Publishing your story with the fastest growing design network in India, on the place designers love the most.

What is the Design Led?
We are an independent design publication made by designers for designers. We feel that designers have a lot to say when it comes to design but more often than not, they just don’t have a community that knows and understands them, giving them chances and helping them grow.

We help designers have their own voice and express opinion that really matter to the fraternity.

Why an Indian Design Blog?

We are trying to create a voice for the designers in India. A way to have a common fire-chat, where everyone can contribute, learn and grow. Because it ought to be a place where we can know whats happening here.

• We are the fastest growing Indian community with our presence growing in about 14 cities including Delhi, Bangalore, Mumbai, Hyderabad etc. through our whatsapp groups, social media and personal network. Publishing with us will get you story in front of everyone in our Network.
• Reach is not just network, reach can often help you get in front of your next hiring manager’s email, whatsapp group or social media.
• Be a part of the community that values inclusiveness and learning
• By publishing with us, you also help us support all our other initiatives that help make the community better.

What type of content do you publish on the blog?

Here is our indepth section on just that.

What to publish with Design Led?

How do I submit my article?

Here is a step by step visual guide to uploading your first medium article.

How to upload your first blog post onto the Design Led Publication

I am a student, and I want to submit some of my college works. What do I do?

How to make a student submission?

What are you waiting for? Lets go!

What is Design Led ? was originally published in Design Led on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

Although, we don’t want to drive differentiate and have biases between the student body of work vs professional work but it bodes well, if you know what content is been driven through which channel. As it helps set the expectation with people and also gives perspective as to what lenses to look the projects from.

Guidelines for Submission

1 The steps to getting your articles are below but there are a few additional things that students must know / should complete before submissions which are below.

• Complete your registration here.
• Follow the page
• Send your submission in the whatsapp group (If your registration is complete, then this would be
• Wait for your enrollment to be complete on medium (We add you as a writer, you should get a notification.)
• Submit your article to the publication
• We will publish it out on the next chance we are online.

How to upload your first blog post onto the Design Led Publication

Check the link above if you want to know a detailed article. If your registration is incomplete, your ariticle will not go through and your enrollment on the medium blog would not be allowed, or will be revoked if already given.

2 Submissions Disclaimers. Student work submissions can be both group or solo efforts, so taking that into account, it is necesary that the all the participating students are mentioned below the article.

Example —

This is a group academic project by a student group. Below are the students involved in the same.

• Santosh Kumar— Communication Design, UID Ahmedabad
• Simran Kaur — Fashion Communication, NIFT Mumbai
• Shekhar Som — Communication Design, NID Bangalore

3.Submission Types: This is not a portfolio site but a learning page where others can learn and grow from your content. So that said, we would prefer to have opinion pieces, case studies, reviews and also interviews of design leaders.

4. Tags: Each article can use 5 tags in total to help Medium segreate content basis those. We also use the same to segregate. As a student, your tag should have “Design Student” as one of the tags, as it helps to then be placed at the right places in the publication.

5. Benefits: There are general benefits being a part of the community but they apply differently to the student body.

Distribution: This will be on a case to case basis and also distribution mediums. In general, all articles gets shared throught the Linkedin platform while the better ones, in whatsapp groups across India.

Feature: This again is based on quality and reception of the aritcles. Mostly the top panel is reserved for the best of articles, but often articles that are trending on the second set of articles.

6. One Article, One Publication Medium follows this rule where it only allows article to be published into one publication alone. Once you have published your article with us, you wouldn’t be able to do that.

• As a policy, if you are submitting an article with us, we are expecting you to keep the article on our platform for a minimum period of 3 months. If the article is removed or duplicate articles are found, we would ban the person from the design led & associated networks.
• The long and short of it, is below. Incase you are looking to putting the same article twice on medium.

How to make a student submission? was originally published in Design Led on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

Designers 101

(Things that designers tend to ignore)

If you look at the design process, then it starts with the intent of the client to want to do a project with you and briefing you to then completing, delivering, and debriefing the client. I think if you look at the typical education cycle, it completely focuses on the central part of the education.

While a large part of a designer’s world revolves around noticing, listening, and understanding people and therefore culture, wants and latent needs… a rather significant portion, for us is to also make the sale of the design.

One might start to wonder; do you have to really sell design if you are in the corporate office? Or this article if only for freelancers. Then you are wrong.

When a developer “develops” something, it's a very objective part of his work. He must do a task, which is very clearly objective that anyone who has a list to check it on … can really done by anyone (well, almost). But take the same with designers, and it usually a crowd of people deciding and contemplating on the outcome in a design project and possibly, what happen to the consumer when he does. As designers, hence we can’t be bad communicators. Without communication, your great project can sound just MEH! Like a table without legs.

BUT, I speak very well english and I can really talk.

We are in a world where we have mostly reactive communication. If you understand the brain and how it functions, you would start realizing that left side of the brain is the reactive brain (ref: Sales Mind), it does logical conclusions but also is something that works on “if-then-else”. Its the right side of the brain, that is used to “seeing the larger picture” or “reflecting on things, not in the now” like what happens if I take a career in design five years from now, or if I shift to Bangalore for 3 years.. .

When was the last time, you were sitting idle. Like really idle, and not fiddling something on your phone? The constantly engagement with the phone, chats and conversation, no matter how intellectually stimulating it might be, is ultimately only your left brain.

Design, Life and thinking about long term relationships with work & play happens when you sit idle and contemplate. Its hence very important to sit down to think. And the easiest excercise to that is “To write about something”

Hey, but I do write…

I would say that that great. You are one of the fewer designers who really do. But it's not just writing, it's about writing something that is beautiful and makes the other person really think about what you wrote about. Getting a unique /alternative perspective.

I wouldn’t say that this is for them. To think in a manner, keeping the reader in mind, you must frame paragraphs to form a decent buildup to your argument. This activity makes you more reflective, thoughtful, and better designers. It makes you stand out.

If you still need convincing, read the WHY section on this page. We have explained in detail how this benefits you!

How to publish with Design Led ?

Why is writing important for designers? was originally published in Design Led on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

Here is a detailed and visual guide to starting to upload your first post

Be a part of the community

(One Time Effort — Also helps us to get to know you)

1Register yourself from the website to be involved in local design groups and join into the conversation. Registration forms are on the website. Both the form and the website link is below.
chasingpatterns.com
Registration Form

2Once you have registered, we will add you to the relevant group according to your preferences.

This is important as sometimes if there is submission issue, we can directly reach out to you and get things sorted.

Medium Onboarding

(One Time Effort)

3 Find your medium id and submit to one of the admins on your group. You can easily find your id under you profile picture.

4 To see if you are listed, jump into the about us page. If you are listed as a writer, your name should appear on the list below.

Design Led

Submitting an article

(Everytime you are posting on design blog)

5 Tags : We use the following tags to organize our posts into a certain order. If you want your to be also available on the other pages which are specific to the topic, then mark with the following tag.

• UX — For all UX Materials
• Growth — For all personal learning, self improvement for designers
• Resources — For references, kits & reviews
• Design Student — For student and academic work

The tags sections get updated as we keep adding more types of articles onto the blog.

6 Once you have written your article, you would be able to add the publication. On the top navigation in the edit mode, you should be able to see a Add to publication.

7 Once you click on that, you should see the following option or similar. Click onto Design Led publication.

8 We then review the article from that end. We might get back to you with some edits or changes to the articles to make it more suitable to the audience. If not, then we directly publish it out.

Once we publish it, we usually circulate the article through our community through our networks and channels spread across India in the coming weeks.

Some quick do’s & don’t

• Make sure that your content is orginal. Medium doesn’t allow the posting of two same content by people on its blog and we don’t want published material from someone else to be under your name on our blog. Pretty obvious, but just wanted to say.
• Your article has to be on our blog minimum of 90 days. We want to assure our readers a certain stability while not makng this place about quick gains.

How to upload your first blog post onto the Design Led Publication was originally published in Design Led on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

If you look back into few years back into your life, you will definitely come to a point where you were struggling and knowingly or unknowingly, you were helped by a colleague, friend or if the universe conspired, then a stranger. This is not that kind of payback time, but the question is simple, how did you feel at that point? and what did you do after.

There is an old saying, only the one who has can really give.

Its sometimes very literally interpreted. You then to think this is about donations and being big but it's the opposite. We need just have a large heart or a mentality to understand how things work.

A few years back while I was looking at international movements, I had come across this movement / organization who called themselves “Random Acts of Kindness” and they used small but effective means of display of affection.

Welcome to RandomActsofKindness.org

They would clean up a street and leave it decorated with flowers and paint overnight. They would help an orphanage. It sorts of had this spirit to engage with the world in its own terms to make it better in the small ways it can.

The idea just stuck to my head

Another argument that gets thrown around is that you are wasting your time in working with any community, or that they are only eating up your time an energy. But if you look closely, communities drive a lot of FREE and quality content that you have used.

Used Wikipedia, ever? Donate to that institution? Ever edited a document on Wikipedia? Too much to ask for using Wikipedia for over 5 years? 10 years?

The point is very simple, in the design fraternity you are a stakeholder but a by stander. Like you are a stakeholder in your govt agendas or your office policies on work and timing. You are a stakeholder. By creating and contributing, giving in small bits, you let the coming generation a lending hand like you were given. You make the world a kinder place and left it a litter better.

Its not about how much, its about a little hand every now and then. Maybe review someone articles, fill out thier college students questionnaire, write about your perspective in design … argue for rights and better work flow, at work, with colleagues and with the fraternity. No one has to really take charge here, everyone has to do a little act of kindness to make everything better than it was before.

Gandhi said, everything you do in life will be insignificant. But you still ought to do it, cause no one else will. — Remember Me, 2010

The small things that make a community a better place for everyone. was originally published in Design Led on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

As a design community, we try and help people to enable them to start writing and getting the feedback and the support from the community to start writing. Here are a few ways we help.

HOW DO WE HELP?

1. The part with the experts. Well, we have a network of design writers who would be willing maybe share a feedback to your early published or draft even when its on a google drive level. This is really helpful to get a diverse feedback .
2. We can also help you connected with someone who might be an expert in the area to mentor you with the content.

WHAT ARE WE EXPECTING BACK?

1. If you work with our experts or connects, please give them due credit for their help and support on your article.
2. Return the favor. A lot of folks have great opinions but not great voices. Be a part of the community and help folks write. Give feedback.

How to we help as a community for Design Writing was originally published in Design Led on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

Packaging 101

(and what to know about them to begin with)

1. Paperboards (Folding Papers) — These are usually what you see in toothpaste, soaps and other FMCG. These are highly personalize-able as we are able to print directly onto the material, die cut, pasted and folded into box shape that you might want to deliver.
2. Corrugated boxes (Cardboards) — These are the mostly what you would see in majority of the packaging since its comes in various durability and strength of the box. This is mostly used for retail packaging, pizza delivery boxes, small consumer goods packages etc. If you wanted to understand the difference between paperboard and cardboard, then the idea is very simple. Cardboard have a three ply layering. Outer and inner are mostly straight plates but the inner one has a zig-zag formation.
3. Rigid boxes — You would have noticed by now that your iphone and luxury boxes comes in more stronger and very strong boxes. These are called Rigid boxes due to their strength. Unlike the other two above, printing is not done on the boxes, its done separately on paper and stuck onto these boxes.
4. Plastic boxes — These are you can say slightly more stronger than Rigid boxes, can be recycled and can be very cost effective. Since its not plastic related to food, this is actually faster to get out into the market.
5. Chipboard packaging — This is used in industries such as electronic, medical, food, cosmetic and beverage. Made of reclaimed paper stock, is very cost effective and worked with (cut, folded and formed). Chipboard can also be directly printed on but it lacks strength to hold very heavy material. Used for cereals, crackers, tissue boxes etc.
6. Foil Sealed Bags — Typically, these would be packaging that helps keep the flavor, essence and aroma intact. This helps increase the shelf life of your product while making sure the fresh batch reaches your customer. Typically you would see it on tea, coffee, aroma spices etc.
7. Poly Bags — Also known as pouches can be manufactured our of thin, flexible, plastic film fabric. Its one of the most common packaging and carries a wide range of products like flowers, magazines, chemicals, food items etc.

Ever opened a gift from a loved one? The excitement and expectations greatly enhances the experience and you wouldn’t want to leave that to chance.

The brand is a continuous series of interactions that the consumer/user invests into. We sell this interactions as a series of communicated weaved with a common story and it only in your personal interest to make sure that your story ties into your packaging experience.

If you are seeking evidence, then look at the youtube influencers who review unboxing experience that are watched by billions of users before they make purchases. Your brand experience effectively is not completely now owned by the brand.

Here are some reasons to invest in your product packaging:

1. Your brand experience is not owned by you alone. A herd of marketeers, reviewers and influencers now review products and packaging that helps users decide what to expect from your products and helps create a more satisfying buy.
2. Packaging helps you differentiate yourself in the retail by attracting the users and creating a sense of pride in owning your product. Packaging is your sales personal who makes sure that your user make the decision and understands your value proposition when they make the purchase.
3. Its an experience for the user, and often a way to assure them and deliver your brand promise. Its the same experience you have when you get an gift from a loved one, except here the user might themselves purchased it.
4. It part of your brand story that you have been investing in from the beginning with your user. Its almost as important as your retail experience, in a way its an extension to it.

Over the years, as eCommerce and online retail has also plunged in. Its made it rather difficult to own your brand experience but packaging is still something that remain in your organizations custody. Its a handover point, where you deliver your promise.

Packaging is obviously not as easy as digital design, once you start off, one must consider a lot of options around the same. From rigid packaging to corrugated one, time to deliver, packaging prints and design and optimizing costs accordingly. While all these questions get answered, when you are consulting with a packaging firm but bring yourself a little upto speed on what different kinds usually are in the works helps in making more informed decisions.

Here is another article in the series that might help you get a better understanding of the types of packing.

7 types of commonly used packaging materials

Good packaging protects your product. Great Packaging protects your brand

Why is packaging a great deal? was originally published in Design Led on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

We are developing and keep updating a list of tools that works for designers. If you have used the tool and have any reviews on it, do share it with us on the comments and we will add those with your credits.

Research

• Customer knowledge platform
• ExperienceFellow Web Software - Research customer experience, starting at 9 EUR
• UserTesting Human Insight Platform | Customer Experience Insights
• Lookback
• UserZoom | UX Insights System for user research and UX testing
• WhatsApp
• Handrail: UX Research Repository
• Delve
• User research platform for user interviews and user tests | PingPong

Journey Mapping

• UXPressia - Customer Journey Tool
• Custellence | The Customer Journey Mapping Tool
• Smaply - Journey mapping online tool - Create, collaborate and present

Online Whiteboards

• AI Innovation Workspace | Miro
• Mural is a collaborative intelligence company | Mural
• Klaxoon - The Meeting Revolution - Improve your meetings
• The Visual Collaboration Platform
• Sprintbase - Design thinking platform with process facilitation built right in
• Google Jamboard: Interactive Business Whiteboard | G Suite

Video calls

• Video Meetings, Video Conferencing and Screen Sharing
• One platform to connect | Zoom
• Google Hangouts

Communication

• Slack is your digital HQ
• Twist: Clear & Organized Team Communication
• checking your credentials..
• Yac | Voice Messaging for Remote Teams

• Telephone

Project Management

• Capture, organize, and tackle your to-dos from anywhere | Trello
• Manage your team's work, projects, & tasks online * Asana * Asana

Planning

Free Online Appointment Scheduling Software | Calendly

Other

Google Docs & Slides

• Sign in
• Google Slides - create and edit presentations online, for free.

https://in.pinterest.com/

Service Designer’s Handy Toolkit was originally published in Design Led on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

Writing is something we all have been doing as designers and its in some ways a part and parcel of what we do. Its one of the most critical skills that gets a designer from the desk and into the decision table. His ability to express and tell a story. But writing can be a very difficult thing and more often than not, its a matter of just letting yourself go and doing your first write-up. Once you do your first writeup, its actually becomes much easier to start from there.

HOW TO WRITE 101

1.Select a topic. Write down 10 topics that you think you should be writing on. Its actually easier to write down 10 ideas that you can possibly work on than just one. Then, select the one you would love to work on and select the one you should be working on. The latter is seldom the one you would be working on. The idea is to get you started and not create the best work that no one sees.

2. Writing the frame. Writing is nothing more than arguing with your friend about your favorite movie and why its the better than theirs. It has an opening, 3 bold pointers, and a finishing.
Opening is generally something that gets the users hooked about story / argument that you are about to say. 3 Bold pointers are more of less three big arguments that really help build very unique ways of looking at the subject/topic. While the finisher, is something that help you close with either a big question, or a drastic comparison or a thoughtful gaze about how life would be with this idea at play.

Key things to keep in mind when you are writing these.

• Make these ideas very simple to digest
• Make sure you are writing these down instead of thinking about them. Pro-Tip: Its not about a fair sheet with one great sentence. Just write as it forms, cut it out if it doesn't work out. But do it on the sheet.
• Each of the 5 have to be 2 liners that broadly explains what you are planning.
• Don’t judge too soon.

3.Making the broad argument. Now you have a argument, but you need it to sound like a large article. Its easy from here on. Usually each sentence should become into a paragraph.

• Expand your articles by explaining it more
• Adding examples and citations from other places
• Questions are also a great way to pose a question, when you are not able to writely frame a argument. Like “… how do you think that would have gone…” works better than actually stating the story.

4. Get feedback. Getting feedback from your trusted circle is a great idea. Pro Tip: Your friends and colleagues understand where you come from and usually they are the best to give you advise.

Already showed them? Move to the slight more expert connection, and request them for a review. Showing your senior or colleague might give you harsher reviews but its better than getting it out there too early.

5. Smoothen things out. At this point, you would have a decently done up story and I think its better to read it a couple of times and see if you can smoothen some lines or make it sharper.

And there you go, you should have something ready. This is your first article, it may not be perfect but its still a step forward.

As a Community, we also help our writers more closely as well. Read about that here.

How to we help as a community for Design Writing

Further readings from Medium to Enhance writing

Free Resources

How to write Medium stories people will actually read

Paid Resources

• How to Write and Publish Articles That Get Noticed
• How to Write Clearly If You Are an Intuitive Thinker.
• How to Write 10,000 Words a Week

I want to write, but I just don’t know where to start was originally published in Design Led on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.