Arpit's Fellowship Experience

‍TL;DR‍

With a longstanding passion for game design, Arpit switched gears to product design, seeing how his skills matched the needs of emerging tech. Enrolling in ownpath's fellowship, he refined his abilities through personalised mentorship and real-time industry projects.

From mastering user research methods to enhancing presentation skills, the journey prepared him for a role at Unacademy. Grateful for cohort support and mentorship from industry experts, he stresses the value of continuous learning!

This is his story: 

I've always been passionate about game design. Deciding to enter the arts and design field after school was a no-brainer.

Graduating in Digital Media with a focus on Game Art & Design, I was drawn to emerging tech like mixed reality. Realising my skill sets aligned perfectly with this new industry’s needs, I saw an opportunity to make a broader impact with my work, beyond gaming. Also, I'm motivated not only by visceral satisfaction but also by the desire to make a tangible difference. All these factors ultimately led me towards pursuing a career in product design.

I wanted to join a course to upskill and discovered ownpath through LinkedIn. After researching and consulting friends, I found it to be better than the other programs out there. The one-on-one mentorship concept was particularly appealing to me because, although I was familiar with design fundamentals, I wanted personalised feedback to improve my work. Additionally, I wanted to create a portfolio which would reflect my style and make me stand out. Conversations with the ownpath team further convinced me to go ahead with the program.

The classes helped me improve my understanding of user research and usability testing, while also polishing my Figma skills and promoting consistency in my designs through the creation of design systems. My rationale for making design decisions has improved, shifting from a focus solely on aesthetics. The storytelling sessions also helped me improve my communications skills, enabling me to present my designs more effectively.

All these learnings proved invaluable during my industry project with Jiva, which I thoroughly enjoyed. It was a great learning curve for me, enabling me to utilise effectively the theories learned in class. I got the opportunity to get feedback from industry professionals for my work on a real-time business problem.

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The portfolio review sessions organised by ownpath were also incredibly helpful. Various mentors offered constructive feedback to improve both visual and storytelling elements. I ensured that I incorporated all these changes before I started applying for jobs. As a result of these review sessions, I also began writing about my case studies on Medium and found myself enjoying it immensely.

I'm deeply grateful to my cohort as the curiosity shown by my classmates helped me generate ideas for my own projects. Special thanks to mentors like Swathy and Akshay; they are very good with taking you back to the basics and strengthening them. Apoorva's sessions were particularly helpful during my recruitment process with Unacademy, which involved a preliminary test and three rounds of face-to-face interviews with the CTO, manager, and engineering head. While they assessed my technical abilities and background, my diverse skill set was the key factor in securing the position.

I strongly believe in the importance of continuous learning. Without it, one stands to lose a lot. Keeping up with upskilling and staying updated with market trends and software is essential. I don't have a specific job title in mind for the future; my goal is simply to tackle product problems, find solutions, maybe explore new avenues, and move on to the next challenge.

I want to continue this cycle because every problem I solve presents an opportunity to learn and grow.

For those beginning the fellowship, my advice is to complete your assignments diligently, as these projects will ultimately become part of your portfolio. Also, I highly recommend learning Framer; it's an excellent and intuitive tool and it can help you create a great portfolio.

Lastly, stay informed about industry developments. It's important to understand how products are changing and how designers are changing their thought process. There are numerous design communities and content creators sharing valuable resources on the latest trends. Cultivate a habit of reading; this is the thing which will help you navigate the industry.

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If you're looking to make a career transition, or level up in product design, learn more about ownpath's Product Design Fellowship.

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