Fellowship Experience: Pranav Shewale

‍TL;DR

After shifting focus from pursuing an MBA, Pranav chose to invest in a career in product design. Through ownpath's Fellowship, he bridged the knowledge gaps he realised he had, and got the opportunity to learn from mentors and industry leaders he admired. From honing his presentation skills, to deepening his understanding of user research, to ultimately landing a position at Capillary Technologies; read as he recounts his Fellowship experience!

This is his story: 

I stumbled upon product design when looking into doing an MBA; the job prospects in marketing didn’t excite me.

With about a year and a half of experience as a product designer, I had some understanding of what the job entailed. I attended a bootcamp course but it did not seem comprehensive enough. I really wanted to dig deeper to fill gaps in my knowledge and skills, especially with mentors who are actually working in the industry. I heard about ownpath through following them on X (formerly Twitter), and it seemed like the only program that offered me the opportunity to closely interact with mentors whose career trajectory I had been following for a while.

My previous organisation’s design philosophy was still developing, because of which my learning in product design was limited, and the people around me were also new to the discipline. I knew I needed to do more than just improve my UI and Figma skills; I wanted to contribute and create more impact for the organisation.

Through ownpath, I learned not just about design tools & skills, but also about softer skills like communication and collaboration with stakeholders.

Akshay's interaction design masterclass was one of my favourites. It made me realise how interaction design is way more than just UI skills. What stood out for me was his recommendation of the book 'Lean UX,’ which gave me a clear understanding of the entire UX process. It was through these classes that I realised the depth of the course, especially compared to the bootcamp I was previously enrolled in.

Similarly, I enjoyed Shreya's workshop – it taught me how to collaborate effectively with stakeholders, while Navneet’s session on ethics was particularly interesting. Manali's sessions on storytelling and presentation skills were also incredibly insightful. Last week, my manager at Capillary Technologies praised my ability to articulate design decisions during presentations, and I thought back to how the ownpath sessions helped me!

Alongside the classes & workshops, I got to form deep friendships with my cohort members, who I’m still in touch with. Working with Pranav P, Akansha, and Kartika on the industry project with Postman was a valuable experience. For the interaction design assignment, I collaborated with Paul and Natalie on a student housing project and our solution was praised as the best in the cohort. We put a lot of effort into it, and I thoroughly enjoyed the process.

We also really enjoyed the in-person hackathon!

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I recently started my new role at Capillary Technologies as a product designer. My interview process involved presenting the case studies in my portfolio, and my previous feedback sessions with Vikalp helped me craft a compelling narrative to explain its contents clearly.

I felt prepared for the white-boarding exercises given to me because of prior sessions with ownpath mentors. I was also able to answer questions regarding stakeholder management more effectively!

My vision for my career is to grow into being a design leader; setting up best practices in organisations I work with, and advocating for good design.

Through this journey with ownpath, I learned the most from the collaboration I did with my fellow cohort members, the amazing sessions I had with all the mentors and the helpful workshops which helped me hone my skills. I’m super grateful to Aparna & the team for their consistent communication, feedback checks, and monitoring of my fellowship progress.

If I could leave a piece of advice for new fellows and aspiring designers, I suggest being proactive and open-minded. Give your best effort to assignments and track your progress weekly. Stay connected with mentors, ask questions, and apply their feedback to your work!

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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. If you're new to design and want to know more about our Bridge Program, talk to us here.

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