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Design Lota

Design Lota

By Angie & Sushi

The podcast about life as Indian Designers. Hosted by Interaction Designer Angeline Bhavya and Industrial Designer Sushmita Charlu. As designers from two different fields, our intention is to be an authentic voice of the everyday designer and to bring the Indian design community closer.
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Design LotaAug 08, 2019

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00:59
E031 Mental Health for Creatives Part 2

E031 Mental Health for Creatives Part 2

In this episode, we talk about how we relate to ourselves as creatives, how our attitudes affect our mental well-being, and learn about the mindsets and habits that can help us find balance.


We discuss the need for finding our identity beyond the work that we do, though the two are often intertwined.  


We unpack the phenomenon of imposter syndrome and all its implications for us as creative practitioners. We go into the issue of comparison and share a few personal learnings and mindsets that have helped us be more confident as creative individuals. 


Nithya explains the irony of our quest for belonging and certification, while also desiring to be unique. We talk about how social media forums can be toxic and what a good community really looks like. 


We talk about how to build great mental health habits, as well as tips for first-responder care for both ourselves and our loved ones. 


We discuss the barriers to getting help and how designers can make a difference.


We conclude with some mindset tips on how we can be our own biggest asset.


Design Lota is hosted by designers Angeline Bhavya and Sushmita Charlu. 

Jan 06, 202139:45
E031 Mental Health for Creatives Part 1
Dec 22, 202032:26
E030 Fabrics of Culture with Aditi Jain - Part 2

E030 Fabrics of Culture with Aditi Jain - Part 2

Aditi shares about her experience of working with textile producer groups remotely during the Covid-19 pandemic and marvels at the resilience of Indian craft. 

She shares her thoughts on the merits of unconventional fibers and manmade textiles, and also the issue of over-consumption.  

We talk about some applications of technology in textiles and Aditi tells us what excites her the most about textile design.

She gives us a 101 on collaborating with skilled craftspeople and the need for rapport. 

We conclude this episode with Aditi's list of inspiring textile artists and designers.

Full transcript in www.designlota.com

Design Lota is co-hosted by designers Sushmita Charlu and Angeline Bhavya

Oct 15, 202024:15
E030 Fabrics of Culture with Aditi Jain - Part 1

E030 Fabrics of Culture with Aditi Jain - Part 1

In this episode, we speak to Textile Designer Aditi Jain. Aditi tells us about her decision to pursue a career in textiles and the learnings picked up during her course.

She takes us through the process of  designing and making handloom textiles at Gandhigram where she currently works.

She talks about the subject of textiles as both art and science, and gives an example of the story beneath the surface of a fabric.

We discuss the barriers that prevent traditional textiles from mass adoption and the relevance of khadi in today’s context

We talk about plagiarism by fast fashion companies, as one of the dangers to traditional textiles and Aditi explains the distinction between inspiration and appropriation.

We wrap up part 1 of this episode reminiscing about craft exhibitions and their role in helping Indians discover textiles. Aditi stresses on the importance of reimagining craft retail online, and creating better support systems for artisans going forward.

Check out our blog designlota.com for more details and references.

Design Lota is co-hosted by designers Sushmita Charlu and Angeline Bhavya. Podcast music by Shankar Narayan.

Sep 27, 202035:18
E029 Design Mentorship with Anshuman Dhar

E029 Design Mentorship with Anshuman Dhar

In this episode, we speak to recent graduate, UX designer and Co-founder of Cmd+J, Anshuman Dhar who shares how mentorship can help newbies as well as seasoned designers.

Anshuman talks about how he moved from chemical engineering to UX design

Angie and Anshuman discuss how the definition of mentorship is changing and the power of community mentorship.

We note how design institutions have easy access to mentorship in the form of a rich network of different kinds of mentors to learn from.

Anshuman describes the gap that Cmd+j seeks to fill.

Young designers are looking for ‘someone like us’ who made it.

Mentorship is about giving back to the community.

As a mentee, assembling your own mentors by finding people who resonate with your unique journey can be powerful.

We look at best practices of reaching out to a mentor online.


Design Lota blog: designlota.com

Design Lota is hosted by designers Angeline Bhavya and Sushmita Charlu.

Podcast Music by Shankar Narayan

Aug 16, 202043:41
E028 Product thinking, Contextual questions and emotions in UX Design Interviews with Madhuri Maram Part 2

E028 Product thinking, Contextual questions and emotions in UX Design Interviews with Madhuri Maram Part 2

In Part 2 of this episode, Madhuri - Designer, and Host of the Hireworthy Podcast - gives us valuable insight about applying, positioning oneself and interviewing for a new career opportunity.

We discuss in depth, about how developing product thinking skills and understanding business can enable designers who wish to move into product management.

Madhuri also tells us why management may not be for everyone, and how to choose between IC and manager roles.

We debate about the relevance of the day-long interview format, and Madhuri lays out some of the parameters for ensuring an effective interview for both the parties.

She gives us insight into the best way to tackle those nerve-wracking contextual interview questions.

We talk about the emotional toll of the job hunt process, and how to practice self-care while improving our skills.

We conclude with strategies on how to stay relevant and employable even in the midst of a recession.


The transcript for this episode is available on designlota.com

Podcast music by Shankar Narayan

Podcast hosts: Sushmita Charlu and Angeline Bhavya

Jun 13, 202027:35
E028 Hiring Design (UX and Digital Product Design) with Madhuri Maram Part 1

E028 Hiring Design (UX and Digital Product Design) with Madhuri Maram Part 1

In Part 1 of this episode, we speak to Madhuri Maram- Designer and Host of the Hireworthy Podcast. She talks about her role as an enabler in design-in-tech recruitment.

She brings out the various gaps in the process and tells us how D+P and Xperian were created to support the design community.

She gives valuable insight into what designers at different levels should do to set the right expectations for their growth and employability.

She tips us off about the non-obvious skills when presenting portfolios while applying for a job, and we talk about the importance of storytelling through one’s work.

Madhuri introduces us to the concept of having a Point A, and consistently working towards it with self awareness and external feedback.

We discuss about baffling job titles and finding our unique spaces in the spectrum of design skills.

References and Transcript on our blog designlota.com

Co-hosts: Sushmita Charlu and Angeline Bhavya

Podcast music: Shankar Narayan

Jun 08, 202041:09
E027 Crayons for Conservation with Akshaya Zachariah
May 15, 202047:14
E026 Part 2 - License to Create with Manojna Yeluri

E026 Part 2 - License to Create with Manojna Yeluri

In part 2 of our conversation with Manojna Yeluri - Lawyer and Founder of Artistik License, we continue talking through the legalities of being artists and designers.

We talk about the ways she has used social media to make the law approachable and easy to understand and apply for creatives.

She talks about entitlement in the form of discounts and freebies being a deterrent to the creative economy and industry as a whole.

Among other bad practices in the creative industry, Manojna shares the concept of Passion Exploitation - which tends to justify less payment because the artist or designer is passionate about their work.

She talks about the power of community and support to compare notes and bring awareness about their rights as creators. She also calls out the scarcity mindset of project bidding which can negatively affect both the creator and the industry.

We go into a discussion on economic and opportunity losses and cancellations because of the current Covid-19 situation around the world, and how to navigate it in the legal sense.

We also hear stories of creators taking advantage of other creators in unethical ways and how she as a lawyer dealt with those situations.

The transcript and references for this episode are on our blog www.designlota.com

Podcast Music - Desh by Shankar Narayan

Podcast hosts - Sushmita Charlu and Angeline Bhavya

Apr 24, 202035:27
E026 Part 1 - License to Create with Manojna Yeluri

E026 Part 1 - License to Create with Manojna Yeluri

In Part 1 of this episode, Manojna Yeluri - Lawyer and Founder of Artistik License, walks us through the legalities of being artists and designers.

She tells us what got her working with the creative community as a lawyer. We learn about the methods she has used to demystify legalese and make useful legal information more accessible.

We power through those tough questions about how to handle difficult clients and projects and ways to make the process more structured. We also speak about IP, NDAs, plagiarism, power games and managing effective feedback loops.

Manojna offers some useful advice on best practices that we can follow as creatives to take care of some of these aspects ourselves.

She ponders how the future of the law can be as a dynamic as creativity is and how both parties can learn from each other and build each other up for the better.


The transcript for this blog is on our blog www.designlota.com

Podcast Music - Desh by Shankar Narayan

Podcast hosts - Sushmita Charlu and Angeline Bhavya

Apr 21, 202042:15
E025 Stories of Visual Culture with Ragini Siruguri - Part 2

E025 Stories of Visual Culture with Ragini Siruguri - Part 2

In Part 2 of our chat with Ragini Siruguri, Visual Communication Designer at Tara Books, we talk about her love for colours, her photography and visual inspiration. 

Ragini shares her approach in her graphic design projects and how local context helps us design better.

We discuss the state of Design Education today and Ragini tells us about her course at OwnPath.

The transcript for this episode can be found at designlota.com

Co-hosts: Sushmita Charlu and Angeline Bhavya

Podcast Music by: Shankar Narayan 




Mar 20, 202028:00
E025 Stories of Visual Culture with Ragini Siruguri - Part 1
Mar 12, 202024:15
E024 Play for Everyone

E024 Play for Everyone

In this episode, we talk to Aditi Agrawal who is the co-founder of Studio Gudgudee - a design studio that works on inclusive playgrounds.

We discuss how designing for playful learning requires deep observation and getting out of the way and allowing it to happen.

We re-iterate the power of play in the over all development of children and also to transcend the boundaries of age and ability.

Aditi shares the challenges of designing for the differently-abled and what sparked the need to make inclusive play spaces rather than just accessible spaces.

Sushi and Aditi ponder over how adults can benefit from unstructured, playful experiences and how that can help build bonds among each other and with kids.

We talk about the concepts of risk versus hazard in play and how to use risk effectively to design interesting play spaces.

We think about the importance of inclusive public spaces and designing for longevity and public usage.


[Episode graphic image courtesy: Studio Gudgudee]

Nov 29, 201936:38
E023 Experiments with Productivity

E023 Experiments with Productivity

In this episode, Sushi and Angie discuss productivity and how it’s about managing expectations and emotions as much as it is about managing time. 

We discuss how emotions play a huge role in how we feel about our work and go about accomplishing tasks. 

We share how high expectations can be counter-productive and keep us from taking the first step.

We talk about how to tend to your to-do list often to keep it realistic. 

We look at ways to take real breaks that actually energize us instead of shortcuts that wear us down.

We talk about the power of scheduling and saying no.

Sep 02, 201912:20
E022 Art as a Life Skill
Aug 09, 201937:54
S3 Trailer

S3 Trailer

Presenting Season 3 of the podcast! Coming this Friday, August  9th. We have some interesting episodes lined up - we’re talking about  Inclusive Design, Art Therapy, Productivity, Illustration, Visual  Communication in the Indian Context and more. Stay tuned!

Aug 08, 201900:59
E021 The User in UX

E021 The User in UX

In this episode we talk to Ripul Kumar, Head of UX at Tally and Ex-founder of a design research firm, Kern.

Ripul talks about how he discovered User Research to be his forte and what led to him opening his own research firm.

We discuss how research techniques must be creatively adapted to the cultural context to get meaningful insights.

Ripul gives us some ideas on what to do when there is not enough budget or priority given for research in a corporate setting, and how to bring in a culture of research in different ways.

We ponder about 'best practices' in the research process and when to use them.

Ripul shares his experience watching and being part of the changing design scene in India over the last couple of decades.

We talk about Design Leadership and what it takes to lead design in our contexts.

Ripul talks about his learnings in the journey from Research Consultant to Head of UX and also a course in Management at MIT Sloan.


Sep 26, 201843:28
E020 A year of Design Lota
Sep 12, 201806:45
E019 Design and Sustainability

E019 Design and Sustainability

In this episode, Sushi and Angie discuss the inconvenient truths about design and sustainability, and what we can do about it.

We talk about art and design as tools to educate people about sustainability issues.

We discuss cost, convenience and customer psychology.

We touch upon the dangers of greenwashing, and getting to the 'why' of the problem.

We talk about the success of some symptom-driven solutions, and address the importance of thinking in systems.

We brainstorm a few ideas on how we can bring sustainability into the digital world as well.

Aug 29, 201816:11
E018 Type Around Us
Aug 08, 201844:11
E017 The Anatomy of Industrial Design

E017 The Anatomy of Industrial Design

In this episode, we talk to Karan Patel, Industrial Designer and co-founder of Meshined Design, about what it takes to put a great product out there.

Some of the points we touch upon:

Engineers turning into designers, How the Engineering and Design fields inform each other, and how engineers and designers can work together.

Balancing and learning from both product and service mindsets.

The importance of understanding the intent and setting a context, by defining the constraints before delving into a design problem.

How the definition of product 'quality' is dependent on perception and price.

How prototyping is a powerful skill that allows us to think with our hands, and requires systems and spaces that allow for this act of making.

The need to go beyond aesthetics while designing a product.

Crowdfunding as an idea validation and feedback tool.

The diverse domains that designers can get involved in to work on to solve problems.
Jul 25, 201847:35
E016 Designers and Tools

E016 Designers and Tools

In this episode, Sushi and Angie chat about designers and the tools of their trade.

We attempt to define what design tools are, and what qualifies as a design tool.

We reminisce about a time when design was more about thinking with your hands.

We question if tools beginning to define the designer, and does knowing or owning tools ensure a superior quality of design work?

We discuss the importance of a foundation of intangible and valuable design tools in a world where tools come and go so often.
Jul 11, 201811:07
E015 Design for Learning

E015 Design for Learning

Mydhili talks about her journey from a psychology major to an edtech entrepreneur and what caused the shift.

She tells us about her interesting work with the Harvard Graduate School of Education, where she did her Master's in the Technology in Education course. She also did a project with MIT Media Lab during this time, which she walks us through.

We learn about qualitative user research techniques especially when you're working with children and young adults.

She brings out the importance of building trust and having genuine curiosity about children's lives to glean useful insights that can help designers come up with better educational products for them.

She walks us through what sparked the creation of Young Current and what it takes to build a child-safe news reading experience while also keeping it interesting.

She also gives us her take on where edtech is headed next and how budding edtechpreneurs and designers can find their way into this interesting field.

Jun 27, 201843:54
E014 Design Portfolios
Jun 13, 201844:49
E013 Embracing Ambiguity

E013 Embracing Ambiguity

Sushi and Angie talk about how Ambiguity and Confusion can be a path to creative courage, deep empathy and happy accidents.
May 30, 201816:49
E012 Design and Ethics

E012 Design and Ethics

In the Season 1 Finale episode, Sushi & Angie ponder over the ethical questions a designer faces. For references and entire transcript: designlota.com
Dec 13, 201718:57
E011 Design and #lifegoals
Nov 22, 201729:29
E010 Design and Spaces
Nov 08, 201737:58
E009 Process Prowess

E009 Process Prowess

We talk about using an open-minded approach to the design process.
Oct 25, 201715:51
E008 Being a Designpreneur
Oct 18, 201736:00
E007 Type and History
Oct 11, 201742:33
E006 Friending Feedback
Oct 04, 201718:09
E005 Design Schooled
Sep 27, 201720:24
E004 Design And Travel
Sep 20, 201730:00
E003 Out of the Comfort Zone
Sep 13, 201721:01
E002 Design for Social Impact

E002 Design for Social Impact

We talk to Suchita Isaac, who's worked as a designer at U&I, a non-profit organisation. References and complete transcript for this episode at: https://designlota.wordpress.com/2017/09/06/episode-2-design-for-social-impact-an-interview-with-suchita-isaac/ Music credit - 'Try Anything Once' by Lee Rosevere
Sep 06, 201726:40
E001 Why are you a designer?
Sep 05, 201710:47
E000 DesignLota Trailer

E000 DesignLota Trailer

Launching this wednesday, September 6th with two brand new episodes. We're so excited. Join us!


Music Credit: Try Anything Once by Lee Rosevere
Sep 02, 201701:20