The Makers Summit 2021: Master The Art Of Expressing Through Design

Out of all the elements in the creation of a product, designing is the uncanniest of them all. The art of design is all about the unique confluences —  structure and flow, method and expression, and finding endless space within constraints. Like the yin and yang, designing is all about the perfect balance between contradictions. 

It is no secret that the success of a product is majorly dependent on the sophistication of its design. Yet, there are no guidelines or manuals which can tell the reader exactly how to master this confusing beast and find the missing ingredient to take a product to its maximum potential.

And that’s why we, at Inc42, have carefully sketched out a series of sessions with top design heads from acclaimed companies like Microsoft, Swiggy, Airtel, Bounce, Makemytrip and Headout. In order to create the deepest impact in the market with a product, the key is always to make a lasting connection with the users — and with an intention to help the startup community understand and learn the nuances of design, we will be meeting at The Makers Summit 2021,a three-day online conference to be held from  12th-14th March.

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Here is a sneak peek at the design exclusive sessions we have planned for the event.

The Modern Design Stack

Design is an accumulated effort. Working on a single aspect and element, the efforts feel inconsequential till one zooms out and looks at the larger picture — and everything is different. This is the idea behind the modern design stack. And who better to show the nitty-gritty of design than someone who is at the centre of the cutting edge of tech products building a high-frequency, high growth product.

We have with us Saptarshi Prakash, a senior product design manager at Swiggy, holding the first design exclusive Masterclass of The Makers Summit. He will present case studies on how even small design changes can have a big impact on business goals. He will also illustrate the impact of animation in improving user experience on apps and will showcase how AR, 3D and 360-degree view elements improve customer experience.

Build For Billions: Bringing an Inclusive Lens to Product Design

It is needless to say that the success of a product is directly proportional to the number of active users of the product. To maximise the use case of a product, it has to be built for everyone regardless of their language, region, gender or ethnicity. To be inclusive is to understand diversity, and one who is able to, builds the next successful product loved by billions.

With the aim of throwing light on the inclusivity factor to help the audience formulate strategies on capturing the heart of billions of users, we are organising an exclusive panel discussion.

The discussion will focus on designing for the edge cases to cater to everyone under the bell curve. It will also dwell upon the much debated topic of functionality versus aesthetics to understand what really works in Indian markets.

The panelists will consist of product leaders who have mastered the art of creating design that makes a connection with the masses. The panelists are Himanshu Khanna, founder of Sparklin, Sourav Sarkar, head of design at Airtel, Abhinav Chhikara, founder of 10K Design, and Rohan Verma, director of design at Urban Company.

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What They Won’t Teach You In Design College 

Design is art. And art can’t be taught in its entirety in academics. It is a thing to be learned through experience and executed through expression. To share the lessons which can only be acquired through experience, Sidharth from Hideout will take you on a journey starting from the design college and ending at the knowledge of running a high-growth startup in the fast paced product world. 

The session will take on the challenge of how to leverage the engineering function to improve the design. It will also explain the art of making sense out of data by asking the right questions, and how to look out for familiar patterns that emerge in data. The session will take the users on a journey from style sheets to design systems with case studies.

Emotional Design – How to Make Products That People Love

Everytime the familiar notification sound of one’s favorite social media application buzzes on their phone, the first reaction is always to glance and reach out towards the phone. The tone forms an emotional association with the user. The association grows strong to the point that the happiness of getting a message from a loved one is felt through that 2 second sound. 

Digging deeper into the complexities of human emotions,  tapping into the secret of making  a product that people connect with a certain emotion is the main focus of this masterclass. Sruthi Sivakumar, head of design at bike-sharing app Bounce, will help the users understand the importance of UX research to build strong elements of emotional design. The session will also emphasise on how positive and negative experiences build user engagement through curiosity and how voice and sound trigger a behavior.

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How to Establish and Scale a Design System

Everything aside, the ultimate aim of design is to translate itself into the success of the product. One of the greatest challenges of using design to build a successful product is to find the balance between fast-paced evolution to support high growth and  staying steady to form its own identity.

Jaydeep Dutta, senior vice president & head of user experience at MakeMyTrip, will take the audience through all the essential components of a design system in his Masterclass. One can expect to learn the core elements of design such as grids, typography and iconography, colour palettes, modules, and templates. The session will also take you on a journey of evolution of a design system.

Building Better Products With The JTBD Framework

Looking at design from an utilitarian perspective, understanding the framework of jobs-to-be-done (JTBD) is imperative. The concept has existed since time immemorial, and although it has been through many iterations and variations, the core concept has remained the same — to understand why users make the choices they do. In the modern world where data is everywhere, it can sometimes be difficult to distinguish the insight from the noise — and that’s where understanding the principles of this time-tested formula is a necessary tool to have in your arsenal.

In this Masterclass, Shaheena Attarwala, a design manager at Microsoft, will not only delve deep into the nuances of JTBD theory, but also demonstrate how to use the framework to understand customer needs and align teams to build products that customers desire. She will elucidate on frameworks prioritising, defining, capturing and organising the inputs that are required to make innovation predictable.

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