Navigating my career path

Since 1999

It’s November 1999 almost a month to go for the year 2000 (Remember Y2K). Those are early days of computers - Imagine dial up modems, chunky CPUs, roaring processors, flimsy floppy disks - Amazing days I should say. I usually go to my friend’s home after work to browse the internet and check my emails (even though there are no new emails).

After completing high school I worked as a data entry operator just to be in the computer field. I didn’t have financial support to do college so I was working and attending computer science classes in the evening. In parallel doing a degree through post. I earn and pay for the fees, because I don’t want to create financial burden to my family to pursue my computer dreams.

Whenever I get time after work and classes I hang out at my close friend’s home by browsing through internet and refreshing those empty inboxes. One of those days, surprisingly I got an email from ‘Indus Media’, a startup based in Chennai. I remembered that I applied for a job as scanning technician that I found in a newspaper. That’s my first job application that I sent via email.

That email made my day and I was so happy that I got an interview call. Not just that. I got my first interview call via email.

I am scanning text from the books and magazines and converting them into text and images

Scanning and Photoshop

After the interview, I got selected for the role of ‘Scanning Technician’ at Indus Media. Indus Media was creating an online portal at that time. It’s an era of online portals, and lots of businesses invest in creating one. Those are predominantly news and content websites. As a scanning technician, my job is to scan the newspaper articles and convert them into text (OCR - Optical Character Recognition) and then save the images in a folder. These text and image artifacts will be used by the content creator to add them to the web portal pages. Those web interfaces look beautiful, and I found that there are few designers who create them. I noticed that they use Photoshop. I barely used Photoshop when I was in the data entry job in the printing press. One thing I did during that time was create an India flag in Photoshop and save that image and add it as a screensaver on a Windows machine - Imagine that flying flag as a screensaver. People said that was cool. After that, I saw Photoshop being used here at Indus Media to create websites by designers. I was working in a shift, so after my first shift, I sat with the designers and just observed what they did in Photoshop - It’s truly a magical experience. They just play around with shapes, colors, pen tools, gradients, fonts, and more. They are my good friends and mentors till now.

Photoshop 5 - The tool that I loved and made me a designer. Learned a ton from my mentors that time.

Wallpaper

Photoshop inspired me to stay long hours in the office so I can try out something using that tool to produce something graphical. I create designs every day and put wallpapers everywhere on my computer. Every day, my change of scenery allows my skills to grow in designing in Photoshop.

I didn’t know that many of the people who work there come to my desk every day just to see my wallpaper, while I’m away. One fine day, the boss, who is the CEO of that organization, walked by my desk and noticed the wallpaper. It’s a collage of US President George Washington. He liked it and asked who did this. My friend, who was a 3D animator, told him that Daniel did that work. The boss was super impressed and asked me to come and see him in the office.

Unexpected Job Offer

When I arrived at the office, my boss greeted me and said he liked my work. I was unsure how to respond, so I just thanked him. Then he asked, “Daniel, are you interested in the web designer role?”

I’m just feeling the tears on my eyes as I type this.

I said ‘Yes’!

A three dimensional dream

I loved my first design job. It was exciting to create web experiences using colors, shapes, and fonts. There were many options to explore for every page or feature. It was fun and satisfying. Other designers on the team helped me improve my skills. They had training in fine arts and digital design. I learned to use design tools effectively and approach design artistically (like visual balance and color theory). They were my first mentors, and I'm grateful to have had them.

A few months later, the company hired a new creative director to lead the 3D team and boost its gaming and animation efforts. He and his team achieved impressive results with 'Lightwave,' a popular 3D tool like 3D Studio Max. They were developing a new 3D game, and the characters and world they built inspired my interest in 3D modeling and animation. I joined them, learned the 3D software, and began creating simple objects and scenes.

After a few years, Indus Media was affected by the market and laid off employees. I stayed with the founders to help them since they gave me my first design job. However, due to the economic crisis, I had to leave. I then joined the founding members of the design team at Indus Media, who started a new design studio in Bangalore. I’m grateful to be part of this team that inspired and mentored me early in my career. The creative director excels in 3D work and encouraged me to learn quickly. I rapidly picked up skills in modeling, rigging, lighting, texturing, and animation. As a startup, we handled various projects, including 3D, web, and print.

My passion for 3D projects has grown as I see my ideas come to life. I've worked on ads, games, e-learning, and medical animations. These ads involved 3D character animations, visual effects, and editing. My 3D portfolio and career goals have expanded, leading me to switch from web design to 3D. I dream of joining Pixar, ILM, or Disney one day. That dream didn’t last long because I faced financial difficulties. I enjoyed working in 3D, but it didn't pay enough.

Change gears and accelerate

So I need to stick to what is evergreen and sustainable in the ever-evolving design field so I can continue to provide consistent financial support for my family and ensure their well-being. So what I thought is sustainable that time is… Web or UI design.

The term UX didn't exist back then in India. Though my 3D career ended sadly, the skills I gained still benefit me today. For example, video editing, After Effects, and principles of animation like easing in/out and secondary action. I use these principles in motion design and project prototypes, enhancing the visual storytelling in my work.

New perspective. New clarity.

Ok, now I have identified my primary focus area, which is Web and UI Design. However, without even fully realizing it, I was also thinking deeply about the importance of User Experience as a crucial aspect of my work. From then, UX has profoundly defined the trajectory of my career journey.