjoy analyzing data. I’m an experienced Certified Usability Analyst (CUA) professional with over 16 years of broad-based design & IT industry exposure. My LinkedIn profile has some more details.
THOUGHT-LEADERSHIP IN HUMAN-CENTERED DESIGN & DESIGN THINKING
My mission is to deliver a holistic thought-leadership perspective on Human-Centered Design, User-Centered Design and Design Thinking for business innovation. At a time when the industry is searching for ways to relate with and manage customer experiences, ‘design’ must go beyond its limited scope of aestheticism and software challenges in lending a strategic thrust to ideas.
In that, the essence of any innovation strategy is incomplete without accommodating the user needs or long-term sustainability goals for the ecosystem, whether it’s interactive digital apps, consumer goods, or affordable housing for low-income groups. I’m largely inspired by IDEO’s philosophy of Human-Centered Design and through the scores of books and articles on business innovation, design thinking, and strategic thinking. Interested? You can find a list here, to start with.
YOU MAY BE INTERESTED IN MY WORK!
The intrinsic value of any form of design strategy lies in its ability to empathetically connect the customers with the business, or vice versa. Although, when you’re working with several touchpoints, that’s easier said than achieved. While most business leaders would acknowledge the benefits of ’user-centred design’ and ‘user-first’ thinking they overlook its execution in a structured form. This plain oversight (or dogma, if you will) is one reason, why design strategies don’t succeed in projects and the outcomes fail to meet the expectations.
I’ve consulted Fortune 100/500 customers on large digital products & service innovation strategies using design thinking, and it also includes corporate branding and marketing initiatives. You can check my portfolio and my bio or connect with me personally for a discussion.