DesignUp Deconstruct: Understanding the State of Design-In-Tech, in India & SE Asia
Tags: Study, User Experience, Report, Design, Interaction Design

“With an incredibly diverse population of more than 1.3 billion people, it’s safe to say India has its own unique opportunities in the world of digital products. In many ways, it is the new frontier of UX design — with a hungry, driven group of new UX designers ready to find unique solutions to local and global problems” says Patrick Faller, in his post exploring the unique challenges and opportunities for the Ux industry in India.

And yet, to understand Design maturity in organisations, from zooming in on valued skills, to understanding hiring landscape and emerging trends, our first (and often only) port of call is usually studies and reports from America’s East and West coasts.

With DesignUp Deconstruct — we want to change this construct.

DesignUp DeConstruct is an in-depth study that turns the spotlight on Design within tech-led organisations and startups—and in companies embracing ‘digital.’ We want to uncover and amplify voices from India and SE Asia, understand the hopes, aspirations and realities of the many professionals and students that make up this growing specialism— and opportunities that this thriving Asian ecosystem offers.

We want to deconstruct this broad, evolving profession, understand trends — in skilling, hiring, education, industry expectations, team, maturity, leadership. And more. We want to deconstruct and reconstruct and provide a comprehensive India (and SE Asia) centric perspective.

“This is not a salary survey, the place where people love to lie. It’s a place where truth helps us grow as a unique community” — Ripul Kumar

Unique journeys & shared futures

What makes India (an SE Asia) different are the unique journeys that have eventually created the profession as it is practiced today. The evolution of Design-In-Tech was different in this region, as were the challenges and circumstances. These unique journeys need to be known, documented and heard.

The unique Indo-Asian journeys to where our profession is today, and our shared futures is a special focus of the DesignUp Deconstruct Report

And then there’s our shared future — what does the Indo-Asian-centric world look like in the future? Design-in-Tech within our very unique cultural, social fabric. We want to understand ourselves uniquely.

Can I participate?

Aggregating and compiling a perspective on India & SE Asia would not be complete without your unique voice. We need you to say, to speak up, be heard. Over the next few weeks, we have a survey open for you.

You can participate anonymously or choose to identify yourself. We won’t ask you any intrusive personal questions. Promise! And you might get to win vouchers or dinners with DesignUp speakers.

We are also interviewing a small set of Designers, Business and Design leaders in person. We have already started with the exercise.

What’s the end goal?

We will release the report and broader trends on stage at DesignUp 2019 Festival. Your point of view will be heard, voiced and represented. Even if anonymously. Digital copies would be available for you to read and share.

“The DesignUp Deconstruct Report is for you, by you—not just to read and share, but to action and use” Saloni Sabnis

Why should I participate?

Well, why wouldn’t you? You could enter anonymously if you wish, but if you tell us who you are, there are vouchers or dinners with DesignUp 2019 speakers to be won. And if you still needed us to say more:

A report for you and by you

The more people participate the more comprehensive the study becomes. Lets come together to learn about and understand our own community, connect more dots and spot outliers. Once we put it together, it will be shared back with you!

Find your own takeaways

The report aims to bring takeaways for you, your career and your company by comparing to the rest of the design landscape. Whether you’re a student or a professional, it’ll help you locate yourself, your team and your org in the broader industry within India and SE Asia.

Don’t just read it; Use it.

We hope the report becomes a tool for action — to share within your org, with your managers and your peers. A broad map for your team’s pathways, to plan hiring and staffing, or learning and training.

Will it take time?

Here’s the link to get you going: bit.ly/DUpDeCons19

Anything worthwhile takes time: To fill in the survey, all it takes is under 15 minutes!

All it takes is 15 minutes — anything worth doing does take some time and effort. And it’s just a fraction of the time you might spend on social media in a day. Or queuing up and waiting for your food at a self-serve cafe. And for a worthwhile cause. And something that will last and serve the community. So get started with the survey now!

Who’s behind this?

Deconstruct is powered by DesignUp and it’s volunteers—primarily a lot of the usual suspects, across orgs, specialisms and geographies: Ripul Kumar, Prabin Pebam, Rasagy Sharma, Narayan Gopalan, Saloni Sabnis and yours truly. We want this to be agnostic and neutral, relevant and applicable widely across the Design-In-Tech industry.

Agnostic and ambitious — that’s the cornerstone of the DesignUp Deconstruct Study.

The effort is supported, in an individual capacity, by a lot of Designers and Design Leaders across the country, across Asia and across organisations.

Start, share and spread!

Here’s the link once again and once done — you can copy and paste the following blurb in any (and every) social media you’re active on: